It all begins with an idea. See something and think - how could I use that with glass….. Every piece I make goes through multiple processes. Many times there are multiple steps involved before the piece ever makes it to the kiln. I always start with planning the end size of the piece. And sometimes that involves making a mold….
I had a plastic mannequin and wanted to make a mold to use in my glass work. My first attempt was to make the mold from clay.
Hours and hours went into creating the mold out of clay. Unfortunately, the mold cracked as it dried - oh well, on to another plan.
I found a material called SilkeMat. It is a fiber based cloth, used with a rigidizer - I made the mold using this material. It required a lot of patternmaking skills and finally sanding to get the seams out.
This is one of the pieces made using the mold.
This end result was after several firings.