18. PLASTER BAT

Material    — plaster of Paris

Tools         —cardboard, or cardboard box; gummed brown paper tape 1 or 2" wide; enamel pan; spoon; pie plates

The plaster bat is an indispensable item of the beginner's equipment and is easily and eco­nomically made. It is used primarily for support­ing a piece while it is being worked on and for keeping it in a moist, plastic state. The bat is kept moist by soaking or dipping it in water according to how much moisture the clay object needs.

Making plaster bats provides a background of experience for casting. Plaster bats can be made in any size, and a variety of sizes are needed. Three each of the following sizes will be ade­quate for all the projects in this book: A" x A"; 6" x 6"; 6" x 10"; and the average pie plate size: 9" in diameter.

Any cardboard box can be used for the rec­tangular tiles. It can be cut to size and the edges taped with gummed paper tape on the inside and outside to prevent leakage. Use 1" or 2" brown gummed tape for the purpose. If a card­board box cannot be found, a box can be made by cutting four pieces from a sheet of cardboard, one for each side, about two inches high, and a piece for the bottom. These are taped together on the inside and outside. Take special precau­tion to sea \ the corners. As an added safety meas­ure, set the box on the table and wedge moist clay along the outside bottom edge, especially at the corners. This will block any leakage of water or plaster if a seam is not well sealed with the gummed tape (Figure 4).

Figure I - Make a rectangular box of cardboard.

Figure 4-Finished plaster bat.

Figure 2—Sift plaster through your fin­gers.

An amount of plaster, a little more than the vol­ume of the plaster bat to be made should be mixed. Plaster bats from 4" x 4" to 6" x 8" should be about 1" thick. They should be thicker in pro­portion as their size increases. A 4" x 4" bat equals about ½ pt. water, 1 pt. plaster; a 6" x 6" bat equals about 1 pt. water, 1 ⅓ qts. plaster; a 6" x 10" bat equals about 1 qt. water, 2 qts. plaster.

Fill a bowl or an enamel pan with cold water, the same volume as the plaster bat you wish to make. Sift plaster through your fingers (Figure 2), or with a spoon, into the water until a cone rises 1 ½" above the top of the water. You will be able to see the plaster mounting underneath the water. Stir the mixture gently with your hand. Never, stir the mixture when adding plaster. When it forms a creamy coat on your fingers it is ready to pour (Figure 3). Pour the plaster into the box as soon as it is ready. When it is com­pletely hard or set (about 15-30 minutes) break away the sides and bottom of the box. The plaster bat is completed. (Figure 1.)

Plaster bats are easily made in paper pie plates (Figure 5). Just pour the plaster into the plates and break away the plate when the plaster is set. If you keep a supply of these plates on hand you can make a bat with any extra plaster you may have from another project. While these round bats will serve all purposes, they are especially practical for sculpture because they can be easily turned so that one can study the sculpture from every side.

Figure 3—When it forms a creamy coat on your hand it is ready to pour.

Figure 4 —Circular bats made in paper pie plates are especially practical for sculpture.

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