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Hi everyone, I am six and a half months pregnant with my 4th baby at the moment. I have been having a go at papier mache recently, and would love to make a torso cast of myself while I have my lovely bump! Does anyone have any ideas or advice about how I might go about this? Unfortunately, I don't think I can apply newspaper strips and wait for a few days until it dries, too busy!! Thanks in advance for your help, Nikki
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Whenever i've cast an object this delicate eg: various parts of the human anatomy i've always used alginate to make the mould. It's very flexible and its also very gentle. Once you have the alginate cast you can use it to form your papier mache cast... though i'd use a fine paste rather than strips.
You can buy alginate from Tirantis in the UK or from dental suppliers (it's used for making moulds of the mouth)... if you are friendly with a dentist ask them directly... they may even throw some your way
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I keep promising myself that some time I will do something with alginate, but I haven't reached that yet. Perhaps Martin's advice will encourage me.
David Svoboda (USA) uses a method which might be of interest - pastry. I suppose it works similarly to an alginate. You do, of course, have to give it support, which means a casing of plaster of paris. It does have to be used reasonably soon after mixing and cannot be reused. You would have to use a clingfilm release because the paper would just absorb moisture from the pastry.
Overall, I reckon the alginate is probably the best, if you don't mind the expense.
DavidO
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One technique that I have been experimenting with lately involves clear packing tape. Basically, I cover the body part with cellophane kitchen plastic wrap and then, as neatly as possible, cover the body part with tape...many layers. Then I cut a seam, remove the body part, and am left with a mold of the body part. I use tape to seal up the seam. The mold is suprisingly strong and stiff and serves as a good structure to papier mache over. Once the papier mache (strips, obviously) is dry it is very stiff.
I have done legs and arms so I'm sure it would work for a torso.
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sebrink wrote:
One technique that I have been experimenting with lately involves clear packing tape. Basically, I cover the body part with cellophane kitchen plastic wrap and then, as neatly as possible, cover the body part with tape...many layers. Then I cut a seam, remove the body part, and am left with a mold of the body part. I use tape to seal up the seam. The mold is suprisingly strong and stiff and serves as a good structure to papier mache over. Once the papier mache (strips, obviously) is dry it is very stiff.
I have done legs and arms so I'm sure it would work for a torso.
Thanks for sharing such an interesting idea seabrink! I am really going to have give it a try in the future.
Last edited by butterbee (2008-01-22 13:20:30)
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There is a popular way to make a custom dress form that could work very well for what you want. You will need a friend to help.
Put on a leotard. Tie up your hair and pin it securely so nothing hangs down.
Cut a slit in the top of a dry-cleaning or garbage bag for your head, and two for your arms, put it on over the leotard. Have your friend tape it to form-fit your body.
Get a good supply of plaster-embedded bandage material in rolls, and cut into 12" lengths. (This is the material doctors use to put a plaster cast on your broken arm)
Have your friend pick up one length of plaster bandage at a time, dip it briefly into a bowl of barely-warm water, and start wrapping your body with it, smoothing each strip quickly. About three layers of this material all over your torso should be enough, making sure each layer melds to the last.
As soon as it starts getting stiff, have your friend cut it straight up the back. Then she should spread the opening apart so you can get out of it. Quickly put it back together and repair the cut with a few strips of plaster bandage so the form doesn't shift or warp.
Let sit in a safe place overnight to cure.
To use it as a mold, you would probably have to cut it in half or something, and put some kind of waterproof sealer on the inside before you started applying papier mache, or you would soften the plaster and ruin your work.
TIPS: Plaster and hair of any kind DO NOT MIX. The plaster will only stick to the plastic bag temporarily; it peels off. This kind of plaster bandage is perfectly safe to use on skin; it will heat up a bit, but since it won't be very thick, it won't burn your skin like a large, thick surround of it would, nor will it be uncomfortably warm.
This is NOT for anyone with any sort of claustrophobia! If the person you're wrapping starts to panic, GRAB YOUR SCISSORS AND CUT THE MOLD OFF IMMEDIATELY!
Sue
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I cast my belly when I was 8 months pregnant with baby #4.
I used casting strips I bought at a local craft store, used a generous amount of vaseline all over my body, and used the cast strips. It dried fairly quickly and was easy to get out of.
My husband did the work of laying the wet strips.
I would recommend standing up and casting, because I did 2, one sitting one standing, and the one sitting made my belly distort and it seemed wider than it actually was. The one standing was nice, and we even cast my hand resting on my belly.
I did them beginning of Jan 07 and they are in perfect shape, and i havent finished with them yet (no time to gesso and paint them)
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On this site http://bentleychemicals.co.uk they have a material for life casting. They also have a newsletter that describes doing a body cast.
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i wish i had known about this site when i did mine, unfortunally i did not do it right and did not give it the right support, mine never dried and finally collapsed, i only have pictures of my effort (and my moms) i wonder if it could be recreated, any ideas ? other than the real thing?
Last edited by LillyFish (2008-04-12 05:42:47)
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I don't think you have any hope of recreating it if it collapsed. The 'form' is essential so you know what that means!!!
DavidO
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