[bloodrock (OP)]

Hi,
I am currently working on an art project and I need some advice
I have a bunch of rocks/crystals that I have crushed into a fine powder. The goal is to use that powder and shape/mould it to create various different things. I want to be able to shape this powder into any form and let it cure so that it hardens and becomes a rock solid object.

I do not how exactly to go about this. What substance I might need to mix with the powder or what techniques I need to use. I feel like there might be a few different methods to achieve the result I am looking for. So I am hoping someone from this community can provide a solution.

I have attached a photo of the desired end product.


Screen Shot 2020-07-21 at 7.04.28 PM.png (479.32 kB . 644x574 - viewed 12347 times)

[Bored chemist]

Well...
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2016/06/029.html

[evan_au]

I have seen a demonstration of lava pouring at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii.
- But it takes a long time to make lava out of lava...

Is it possible to leave the hard rock as hard rock, and just carve it?
- This would be traditional sculpture

Perhaps the easiest would be to mix the hard rock powder with cement (which is a soft rock powder) and water, and let it set in the shape you want.
- If it doesn't need to be durable, you can mix the hard rock powder with plaster-of-paris (which is an even softer rock powder)

[chiralSPO]

In addition to using cement as a binder,  you might consider using a glue or resin. (some experimentation required. to find ratios and setting time etc.)

[Monox D. I-Fly]

Hi,
I am currently working on an art project and I need some advice
I have a bunch of rocks/crystals that I have crushed into a fine powder. The goal is to use that powder and shape/mould it to create various different things. I want to be able to shape this powder into any form and let it cure so that it hardens and becomes a rock solid object.

I do not how exactly to go about this. What substance I might need to mix with the powder or what techniques I need to use. I feel like there might be a few different methods to achieve the result I am looking for. So I am hoping someone from this community can provide a solution.

I have attached a photo of the desired end product.


Screen Shot 2020-07-21 at 7.04.28 PM.png (479.32 kB . 644x574 - viewed 12347 times)

Wait, is that a Porygon?

[chris]

The people who do marble restoration use a resin to which marble dust is added; it goes off in about 20m producing a marble like solid. Useful for moulding or recasting pieces.

[alancalverd]

Transparent casting resin will do the job nicely.

[JanetSims]

My father works as a dentist and he told me liquid synthetic resin and resin casting is used as a method of plastic casting. In dentistry, it is used with a full confidence that it hardens well and is resistant. In addition, it lends well to modeling. So it's most likely the most suitable for sculpturing. However, if you need something to study about sculpture, you can check out essay examples on art critique [nofollow]  as I read about the sculptures and paintings at the Museum of Contemporary Art and draw some conclusions about this creative domain in general. Plus, I got some tips on how to avoid negative art critique and what materials work best for painting and modeling statues. 

[wolfekeeper]

Yes, the general description for what you seem to want to make is: 'concrete'

You may have heard of it.

There's two main types: mortar based and polymer concrete

Almost any plastic will work for polymer concrete, if you really want you can use a thermoplastic and then you can rework it if you screw anything up.

Thermoset plastic with rock in it is used for concrete worktops, they frequently use acrylic, but epoxy or vinyl or polyester should work fine too. It's easy to test, just get some plastic and start mixing. You don't need or want a whole lot of plastic to stick powder together, it just fills in the gaps between the powder particles.

It helps to have different particle sizes. The small particles fill in the gaps between the big particles, and the glue sticks the whole lot together. You generally want to use as little binder as possible, the binder is expensive and the aggregate is typically cheap.