A porous, open-pore, hardened, plastic mold for shaping a ceramic article by any of various ceramic shaping methods. The mold is prepared by subjecting a water-in-oil emulsion to hardening in the desired mold shape without breaking the emulsion and then drying the hardened, shaped mold. The emulsion has incorporated in it any of sodium disilicate or disodium tetraborate to accelerate the shaping of the ceramic article in the mold. The emulsion may also have incorporated in it any of microbeads of glass, barite, quartz powder and powdered polymers to reduce the pure volume and increase the mechanical strength of the porous, open-pored hardened, plastic mold.