The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting (A Lark Ceramics Book) [Hardcover]

Andrew Martin (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Lark Ceramics Book | Publication Date: April 1, 2007

For potters, mold making is invaluable because it allows them to slip-cast identical multiples of their work—and this newly revised, now in color edition of Andrew Martin’s classic is the definitive guide to the craft. No other volume has shown the processes in such how-to detail. It’s overflowing with hundreds of photos, key techniques, projects, master artist profiles, and troubleshooting tips. A thorough introduction addresses materials and tools, and presents Martin’s simple, unique template method for making clay prototypes. Create easy one-piece molds to make tiles, bowls, and platters, or multi-piece molds for more complex forms. An extensive overview covers slip formulation, while offering highly desired slip recipes for low-, mid-, and high-fire clay bodies. This will be the standard reference in every ceramist’s library.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It's difficult to imagine how a self-published book could contain the hundreds of color photographs potter Martin uses to illustrate the very technical nature of mold making and slip casting. His three decades of studio experience stand behind this revised edition of his ultimate guide to the process of pouring liquid clay into a mold to shape a clay object—and ensure that the items, at least their size and dimensions, are identical. The book follows in logical detail all the need-to-know content, from tolls and materials to the different iterations of mold making as well as a troubleshooting guide. Steps are pictured in color, numbered, and captioned as companions to the narrative; occasional sidebars, lots of finished art ceramics, and five working artist portraits—Anne Kraus, Tom Spleth, Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley, and Richard Notkin—underscore the outcome of mastering these techniques. Plaster-mixing ratios, casting-slip recipes, and a glossary are appended. Jacobs, Barbara
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Lark Crafts (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600590772
• ISBN-13: 978-1600590771
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best mold book on the market., December 19, 2007

By 

Joseph E. Davis (Logan, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting (A Lark Ceramics Book) (Hardcover)

In preparation for teaching mold making at Utah State University, I purchased 4 different mold-making books. After careful examination I decided that Andrew Martin's book is the one I'll use as my text for the class. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is trying to learn to make molds without a base knowledge in clay and plaster, but, as a text book in an intermediate to advanced setting, this book is the one to use.

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the whole story, January 29, 2008

By 

R. Mesnard "Hobby Potter" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting (A Lark Ceramics Book) (Hardcover)

This book seemed to me to be a good start, but maybe was rushed to production. There are a number of significant issues with this publication:
* Poorly organized - rather than taking you through a step-by-step process for each important phase of mold making and slip casting, the information is scattered throughout. Including information on other artists adds to the value of this book, but detracts from fundamental goal of teaching you how to slip cast.
* Missing/minimized information - 'Begin with the water and .25 percent of sodium silicate.' How the heck do you get to .25 percent sodium silicate? Does it come only in liquid form, or is there a powder available? Is the liquid form measured by volume or weight? Is the liquid considered 100%, or is it diluted? The tile-making example looked really cool. But two whole paragraphs on the silly fill tubes? And nothing after pouring the slip into the mold. How long to wait? How do you remove the tile after you open the mold? What if the tile doesn't want to come out? And (on page 68) "Mix the Hydrocal and pour it into the frame." Ok - nothing - nothing about mixing Hydrocal. How much water? How long to wait? Is it the same as #1 Plaster? Also (page 19) "Then sand the whole exterior...Sand the interior surfaces as well..." Huh? Why do that? Is it optional, or a key step to getting a successful cast? Also, how long do you dry the molds before you can use them? It's a mystery....
* Instructions don't work - I followed the mixing and pouring of plaster and slip down to the last available detail, including the cone 7 Hensley/Polseno recipe. The casts won't come out of the molds. From Troubleshooting, suggests the mold is too wet (how long do you let the things dry?) or too much EPK, but I used the recipe in the book!
The author is obviously an accomplished artist, and I was inspired by the introduction, coming to see slip casting as a legitimate form of artistic expression. However, the book seems to miss the mark for novices just getting started. After some rather extensive efforts, I'm really frustrated, but I'm not giving up! Now looking for other references.
Good luck!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait, March 9, 2007

By 

djmill "djmill" (Richland, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting (A Lark Ceramics Book) (Hardcover)

Finally, a mold making and casting book, as usual, the photos are well done, there is a great deal more information than I expected and the instructions are clear. Lots of inspirational examples of other artists work. This was well worth the wait.