GROG pretty smart for caveman. Bowana think GROG not Neanderthal any more. GROG move up one rung on evolutionary ladder to Cro-Magnon Man with knowledge of ceramics. :)
Sorry to hear about your mold, MadDog. Try it again! You'll just keep getting better.
Here is the mold with the third piece already having been poured. The separation line is clearly visible. The orange worm looking thing in the middle of it is a piece of oil clay I stuck onto the separation line before pouring the third piece. This little trick will leave a small dent in the plaster part when the clay is pulled off that will serve as an aid in getting the mold pieces apart.
At this stage the wooden form has been removed. The fourth and final piece (which was the round bottom piece) regrettably was not photographed while being made.
I use these plastic wedges from bought at Free Form to open the mold. The wedge is inserted into the shallow depression left by the clay worm in the previous picture. This gets the wedge started on the opening process much easier than if it were to be driven straight into the plaster. It's like giving it a bit of a head start.
Gently tap the wedges with a mallet and work your way around the mold using several wedges. Don't wail on the mallet though. The plaster is hard, but can still be broken if handled rough. This view shows the top of the mold with opening for pouring the slip (or Barbotina for our Spanish speaking friends) :)
One of the most rewarding steps in the entire process is seeing the space widen between two mold parts. It means that they did not stick together!
Here is the finished four part mold of Babs' Man 'O War mug showing the previously mentioned bottom piece.
This is Cammo's Oki Doki mug mold. The design on this one was a bit more simple so it required two side halves instead of three.
Take the mic, Babs...
