Making a plaster mold of an object with deep grooves/texture...?

[vickid]

Hello,

I have a dried cacao pod, and I would like to make a plaster mold of it,

to either slip cast or press mold ... to eventually make a a bowl and a vase.

I've only made molds from very smooth objects, so I am concerned that the plaster 
will get stuck in the deep grooves of the pod. 

What do you think? I've attached photos.

Thank you all!

[Mark C.]

No undercuts as well as multi piece mold may work

[vickid]

Thank you for your reply. What if I made a one piece mold of half of it, like a bowl that is just it's side?

[Chilly]

6 hours ago, vickid said:

Thank you for your reply. What if I made a one piece mold of half of it, like a bowl that is just it's side?

Try it, that's the only true way to find out.  What have you got to lose?

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Another possibility could be to make a roller or a texture mat out of the texture on the pod. You could then use that to make slabs, and form them into other objects.

[Jeff Longtin]

If the texture radiates out, uniformly, around the circumference of the form, the mold will likely "catch" along the edge. To minimize this I would suggest you fill in the texture, along the edge, with clay, before you pour plaster.  

I molded a similar object, many years ago, but I did not anticipate a problem. Unfortunately the texture "locked up" the plaster and I had to chip it off the piece. (The piece was in the bisque state, so there was no damage, but the process was tedious and very annoying.) 

After I judiciously filled in the texture, along the edge, I was able to pull a decent mold.

You just have to decide how much texture loss is acceptable to you. 

[Mark C.]

I suggest a 3 or 4 piece mold as well as a bit less texture. The more pieces the easier to remove  but more mold lines to clean up.