One of the aims of this project was to learn more about moulding and casting processes as this was something I hadnt yet studied on the course. So I did some research into the processes I would need to make my fibreglass boundary rocks. I did this from books such as...
The Mouldmakers Handbook by Jean-Pierre Delpech and Marc-Andre Figueres
and Mouldmaking and Casting by Nick Brookes.

The main subject of this research was into using silicone and fibreglass.
In order to give myself more freedom over the forms I created I chose to sculpt my rocks over MDF and foam structures and then make a silicone mould encased in a fibreglass jacket.

As well as research from books I also got involved in a practical demonstration of these processes with a tutor and a few other students so as to carry out these processes in full before doing it for real with my project work. For this we used alginate to make impressions of a body part. This was the first time I had ever used this material.
We then cast plaster into this alginate mould. The plaster piece was then screwed onto an MDF board.
On this occasion we made a wall of clay over the plaster piece and did the fibreglass first.
After fibreglassing over the plaster and clay, leaving a good sized funnel at the top, we removed the fibreglass and cleaned off the clay.
Once the fibreglass was returned over the clean plaster piece we poured silicone into the mould filling the space where the clay had been. This method ensures an even silicone layer of one standard thickness.

This practice was really helpful. By doing it in a group for the first time I built up my confidence in using these materials and made the process of doing my own moulds much easier.