HOME BLOG

Kanshitsu (1) - Making plaster molds.

I am working on bodies made of hemp cloths and urushi (Japanese lacquer) with a technique called kanshitsu.
Illustration of Cross Section
Partial enlargement of a cutaway drawing of kanshitsu (illustration). The order of the procedure is as follows: plaster mold, base, linen, primer, and urushi (Japanese lacquer) for painting.

This time, I made two types of boxes, one rectangular and the other polygonal, and needed a total of four plaster molds for both the cover and the body.
The model is made in plaster using a sweeping mold and a turntable.

I made a sweeping mold using acrylic and plywood. It needed molds for the bottom and the side.

The bottom shape is made of 2 mm thick acrylic sheet, and the side grindings are made of 1 mm thick acrylic sheet.
On the rotating table, the glass plate, the acrylic bottom plate, and the styrofoam inside, in that order. Plaster is then poured from the top.

On the rotating table, the glass plate, the acrylic bottom plate, and the styrofoam inside, in that order. Plaster is then poured from the top. The plaster was poured several times to harden little by little, so it took more than one hour to make a single mold.
For me, working with plaster is unexpectedly time-consuming, hard, difficult, and usually in winter when it is cold...it requires a lot of energy!
Plaster molds for kansitsu.
They need at least 1-2 days to dry.
A piece to be applied for a public exhibition must be unpublished, so I may not be able to post as much progress on the work as I would like.

2025.01.26
tr. 2025.02.20