Press-Molds

An Introduction to Relief Sculpture and Plaster Mold Making

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards

  • 1. Empowered Learner -- Students leverage technology to an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goal, informed by the learning sciences.
  • 1a. Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
  • 1b. Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose and use/troubleshoot current technologies.
  • 1c. Student are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.
  • 2. Digital Citizen -- Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that safe, legal and ethical.
  • 2a. Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
  • 2b. Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of copyright and sharing intellectual property.
  • 3. Knowledge Constructor -- Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
  • Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
  • 4. Innovative Designer -- Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
  • 4a. Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving problems.
  • 4b. Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
  • 4c. Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
  • 5. Creative Communicator -- Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
  • 5a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
  • 5b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
    • *All standards listed above are based on the ISTE standards.
    The teacher demonstrates how to make small (low relief) objects using water-based clay. After a small piece is made, the teacher demonstrates how to wall up the piece, mix plaster, and pour a mold.

    These small molds are called, "Press-Molds" because we press clay into them repeatedly to produce multiple casts from the mold.



    Evaluation:
    1 point -- No larger than 2X2X1 inch tall
    3 point -- No undercuts
    3 points -- 3 casts made
    3 points -- Minimal bubbles and distortion

    10 points total

    Heart mold below by Ruby H.

    These small pieces can be added, as decoration, to clay cups and bowls like below:


    In the piece below there are alot of undercuts but the image could inspire a great press mold.