Video of the Week: Making a Plaster Reclaim Slab

Hello, As for all that nice white clay in danger of being contaminated, I keep a 5 gallon pail full of clay just intended for mold making. I have recycled the same batch for years. It happens to be white because that is all I use in my studio and I don't like dirty molds or even red/gray clay on surfaces that may come in contact with my white porcelain. As suggested, any heavy object can weight the bowl. Great comments, keep them coming and thanks for watching the videos! Holly

Hello, As for all that nice white clay in danger of being contaminated, I keep a 5 gallon pail full of clay just intended for mold making. I have recycled the same batch for years. It happens to be white because that is all I use in my studio and I don't like dirty molds or even red/gray clay on surfaces that may come in contact with my white porcelain. As suggested, any heavy object can weight the bowl. Great comments, keep them coming and thanks for watching the videos! Holly

Hi again, After I have reclaimed my slurry/slip/slop clay in the indented side of the plaster slab, the mold is generally quite wet from the water extraction. The mold at this point should be dried before any intense wedging can be done on it. Think of it as being in a slightly weakened state until dry. I put the reclaim slab in a sunny window or in a near a vent. I don't like to put it too close to a hot kiln, overheated plaster will make it structurally week. Holly

Hey everybody, I have not had any trouble with plaster chipping off into my clay when wedging or reclaiming. I use #1 Pottery Plaster and I make sure to mix all the dry lumps out. Take extra care to clean off the sharp edges on newly made molds - scrape the edges with a fettling knife and then rub those edges down with a wet, green scrubbie. This will not only clean up the mold but also put a smooth finish on it, which acts like a extra seal against chipping. Holly

Lining the indentation with cloth will help prevent plaster contaminating the clay.

Jo, I think Holly could answer this, but since I just saw your post: The indentation in the mold is for reclaim clay that has been slaked down in water. Simply pour or scoop your sloppy wet clay or slip into the indentation and the mass of plaster will extract the water fairly quickly, making the clay usable and plastic once again.---Sherman

I think it is a brilliant idea, especially for those who have limited space. I've never had problems with plaster pieces sticking in my clay - could it be the type of plaster? Or the mix of plaster making it brittle? I agree with the comments about the sad use of white clay for weighting. I am sure any other heavy object could have been just as good even a brick or tin from the kitchen. Overall a good idea. bev

Thanks for the video. My question is how do you prevent plaster bits from penetrating your clay? I made a reclaim slab and have had some mishaps from plaster pieces I'd missed in the wedging and throwing process. thanks. Lori

How do you reclaim clay with this mold?

Just a thought,may be a good idea to weight the bowl before any plaster is used. Saves contaminating the clay with plaster from off the hands. If there is a problem with getting the weight right, maybe use sand (wet?), poured into the bowl once its in the plaster. It hurt me to see that nice white clay being discarded, lol!