Slump Mold Project
I have a love of mold-making and using molds to create. This project/unit centers around teaching students the mold making and using process from start to finish. I chose to have my students design and produce bowls, but this can be adapted for mugs, cups, plates, etc. or even tiles.
To start this project, I introduced a few artists that use molds in their making process and explained the concept of a hump and slump mold. Then, we spent some time designing a bowl - I prompted the students to think about a bowl they really love using from home or their favorite restaurant, or even a bowl they hated using, and think about what qualities make a great bowl that is worth repeating over and over again.
Next, we poured our molds. We used large plastic basins, aluminum flashing, and clay to set up our pours. In hindsight, this was a more complicated way of doing things. It would be ideal just to find suitable plastic containers and limit the sizes of their bowls.
When the students were done with their mold pouring, I gave them a very quick quiz to gauge understanding.
This quiz was very helpful in my assessment of the students understanding. My AP 3D students had great results, whereas I found that in my ceramics I classes, I needed more attention on the concept of undercuts.
I tried to time the deadline of their mold pours with their thanksgiving break, so molds could dry a little bit before we got into using them. When we returned, I demonstrated how to use my mold (I made one alongside my classes) and how to safely remove a bowl from a mold. Once they were successful removing their bowls, I demonstrated how to add a foot-ring or an added rim to give it some character.
Here are some images from the process:
A beautiful shell bowl. This mold was one that needed some tweaking to be successful, but this student did an excellent job pushing through and doing the necessary corrections to get her mold working and it was spectacular in the end!
This student wanted to make a bottle, so we brainstormed how they could achieve this with a slump mold. The result was a mold that they cast twice, and then put together vertically to achieve this amazing form.
This student wanted a bowl with a bump in the middle, which turned out wonderfully.
In another instance where I bent the rules for this ‘bowl’ project. This student made a small mold and created a beautiful set of teacups from it.
A beautiful scalloped rim. The students had many glaze options for this project, they could use amaco potter’s choice glazes, mayco glazes, underglaze and clear, or stroke & coat glazes. We talked about how each of them were going to affect functionality and overall appearance of their pieces.
This project took my entire high school student teaching placement to complete. I learned a lot, and I would absolutely do it again, but with these adjustments:
Limit size of bowls
Simplify mold making process so that more time is spent on producing from the molds instead of producing the molds themselves
Diversify my artist examples and show a more varied selection of works that highlight the use of added or altered rims and added feet on pottery.
