06_Plaster

The plaster studies began as a ceramics experiment with several graduate students. Slip casting is a common process in ceramics where a plaster mold is used to pour liquid slip into. After a determined amount of time the slip hardens outward-in; the longer it is left to cure the thicker the piece will be. After this, the remaining slip is poured out leaving the hardened shell that is then removed. The molds can then be used to mass produce a single piece. The process of 3-axis milling syncs up well with slip casting as the molds cannot have undercuts or the piece will not release from the mold. Here we see a vase mold being milled from a plaster blank.