Workshop - Plaster

On Thursday 6th September I had my first workshop!

This one was plaster, and Laura and I paired up to make casts of each other's hands. This firstly involved lightly coating the hand in vaseline (so the cast would be easy to remove) before using strips of plaster of Paris (dipped in water) laid over the hand. We had to make sure the entire hand was covered, including between the fingers, and the first layer needed to be smoothed carefully so that all details on the hand could be picked up.

Once two to three layers covered the hand (no more than three for safety reasons), it was left a short while to dry and harden before being removed. A bit more plaster of Paris was used to form a 'wall' at the wrist so that the plaster will be held inside the mold.

Then we had to fill the cast with plaster! First the cast was thoroughly washed with diluted soap so that the plaster will not stick. Then plaster was mixed using a bowl of warm water and adding the plaster powder very slowly until small islands rested on the surface of the water. A quick stir and we had a good consistency of plaster that would soon harden.

The plaster was poured carefully into the cast, making sure all nooks and crannies where filled, and it was then smoothed at the top before being left to set.
We noticed that the plaster warmed significantly as it hardened, and when we tore off the strip of plaster of Paris (since our casts were designed for one use only) we were very pleased with the results.

I'm amazed at the details, particularly on the fingers - I can clearly see fingerprints as well as the nails and knuckles. It's so scarily accurate to my hand that it's creepy!
And a small word of advice - do not put plaster casts of your hand on the windowsill and then forget about them - it will give you a fright in the morning when you open your blind.

Geoff (or Jeff?) who was leading the workshop also told us of a sculptor called Antony Gormley who created 'Another Place' which are sculptures of the human form standing on the beach of Liverpool. Looking at photos they seem pretty magnificent with the sea rolling in and out around them.