First Attempt at Mold Making

A couple of days ago my boyfriend and I tried to make a mold of this small bowl. The attempt was not a successful one but the process was fun nevertheless and I learned a thing or two from it.

The first step to mold making is to create a container for the plaster. Usually people use four boards to make a bottomless box. Greg wanted to be innovative and used a small UPS box instead. It worked well but we had to tear the box apart in order to free the mold once the plaster was set. Thus, the re-usability factor is clearly zilch. In hindsight, wooden board is a much better option. We then placed the bowl, face down, inside the box. Next, we mixed the plaster thoroughly using a mixer attached to an electric drill. We poured the plaster into the box until it completely covered the bowl. Here was when we made our second mistake. The plaster should have been a creamy, not pudding-like, consistency. If the plaster is too thick, it is more likely to trap air bubbles. That was exactly what happened to our mold. It had a couple of holes on the surface. Oh well, practice makes perfect, right? I'm looking forward to our second attempt.