Making a damp box for my hand-sculpted tiles

Last week I went to Fort Worth to purchase some 25 lb bags of clay and a 50 lb bag of mold-making plaster. One of the things I need to make before I do any large scale tile projects is a damp box. A damp box (or for large studios a damp cupboard) is a container or place with high humidity so that the clay or slip does not dry out, allowing it to be worked over an extended period of time. It must retain moisture to keep the environment humid but keep the clay piece itself from sitting in water. I'm making a very basic box since my tiles are maximally 6 x 11. So I have purchased a plastic container with a lid that I am going to pour about 2 inches of plaster into. I will then let the plaster cure for a week or two and then the damp box will be ready for use. In the meantime I'm using plastic bags to keep the tiles moist. The bag system works but you are more likely to loose detail or have smudging due to contact with the plastic bag, hence the damp box project.

Here is an excellent tutorial about Damp Boxes from Laf'n Bear Studio.

Cheryl