Plaster Mold Casting

Mold-Making and Casting at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts

Lyme Academy College is offering Mold-Making and Casting for Continuing Education students on Wednesdays 6 - 9pm, Sept 28 - Dec 14, 2011.Like printmaking, mold making and casting offer the opportunity to create a reproducible series of sculptures from what would otherwise be a temporary, one-of-a-kind art object. It is exciting to see what happens when an object is reproduced and to learn how this is achieved. Through the process of making a mold and then casting into that mold with various materials, students will gain a more comprehensive knowledge of this sculptural tradition. While focusing primarily on silicone mold making, students will have the opportunity to learn through demonstrations how to cast their molds. Individual instruction will be emphasized along with weekly demonstrations and lectures. A small sculpture, no larger than a life-size portrait, is required for the first day of class. A limited number of plaster casts are available to make a mold of if needed. Larger sculptures require the instructor’s permission prior to the first day of class.

Instructor: Jeremy Davis

Tuition: $425

This class is open to students ages 15 and up who can show they have taken courses in or basic experience with the discipline.

For more information, please contact Renee Lin Beyor, Director of Continuing Education 860-434-5232 admissions@lymeacademy.

Sculpting Techniques and Methods | Self Improvement Articles and Tips

Making sculpture can be done in quite a few ways and out of many different materials, but there are four basic techniques that are used for all sculptures. Some techniques were developed to be use with specific materials, and some techniques have been passed down through the centuries with very little change. It’s common for sculptors to specialize in using on particular technique over other techniques but if you want to be a professional sculptor it’s a good idea to at least be somewhat familiar with all four types. They are:

Stone carving is the oldest form of sculpting. When the earliest humans first started creating sculptures to use for religious devotion, as communication, or as tributes to those who had died they used stone carving to do it. Stone sculptures have been found that date to prehistoric times, like the Venus of Berehkat Ram that is believed to be about 800,000 years old.

Ancient sculptors used flint tools to chip away at whatever stones happened to be in the area. Later on sculptors would pick out particular types of stone based on the properties of that stone and use those for sculpting. Flint tools and abrasive techniques were used to create sculptures until the development of steel. Steel tools like hammers, chisels, picks, and other sturdy items made it possible for sculptors to do new and innovative sculptures that could be made much more quickly and efficiently. Today these tools have not changed very much from the original steel tools that were developed.

• Chisels

Using bronze to make a metal sculpture results in a sculpture that is just called a bronze. Bronze sculptures are the most popular type of sculptures. Artists that specialize in making human figures often will do them in bronze because bronze is the best material to use for a statue or a sculpture that is highly detailed.

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