Playing Cat and Mouse ... Out of the Mold & On to the Table

Klean Klay cat originals

1st half of mouse mold framed

Ready to pour 2nd half of cat mold

Completed cat mold

Unglazed porcelain casts

    
     I find it interesting how a project can sometimes start with a simple concept and then gradually morph into something more complex. This is what happened with 'Jeu du Chat et la Souris'. I was taking a mold making class at the Maine College of Art  and had to come up with a project that utilized a plaster gang mold, making at least 50 objects with the mold. My initial idea was to create a board game that utilized game pieces shaped as cat and mouse figures - a "cat and mouse" game. I shaped the game pieces out of Klean Klay and created two plaster gang molds, one containing three different cat figures and the other contained  three different mouse figures. I poured five dozen porcelain slip casts, then fired and glazed them. As I started to construct the game board, I decided that I would extend the board and make wells at each end to hold game pieces that might be taken out of play. This, in turn, led to the decision to actually attach the board to a game table, putting the piece at a realistic 'game situation' height for viewing. As I constructed the game table and painted it, I remembered that I had two old thumb back chairs that would be perfect in size to set at either end of the table. After I painted the chairs to match the table, I added a small braided rug to visually tie the elements together. The original board piece had now been transformed into an installation piece...from an isolated idea to a complete thought.

      *See my blog entry from 8/10/2012 for more about this piece.

...unfinished table base

....base with game board

'Jeu du Chat et la Souris'