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Rubber & Mother Molds
The first step in the process of lost-wax casting is the creation of a rubbermold that can capture detail right down to the artists' figerprints and allow many faithful editions to be produced over time.
The original item can be almost anything: found object, or sculpture in clay or other moldeling material. For larger sculpture, styrofoam models based on a smaller maquette are often made of the piece or sections thereof.
Metal shims are applied to the original to provide parting lines in the plaster mother mold that will be applied. A layer of rubber is painted over the surface. Smaller items may simply be suspended in a container and rubber poured around them. Fragile and organic objects can be molded in dental gel. These temporary molds can cast waxes that can be used to make more permanent rubber ones.
Large pieces, however, require a mother mold to support the floppy rubber mold. Plaster is applied in layers and reinforced with burlap for strength. After the mold has hardened, it is pulled away from the shims and removed in sections. These sections fit together, providing a receptacle into which wax can be poured.
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