Fish Plaque

Here’s another example of some of the work I’ve been doing in my mold-making class. To make this plaque, I originally carved a fish out of scrap clay, cast a mold of it in plaster, then pressed fresh clay into the mold and added a background, thinking it might make a nice wall hanging. I had planned to build a wooden frame around this piece once it was glazed and fired, but it warped a bit too much in the kiln and now I’m not quite sure what to do with it. Maybe I’ll find something along the lines of a plate hanger so that it can still be hung on a wall like I had initally intended. I’m not sure about my glaze choice either. The good news is I now have a mold so making another one and testing a different glaze is a snap. Next time I’m going to make the fish without a background. I may add a couple of clay loops on the backside so that a wire can be strung between them and the fish can hang flying solo for a different effect. Again, it’s nice having a mold to start from so that the energy going into the design can be directed towards how to alter, add or change the look of the final piece without having to start from scratch. Each casting will have its own personality without looking mass-produced. That’s my hope anyway, and why a mold can be a great time-saving tool to have in the studio.