Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Hand Cast in Plaster

It looks almost real. See below for the easy steps a person should take if you want to cast your own body parts for posterity!

Hand Cast














First mix the alginate with an equal volume of water. It sets very quickly so you have to mix it quickly too!








Pour the mix into a suitable container (here a sawn off water bottle) and plunge in the limb that you wish to caste. Pretty soon you are stuck fast.









Now for the life of me can I get this off?






Eventually yes! Fill with plaster and wait a while. It's best to use hard plaster such as "crystocal" but as MWC had run out I had to use a softer fine plaster which makes the mould more brittle. Finally away the alginate and here is the finished cast of my hand in a meditation mudra.

My Old Cast Off Clay Head

Is now a scary garden flower pot ... waste not, want not I say. He lost his ears and a bit of his nose when the plaster mould was made.