Plaster is all about precise.
I am a person like to follow my own flow while I work with Clay. Making a Plaster mould is a challenge , all the measure an adjust in ever millimeter frustrate me ,when I watching mould making demonstration , I had a voice in my head screaming :” I want to go in the Throwing wheel! I want to Hand build with clay!”
However, things Change while I meet my Easter term Break apprenticeship studio Owner,Nam Tran.
I am doing some Gas firing Glaze research for Nam ,In return, he agree to give me one to one drop off plaster mould tutorial .I show him my drawing and a plastic profile i made early in CSM studio , he trying to explain and show me how it works,
I am a thrower and I am too used to see clay from the top , but come to lathe turning, material turn to their side, I can not feel the mug body with my both hands, not able to dominate the plaster by both hand, in my head a voice keep rejecting the whole process ,I took much longer time than he need to make a simple Mug Mould , the struggle was real.
Nam get a little frustrated after a while, He was joking and said : “do you know I charge a lot per hour for a mug Mould ? I will send you the invoice.”,
At that moment , I realize mould making is skill that a Ceramic student might able to relay on when we complete our education ,also , even the mould making process is time taking and can be frustrating some time , but this is a way we can reproduce a precise perfect item , this is a way to experience a mass produce procedure started to in use from early 20 century.
As a trained ceramic designer in future, I think Plaster Mould making is a major skills I need to develop, in order to present my ideas to mass produce ceramic company in an efficient way.
