Interview with Kathryn Walmsley, NIADA, on mold making

I know I promised that I wouldn't use my blog as an advertisement for Doll Street but

MY BROTHER IS MAKING ME DO IT !

Actually, this class is going to be awesome and I'm going to take it myself. It's not just for doll makers you can use this for just about anything. So many possibilities. Anyhow, Kathryn Walmsley, sculptor extraordinaire and NIADA artist, is going to be teaching a Guerilla Mold Making Class, beginning Feb 15th.

This class is designed to introduce both doll makers and mixed media artists to a variety of different types of quick and easy mold making techniques for use in reproducing their work. There will be step by step instructions with pictures for molds made with Flexwax and 5 minute silicon mold putty. Detailed overviews of plaster and 2 part mold making are also included. Both 2 and 3 D sculptures can be reproduced and applied to all kinds of surfaces as well as saving sculpting time in doll and accessory making. It's going to be messy and it's going to be a whole lot of fun!

You will be amazed at the things you will think of to make molds from. You will look at everything with a new eye after you take this mold making class.

Sign up and use the code ArtDoll Blog and you'll get a free present from me! You enter the code as you go through the checkout process. But anyhow, read on for a interview with Kathryn in which she gives us a detailed overview of this class:

Why did you develop this class?

I developed this class because the longer I used these techniques the more versatile I realized they were and I felt that many artists could use them in their work. While I'm not a master mold maker I've been doing it a long time and think that I can present the information to people like me in a way that will make it easier for them to use. I wanted to develop techniques that a person could get together with few materials on hand. Some forms of mold making can be complicated and time consuming and while we'll talk about the advantages and disadvantage of some of those techniques in class I named the class Guerilla mold making to imply doing things the fast, simple, easy and effective way!

What will the students learn?

In this class we will learn a number of techniques mainly using Flexwax and 5 minuet mold making putty. Both of these materials are widely available and can be ordered online, by phone or mail.

Flexwax is especially suited to reproducing objects which can be cut apart to remove from the mold thus creating a 2 part mold. These molds are amazingly durable and while a bit messy it's quite fun working with warm wax. A little bit like the candle making many of us did in elementary school. Flex wax can also be successfully used to make 2 part molds from polymerclay sculptures although it's best to sculpt models for mold making as there might be some slight damage to the original.

Five minute mold making putty is just a revolution for both doll makers and mixed media artist. We'll learn how to make impressions of finished dolls, relief sculptures, parts which can later be combined into finished artwork. You can even cast paper into these molds.

Also include in the class is just about everything I know about making plaster molds which certainly have their place in the picture especially if you would like to cast pourable paperclay such as Flumo. We'll also go over how to make formal two part molds with pourable silicone which is important if you require tight control over how the two parts of your mold separate. We will make 2 part molds with the 5 minute putty but in a more informal way.

I hope everyone will complete the class with a working understanding of the different types of molds and how they can use them in their own work and for those who wish to work along with the class some completed molds.

How long have you been making molds?

I started making molds about 16 years ago. I started making 2 part silicon molds and as new products became available experimented with them too. Since most of my work is one of a kind I came to see that formal 2 part mold making was perhaps more trouble than it was worth to me. I began to see that what I wanted from mold making was a fast and easy way to create simple molds I could use to make duplicates of my sculptures but then go on and make that reproduction unique in it's own way. I've been using the Flexwax and 5 minute mold putty for about 10 years and finally learned how to make plaster molds about 5 years ago so I could try casting Flumo a pourable paperclay which requires plaster molds.

The types of mold making I do now really helps me to make leg, hand and head "blanks" by pressing clay into my molds. I then go on and refine these. When using paper clay in the molds the resulting parts are so light weight that they can be used as additions to all kinds of mixed media work to give dimension. It's especially fun to make flower and leaf part molds and molds to make accessories for dolls. I now have a large collection of molds of faces, textures, plant and body parts which I can mix and match to create unique artworks.

I've put many years into developing and learning about this type of mold making and am looking forward to sharing this info with my students on Doll Street.

Thanks, Kathryn!

So that's it! The low down on the class - I don't think you can go wrong taking this class - the possibilities of what you can do sound endless!

Sign up today!

Don't forget the code for your free present!

Oh - and no permission is given to copy this interview and reprint it. All copyrights remain with Kathryn and Doll Street.

So, bro, did I do okay?