metrov Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi, I'm in the process of creating my first slip-cast artwork, an imaginary baby bear. If you look at the attached image files, you'll see the bear has fairly narrow arms, body, and legs. My friend and I are going to next make the mold and fire the slip cast piece in his kiln. A couple of friends who have far more experience than I expressed concerned that the limbs may droop or bend during the firing process, but nobody knows for sure. If you have experience slip casting/firing, could you please take a look at my photos and tell me if you think there could be a problem when firing the baby bear piece? I'm not sure if I need to consider other options for making the body of the bear, or if I should go ahead and try firing this one. Your feedback, suggestions, and advice most welcome. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyH Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 If you fire it laying flat with stilts under the paws you should be ok. What type of clay are you using, and what glaze do you plan to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Not sure where you are planning to fill/drain the piece, presumably the feet. I'd be a little concerned about the draining, especially the hands and arms. Has anybody else tried an acute angle like the legs make? Were there any troubles when the casting is shrinking in the mould? I'd be inclined to use the back as a parting line, so I could crack the mould slightly early, while leaving the bear well supported but not constrained for the final drying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yopi Posted August 10, 2015 Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 1.- This is not the best piece to slip cast. You can do it if you want to, but be prepared to have a lot of weird troubles. The arms and legs are too thin to be hollowed (slipcasting always leaves a hollowed middle) and the square and angular shapes make everything more dificult. Even if you are succesfull in casting it and releasing it from the mould, the neck will probably end up been solid and then the head will be solid too... 2.- Have you ever slip cast before? If not, then your have a few problems you are not aware of. Clay is not a big fan of angles, specialy rigth angles. Your minimum width should be 0.5 cm of solid wall for your cast if you want it to survive the drying stage. How many pieces your mould is going to have? Your right angles make a two piece mould a nigthmare to release the piece. So more pieces for the mould will be necesary for your figure. 3.- Have you ever make a plate mould? The shape of your figure will need a plate type mould. That is the kind of mould you inject the slip into. But only the body of your figure needs this kind of mould, the head needs a two part mould, and the cast should be hollow. So now you need another mould, one for the body and one for the head; and then you'll need to attach the head to the body. 4.- The problem your friends are worried about is easy to fix. Just put some supporting pieces of clay to keep the arms in place and that is all. Then again, it may happen that everything goes rigth and in the end I was all wrong... Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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