Want to see how my attempt at plaster casting went? Check out this video I made of the experience!
Hello everyone!
This week our ART 110 class started our first project, which happened to be plaster casting. Truthfully I have never done plaster casting before so I was actually nervous. But despite my nerves, I was more so excited to try something new. And what better place to try something new than at the beach? We had the opportunity to meet up with Glenn at Seal Beach on Wednesday, September 19th for art on the beach and some excellent tea! Before the day of the activity, my friend Brayden and I went on a weekend journey to Home Depot and Daiso to gather the supplies for plaster casting. I always tend to forget how much of an art store Home Depot tends to be, but once again I was pleasantly surprised! After gathering the supplies, it became a waiting game until the fateful day came around. Audrey (my roommate) and I met up on Wednesday to take the bus to Seal Beach. It was a pretty easy trip thankfully, and we got there with enough time to complete the project without much trouble.
Now keep in mind, I had no prior experience with plaster casting, so I was immediately lost. But never fear! When in doubt, never be afraid to ask for help. After asking some fellow classmates and gaining the information necessary to properly complete the task at hand, Audrey and I set to work digging our respective holes (letters in Audrey’s case, as she decided to make a T and an M, while I was set on making a heart out of my hands for my sister and I). After digging my hole and getting Audrey’s help to fill the hole with wet sand when I was ready to put my hands inside, I eventually had a mold ready to be filled with plaster mix. This turned out to be the most stressful part, as I really did not want to mess up because I only had a 4 pound bag of plaster. Nevertheless, the pouring process went as smoothly as it most likely could for a first timer. As hopeful as I could be for the outcome of the project, it was then time to wait 45 minutes for the plaster to dry in the molds.
In the mean time, Audrey and I decided to have some fun doing cartwheels on the beach (thank you to Glenn for taking one of the best photos of us having fun I’ve ever seen). I also had some of the amazing tea that was brought to the beach and it honestly made the day so much better. Nothing is better than tea if I do say so myself!
Wonderful teas aside, the time had finally come to carefully dig our plaster body parts out of the holes and my nervous were once again at an all time high. After all, what if I had messed up completely and failed the project? Anxiously I dug my plaster hands out of their molds only to discover that I had not failed. Kind of.
See, considering it was my first time plaster casting I should not have been surprised that my plaster would not turn end up looking like hands in a heart shape. Yet even so, I was quite surprised when I pulled the finished plaster out of their molds and discovered that instead of looking like hands, they looked like small dinosaurs! I certainly was not angry by this discovery in fact I was even happier with the final product than my original idea. But that’s art for you! 🙂
Although continuing to plaster cast things may not be the most practical idea for every day life, I am honestly considering taking it up as a hobby, primarily because it is a really fun activity to take part in and nothing makes me happier than going to the beach so it’s a win-win situation!
All in all, I had a really fun time at Seal Beach plaster casting and I would love to do it again some time. Maybe next time I’ll try making a plaster foot as a nice little homage to the sandcastle foot my friends and I made in the past…but that’s a story for another day. Thank you to Glenn for giving us the opportunity to attempt such an interesting art form and coming to the Beach to help us all out!
That’s all for now everyone! I hope you all have a great week, now go make some art!
Art and Those Who Make It 