High School Slip Casting

[artisunteacher]

Hi, I'm brand new here and looking to get some input for my high school classroom.

I'm a first year teacher in a ceramics room. I was having a conversation with an employee at the district level about some ideas I have for what direction I would like to take the program in. A lot of the equipment is very old and in need of some updates. One of the things I mentioned is that I would eventually like to do mold making and slip casting with some of my more advanced students. I say eventually because I have never actually done anything like this before, but was interested in learning and would then want to share that knowledge with my students once I feel comfortable. Last night they told me they want to fund this project and need me to tell them what I need to get started right away so they can order everything for the next school year.

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of options there are out there and am unsure of what the best route is to take for high school students. The other problem is that they would prefer that I find some sort of "kit" they can buy rather than a bunch of individual items and I'm not sure that exists. Any advice you guys can share would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jeff Longtin]

Welcome to the Forum Artisunteacher.

Its a broad question with many answers. I don't  think there are any "kits" out there that you could purchase. (The only kit I know of might be for casting hands or feet of newborns.)

One way you might approach it is to have your students bring in something they would like to be molded and YOU make the mold.  (Have a Casting Day/Party type of thing.) They could then use the resulting molds to make items that they desire. That way you might stimulate their enthusiasm, for using molds, but avoid any mold making disasters that might occur if they do the casting themselves.  

[Hulk]

Good question!

Would it not take some time to:
  test materials - find a casting slip that behaves well and a range of glazes that also behave and fit well;
  create/obtain a range of molds;
  get the casting process down;
  get the firing process down?

Is there special equipment - slip tank, mixing tools, the rack where molds are drained, mold storage?
Plaster, plaster mixing tools, special mold making gear?

If you're making molds, that's another level of complexity?

Would a unit on casting in your first and second term ceramics courses lead to a full term in casting?
That would give you another several months to iron out the kinks, and meanwhile, break in those new kilns.    :|

Perhaps there's an existing program to tap for info...
...try searching "ceramic molding in high school"
What comes up near the top of the page, looks like skeleton of a lesson plan (not a full term), right above your post!
Ideally, there's resources - people and print - that can help.
 

[oldlady]

since you have little experience in this, my suggestion is to look for a paint it yourself pottery store.   they do all kinds of shapes and perhaps you could get some of the popular ones and ask for lessons from the manager in casting.   i did a chess set years ago that became a popular sale item.   just one of the experiments on the way to finding what kind of work i wanted to do.

 

been thinking about this. 

you mention casting as something for the "more advanced students" though you also say this is your first year.  how did you determine who is an advanced student?     filling a studio with lots of slip handling equipment before you know if there is any serious interest in casting, sounds just a little questionable on  a budget.

do your plans include  introducing the students to several ways of working?  throwing, hand building, and casting or are you committed to only casting for the entire year?   the difference in your expenses to go fully into casting  as opposed to only featuring some time with casting as well as other methods.

casual casting can be done with what you assemble as a "kit".   several molds of various complexity and several bottles of slip ready to pour into them is not an unreasonable expense and does not require special equipment.    i have never been a teacher but i would hesitate to provide teenagers with a slip "gun" that would tempt them to almost any kind of behavior that would flood the room with wet slip.   pouring slip from a gallon bottle might be messy but the alternative is something to think about.

what things do you think are so old that they need replacement?   there are very experienced folks here who have been where you are now.  could you provide a few photos of the classroom and the particular items you want to replace?  i would bet that there will also be suggestions on moving stuff around to make it more useful.

it is hard to be new and you will find that this group is wishing you success in everything you do, ask questions because there are experts in almost every subject and willing to help.  read the entries in this subject and learn a lot about what can happen.

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by oldlady
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[Jeff Longtin]

Some additional thoughts:

There is a website called "artmolds.com" that has all sorts of mold making products. I first became aware of it when I was working on a deathmask project.  Artmolds has several videos and kits in the area of "lifecasting".  (Maybe everyone could make a cast of their hands?)

Another thought: find a ceramic mold website and see what they have to offer. Perhaps order a bunch of molds that you think the kids might like to work with or ask the kids to make their own choices. Then buy some premade casting slip and have the kids use the molds to cast up pieces.  This way they're working with casting slip and they're working with plaster molds. You can then use this as a barometer to see which kids really like the process and which ones don't.

In my years of making molds I have never met a person who fully understood the complexity of designing/making a mold. Even the most experienced clay folks seem to find the concept difficult. Expecting young people to understand it may be asking too much. (at least initially.) Make it easy for them initially, to build their enthusiasm, and then build on that.

[oldlady]

jeff.   thank you for clarifying my clumsy attempt to say the same thing.  some days are better than others and today was not a good one.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

My question is, how advanced is advanced? Making a mould can be pretty technical and precise, and the common beginner errors can be pretty costly and difficult to clean up.

If you want a more entry level project that involves using plaster to make moulds, why not start with a decorative sprig mold, or press mould that can be used to make handles? That would also introduce design considerations like undercuts and making your own tools. A similar project could involve casting some simple roulette blanks using a found container and have the students carve them into decorating tools. It’ll help them learn about how the material behaves wet, while curing and in use as a tool before throwing in things like multiple displacement based volume calculations. 

If you want to show them the actual slipcasting process, partnering somehow with a paint your own shop that casts their own pieces might be a better option.