Here’s the 3 section plaster master to be worked on for the larger panel once it’s dry.
All 3 sections and the narrow strip need to be assembled together in a nice squared shape and molds made then of it. The narrow strip on the right needs to be trimmed and cleaned up yet.
The new Art Deco model 8B plaster masters are now laid out on a board and being prepared for the mold making process.The gaps on the bottom (at at the top out of view) between the four sections will all need to be filled and then smoothed and the texture blended in so it all forms one cohesive panel.
I just ordered the materials I need for making the 1st mold of this which will enable casting the panels in interior cast-stone and concrete. I will also be making the negative mold from the 1st rubber mold for use in making the plaster piece mold required for pressing terra cotta. Sounds complicated but it all involves making 3 molds!
The 2nd mold with is a rubber positive of the design that looks just like the plaster version only it’s made of rubber is used to easily deal with undercuts and the like when making a rigid plaster piece mold from it,the rubber is soft and flexes and the plaster mold can easily be pulled off it even when there’s undercuts.
That 3rd mold- the plaster mold is the one that will be used to hand-press the clay into, if this wound up selling a lot I would make a 4th mold- of the plaster piece mold so that I can pour new molds as easy as pouring plaster. Without the 4th mold if the 3rd plaster piece mold gets broken or wears out from use, it’s more work and time to make a new one from the second mold.