All of my plaster molds have been donated. The rest of the time I use styrofoam dishware as a cheap alternative because I work for a public school and my budget is very limited. Plaster molds can be very expensive. I recommend Amaco or Mayco for buying new plaster molds, and auction websites for used ones.
A styrafoam bowl would work well, and would prevent the issues I encountered with the paper sticking to the clay and peeling apart. Just be careful with how much force you use when pressing the clay slab into the bowl. When we tried styrafoam, a few of the bowls got crushed at the bottom and lost their nice shape because the styrafoam wasn't strong enough.
Do you make your own molds or do you buy them?
All of my plaster molds have been donated. The rest of the time I use styrofoam dishware as a cheap alternative because I work for a public school and my budget is very limited. Plaster molds can be very expensive. I recommend Amaco or Mayco for buying new plaster molds, and auction websites for used ones.
would a styrafoam bowl work just as well?
A styrafoam bowl would work well, and would prevent the issues I encountered with the paper sticking to the clay and peeling apart. Just be careful with how much force you use when pressing the clay slab into the bowl. When we tried styrafoam, a few of the bowls got crushed at the bottom and lost their nice shape because the styrafoam wasn't strong enough.
Nesting two Styrofoam bowls might work.