I Have Four Hands!

I have discovered how to clone bodies! or parts of bodies!

A great artist and good friend of mine, Anderson Lewis, makes awesome sculptures. See some of his work!!! The other day, we made molds of my hands for him to work from as reference. I thought this is a great idea to get the pose you want so that you can work from it almost from life, without having the model pose for infinity.

I want to record this process here so I don't forget it and share it with all. Sorry, no step by step photos, only photos of the finished product.


I may want to try this one day. I can build up a collection of random body parts! Then I can piece them together and with a few bolts of electricity, make a monster assistant he he he...

Anyway, let's start with the materials:

• water

• alginate- the one Anderson used was called "dermagel."

• plaster- any type; your main options are red tag ( the normal one), hydracal ( a litle denser, and ultra cal (that's the one Anderson used)
  

• 3 buckets or containers- one to prepare the alginate, one to prepare the plaster, and one for the mold. Make sure you puncture a hole in the bottom of the container being used for the mold. Then seal it with tape. This is so that after the plaster dries, the mold can be easily removed.

1. Measure out equal parts of alginate and water. Pour water into alginate and mix with your hands until you get a smooth runny consistency. No lumps!!! Add more water if necessary.

2. Pour the alginate in the container for the mold and insert the item/ subject matter to be replicated. This is when I stuck my hand into the alginate and held it for about 10-15 minutes until the alginate started to set. Setting times may vary depending on humidity and temperature of the environment.

3. While the alginate is setting, prepare the plaster. Fill up a container with water and scoop in portions of the plaster until it emerges on the surface, like the formation of an island.

4. When the alginate is ready, carefully wiggle the object out of it's cavity. Fill the cavity with plaster tap the sides of the container to release trapped air. The plaster is ready to be removed when water and moisture has completely evaporated from the top.

5. To remove the mold, turn the container over and remove the tape over the hole. The whole thing should slide out- alginate and plaster. Carefully remove all the alginate by carving away at it. And, if you did everything right, you will have a sculptural clone of your subject matter!!!

Every detail is recorded - the nails, finger prints and knuckle creases!