Flexible Relief Mold Sculpture

Goal: The student will understand how to make multiple copies of a sculpture using a relief mold.

Objectives: The student will make a relief sculpture out of oil

based clay. FA 1, 2.5 The student will make a relief mold out of silicone

caulk. FA 1, 2.5 The student will caste the final sculpture out of

plaster. They will make at least 3 copies of their sculpture. FA 1, 2.5

The student will learn and use sculpture vocabulary. FA 3, 4.7

The student will use form, texture, and pattern. FA 2

ExampleRelief Mold

Slip cast mold for sculpture in the round

Flexible Relief Mold

Relief Sculpture

Relief Sculpture

Relief Sculpture

Example of relief mold and relief sculpture

Examples- When you are done casting 3, paint them as a set.

DO NOT make something this flat!

Instructions

1- first make your sculpture, then spread caulk over the top and wait for it to dry. Remove the modeling clay and pour plaster into the mold.

2- Let the plaster settle down into the grooves.

3- If you want to hang this sculpture, put a wire in it when the plaster is still wet.

4-When the plaster is fully dried, remove it from the mold. Then scrape and sand off the imperfections.

Vocabulary and Concepts  Relief: object of sculpture meant to be viewed from one side

that extends out from the surface plane. Opposite of in the round.

Additive: the sculpture process where a form is created by adding material or medium. Examples include welding, assemblage, modeling, and casting.

Subtractive: the sculpture process where a form is created by taking material away. This category is generally limited to carving methods in various media.

Model: the first stage of the sculpture process where the use of oil clay is manipulated, details added, surfaces refined and the final design for the piece is completed an dready for a mold. We will use additive and subtractive methods here.

Mold: the second step in the sculpture process where a mold is made over the model to allow for exact replication (reproduction) of the model. There are two types of molds.

Rigid mold (stiff mold): this mold is created using a non-flexible or hard material such as plaster. Sometimes limited to the mother mold or mold created on the outside of a flexible mold.

Flexible mold: a mold created by using a pliable or bendable material such as silicone or rubber. This is the type of mold that we are learning how to make and allows for much more versatility and workability than a rigid mold.

Casting: the final step in the sculpture process where the mold is used to create a rigid form. Plaster or bronze is normally poured into the mold to make the final form to be worked up or finished with paint or various other materials. We will use plaster.

Porosity: the tendency for a substance or material to absorb water. Another word for this is absorbency. Plaster is very porous.

Seal: the final step before painting the plaster is to seal it with wax or shellac to reduce absorbency of the paint and prevent peeling and cracking.

Size specifications: modeling clay must be from ½ inch to 1 inch thick

Caulk must be about ½ inch thick No snomen for ornaments, no hearts and

stars, no writing your name, no shapes that look like they were cut from a cookie cutter

Students must make 3 or more plaster sculptures from this mold.

50 points