Introduction If you want to use a mold to form the body of your ocarina, but don't want to deal with wet plaster, making a clay mold is a simpler, less messy, option.
When I first started making whistles and ocarinas, they were small. There was no difficulty in "pinching" out a hollow clay form. They were lumpy, bumpy, and pathetic, but they served their purpose at that time. When I started making larger ocarinas, I switched to "coiling" the clay. I have never been good at this technique, so the resulting ocarinas were also lumpy, bumpy, and pathetic. They were also thick walled and heavy. This method took far too long - I'd have to wait until at least the next day for the clay to stiffen up enough to start making it into an ocarina.
In the early 1980s, while attending a workshop taught by Susan Rawcliffe, I saw that she used plaster "hump" molds for some of her ocarinas. (A hump mold is where the clay is draped over the mold, not pressed into it.) I didn't want to deal with plaster, so I made my own hump molds using ceramic clay. After "bisque" firing (the firing that chemically changes clay so it can't be softened by water), the mold was nearly as porous as plaster. The mold must be porous or the damp clay will stick to it, making it very difficult to remove without damaging it. (the clay)
All that is required to make a clay mold are a few pottery tools and clay. This mold can be used even if it isn't fired (called greenware). It won't be quite as porous as if it were bisque fired, or as durable. But with a little care, it can be used many times to make ocarinas. If you like the shape of the ocarinas made from it, this "greenware" mold may be bisque fired later. |
