Experiments on plaster

My first goal when experimenting with the plaster was to find out how well it retains the shape of the mold it was in. I used an old half gallon milk carton, and surprisingly the plaster picked up the majority of the details, down to the little bumps in the plastic. There were no bubbles in the mold either, because while the plaster sets you have to tap the sides of the mold to help release any trapped air.

My second experiment with plaster dealt with using carving tools to forge a shape out of a small block of plaster, and seeing what kind of detail i could get and keep on the surface of the plaster. This worked out really well and was actually surprisingly easy. The plaster is alot easier to shape when there is still moisture left from the mold, as time goes on and the moisture dries out, the plaster is more likely to crumble. I would say if you wanted to carve something, do it sooner than later after it comes out of the mold, as the moisture definitely makes it easier.


My final experiment with plaster was trying to get 2 separate pieces of plaster to attach together, using some kind of adhesive or the plaster itself. Adhesives failed, i tried hot glue, elmers, even apoxy, and all just flaked off after drying. The plaster also didnt work, it just didnt have the strength to hold the two pieces together. So ive concluded from this that if you want 2 pieces attached youre better off making a mold with the two pieces already combined.