China molds postscripts

It takes nine plaster molds to make one Halfling Boreas: one for the body, one for the head, four for the legs, two for the ears and one for the tail. That's a lot of molds!

The molds were made by Alchemy Ceramics. They are over twenty years old, and  Karen has used them a lot. This is why this particular casting has such prominent seams. 

It is possible to cast a china horse in one piece. This is Karen's Roundabout mold. My memory is a little bit fuzzy, but if I'm remembering correctly, it's a three piece mold by Joanie Berkwitz.

photo by Heather Malone

You would think this would be easier, but Karen says the demolding process is tricky. She's broken a lot of Roundies while removing them from the plaster.

Here are a couple beautiful, perfect Roundies that have come out of that mold.

I am the kind of person who really likes to know how things are made, so I really appreciated this part of the TurtleFest. Thank you, Karen, for sharing your knowledge. I have learned so much about China horses from you!