Today the guild had Richard Notkin in to discuss his work. He gave two lectures: one a history of his work from 1968 to present, and the other, after a brief break, a technical explanation of how he makes his work and the sorts of clay and surface treatments he uses.
This man is a master mold maker. His molds are works of art in and of themselves, and I took four pages of notes during his technical talk. I came away with some really great, useful information on mold making, and I can't wait to use it (but I must, as our last day of wet clay is next Wednesday and I have three sculptures to finish before then).
So, here's some of what I got from the lecture:
- Pouring spouts can be drilled after the mold is made, to the size of a funnel which you insert in the hole. Then the plastic of the funnel keeps the clay from hardening in the spout and makes it easier to empty the mold and to clean up afterward.
- You can make molds of tiny items by adding small air vents to the exterior and forcing the slip in with a syringe or baster.
- Formica-covered boards make the best cottle boards.
- When mold soap is dirty it tends to foam, so pour a small amount in a cup to use for a particular mold and discard it when it has gone cloudy.
- You can make masters for moldmaking from leather-hard clay turned on the wheel and milled out with carving tools; the solid clay keeps the whole thing damp.
- When you make a mold of a leather-hard clay positive, line the hole in the clay bed with plastic wrap to keep the positive from sticking to the clay bed. Use super-wet clay for the clay bed and make that conform to the positive, and you will keep your detail.
- You can store castings under bell jars to keep them damp without losing detail from plastic contact.
- You can carve out the detail in undercuts after doing a casting, and you will still have saved yourself time on modelling.
- Time is a tool.
I also really enjoyed his sense of humour and self-possession about his art. At one point he talked about how the teapot makers in Yixing complained that his teapots were not functional, to which he responded, "Some of my teapots are not very functional, but I think I'm more interested in conveying ideas and concepts than tea."
