Heads on display in paris how to#
Heads on display in paris free#

Take your knife and gently scrap to have a nice smooth surface. The backside of your head is going to have a weird seam where you tied the back of the mold back together. Ripping away the alginate could also bust off the nose or or an ear and ruin all of your efforts. When you get to the facial features, work a bit more slowly. Your knife will easily score the surface of your statue so take care. Carefully use your knife to cut away your plaster bandages and alginate. Place someplace warm to cure for about 2 hours.Īfter your head has set, it’s going to still feel wet and the plaster will be kind of soft. Tap the sides of the head to try and dislodge any air bubbles. Mix up more as needed until you reach an inch or two below the top of your mold. Mix your plaster with water until it has a thick, milkshake-like consistency, carefully pour into the neck hole. As long as you don’t have humongous holes, you’re set. It won’t be perfect, but it really doesn’t need to be. Tie tightly to cinch the cut you made closed. Place the head inside and run the twine around the neck. Once you get the inside cleaned out, fill a box with paper, or drop cloths or something to help hold your form straight up. Any cuts you make will appear on your plaster form. Take care not to mar the alginate inside. Cut the foam head up in chunks and carefully remove. Now I wish there was a way around this but we couldn’t figure it out. Using a knife or scissors, carefully snip up the back of the neck to about the middle of the back of the head. Now we need to hollow out our form by removing the foam head. Use at least three layers, alternating direction between each to reinforce the cast.Īllow the cast to set, approximately one hour. It is best to double the bandages over for a stronger hold.

Dip them in the water, lightly removing the excess. Put some warm water into your bowl and bust out your plaster bandages. And I wonder why my neighbors look at me strangely. Doesn’t it look nasty? Allow to dry about 30 minutes after the last coat.īy the by, this was done on my driveway. Be sure to go around and fill in any gaps or holes present. Smear the alginate on, taking care to shove into the cracks and crevices.Īpply several coats, this is 3.

Check out the plaster cast hands I made to hang on my wall to hold my necklaces and whatnot over on Mom Spark. This stuff is expensive, but it is also wickedly awesome. In that instance the alginate must be a thinner consistency. Other applications of the alginate include pouring it into a container and then placing the item to be cast into it. You’ll want the thicker recipe as the alginate will need to be firm enough to hold its own shape. Take and mix your alginate and water in a large bowl per the manufacturer’s instructions. Box to put mold in + items to hold it upright, e.g.Plaster Gauze Bandages (I used 2 but 3 would have been better).Plaster of Paris (I used about 6-7 pounds).Alginate (I used Alga-Safe) (this stuff is so freaking awesome).

Heads on display in paris free#

This project takes a decent amount of time so be sure that you have a good several hours free to complete the project.

Your statue is going to be heavy, get assistance if necessary if you have difficulty or should not be lifting heavy things.

The plaster gets hot as it sets, don’t be alarmed.

No need to worry if you have some on your hands, I’m specifically talking about submerging your fingers into the plaster as it is setting (though I don’t know why you’d do that but just to be safe).

You can lose a finger if you allow the plaster to set up around it.

All clean up should be done outside, with a hose if possible.

Never, ever wash your utensils and tools in your sink, the plaster can set up in your pipes.

This is a very, very messy project so working and snapping pics wasn’t going to happen, but you should be able to work this baby out all by your lonesome if necessary.įirst, a few safety guidelines and informative bits about this project, specifically plaster of Paris. In my pics I’m photographing my lovely assistant doing the work. Tomorrow I’ll go over the deets on how I decorated mine, but first you gotta make it, right?

Heads on display in paris how to#

Today we’re going to cover how to cast a plaster of Paris head statue.

Now working out how exactly to DIY this was another bear and a half. It actually amazes me at how long it took me to come to the conclusion that DIY was the only way to go. I began to realize that even if I did, shipping was going to be a bear and a half. When I tried to search online I only found images of ancient statues, not of anything to purchase. For instance, I desperately wanted a head statue. Sometimes I get some strange ideas in my head.