How to Make a Life Cast Sculpture

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Making sculpture from life has as many variations as there are body parts (this article uses the hand as an example). Variations will be driven by container size and will effect material measurements. There are many materials you can use to pour your final sculpture. Gardencast is used here.

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Steps

1. Think about what you want to express and decide which hand shape will express that for you.
2. Make a container the size of your hand out of cardboard or foam core.
3. Mix dermagel mold material to pour into your mold.
   • Measure 3 cups dermagel into a ziploc bag.
   • Measure 4 1/2 cups water in a bowl.
   • Pour water into the ziploc bag with the dermagel. Mix until smooth -- work quickly, it gets firm in 4 minutes or so.
   • Pour dermagel into your container 1/2 inch from the surface.
4. Put your hand in the mold, and keep it as still as possible. After about 5 minutes (when dermagel is firm), release hand sowly by wiggling your fingers and separating the mold edge from your hand.
5. Cut off any unnecessary material that wrapped around your fingers. There should be no severe undercuts. If there are you will be digging dermagel out with a tooth pick from your final sculpture.
6. Clean your mess with water.
7. Prepare clean bowls and water for Gardencast.
8. Mix Gardencast
   • Sift 1 1/2 cups sand 2 1/2 cups Gardencast into 3/4 cup water. You are aiming for very grainy pancake batter.
   • Add 1 Tbsp of concrete colorant.
   • Use a wire whisk or drill attachment or hand to mix
   • Let it rest for about 5 minutes.
9. Pour Gardencast into the most shallow place in the mold, usually the palm. Let the liquid do the work.
10. Fill until covered and wait about 10 minutes.
11. Insert hardware and sign your piece. Keep an eye on firmness. You want the hardware to sink in but not disappear; one minute it is like quicksand and the next it can get too hard to put your hardware in.
12. Scrape your signature into the Gardencast.
13. Wait until it is hard -- at least an hour or over night.
14. Strip away container and dermagel surrounding your hand and behold your glorious hand sculpture.
15. Chase away any imperfections with a butter knife.

Tips

• Wear a respirator when mixing powder material.
• Don"t get casting material in your eyes.
• Wear goggles.

Warnings

• Don't ingest any of the supplies.
• Work outside and cover any surfaces that you don't want to get casting material on.
• If you work inside cover counters and floor with plastic.

Things You'll Need

• Household items you might have or can get at the hardware store would be:
• Duct tape, scissors, cardboard, foam core, a utility knife, plastic bags, zip lock bags, butter knife,sponge,tablespoon
• Two plastic, metal or glass bowls that you can mix in and will not eat out of later.
• Dust mask
• Latex gloves
• Dermagel and Gardencast from sculpture supplier
• D rings from hardware store.

Related wikiHows

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• How to Make a Sculpture
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• How to Do Ceramic Sculpture
• How to Animate Clay
• How to Make a Plaster Cast of a Lady's Derriere
• How to Make a Panty Hose Sculpture

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