Mold continued...

So I poured the rubber into my mold yesterday and am eagerly awaiting when I get to open it (seriously, I am the most impatient person EVER...ask Justin.) I wanted to share some process photos in the meantime so here they are!

 

Here is the finished clay bunny...

 

And these are the mother mold pieces that go around him. I made sure to Vaseline the heck out of the mold pieces and the board that the sculpture is on, so the rubber won't stick.

 

The rubber will fill in the spaces between the clay sculpture and the mother mold.

 I clamped the mold together and then clamped it to the board and modeling stand.

I then filled the bottom seam with clay to prevent rubber from leaking out.

 Ready to pour.

 

I used the clay that I took out of the mold (when demolding the plaster) to determine roughly how much rubber I should mix. I always add some to make up for any space that was between the clay and the sculpture.

 

New Rubber from Polytek! I'm using the 74-29 for this mold.

 

And a Silibrush...more later on how the rubber comes off of it...I'm dying to know!

 

I then got ready to pour my rubber...

 

Locked and loaded...

 

So I measured out the rubber, mixed it and poured it. I didn't get photos of all that because I was too busy measuring, mixing and pouring (and I didn't want to get rubber on my new phone...!)

 

As the rubber level rises in the mold it will eventually start to fill the other vent hole. As the rubber settled the level dropped a little, so I just refilled the holes to the top.

 

It's always good when you estimate the perfect amount of rubber...

there was just a tiny amount left in the bottom...

Just enough to test out the Silibrush! (Will report back on how it went...)

Back in the saddle again...

I haven't made a rubber mold since I was pregnant with Olivia, who turns 2 this Sunday. I didn't want to be in contact with chemicals while pregnant or nursing so Justin made all the rubber molds. Since then, I haven't made a new piece that's needed a rubber mold (only waste molds) so the baby bunny in a crow mask is the first thing I'll be making a rubber mold of in a while. This seems so crazy, considering that it felt like I was making molds every month back then. Anyway, I am super excited to get back into it, because I LOVE mold making...I mean, don't get me wrong, it makes me nuts, but I love it. Despite my super excitement, I made sure to do a test of the rubber I have, to make sure its still good, rather than covering the piece in it first. I'll check back in a bit to see if it set up and if so I am good to go. Process photos to come.

 

Here are Parts A and B before mixing. (I'm using Polytek 74-29)

 

I got to bust out the bucket dumpers Justin made (Anyone who uses 5 gallon buckets of mold rubber will know what a pain in the ass they are to pour...this makes it sooooo much easier!)