Supersize Me

So my full-on bookshelf has transformed into something more focused and more do-able. Instead of trying to solve every problem - storage, adaptability, display - I am looking specifically at bookshelves as elements of display and self-portrait. I will be mounting a pair of cast, metal hands directly to the wall. These hands will hold a stack of ten or fifteen books. At the top of the display will be two frames for displaying books with cover art facing forward. One frame is meant to represent the mind and the other the heart, alluding to the idea that some books appeal to our intellect and some to our sentiments.


*********************imagine hands mounted here*******************

So now for the fun part. In order to cast a metal hand I have to first provide the company with a "plaster pattern" of the final product. They will then take this pattern and make a new mold that can survive for reuse through molten hot metal. Once this mold is created it is quite easy to make multiple finished castings. To create this plaster pattern I used a product called alginate which is used in dentist offices to make make molds of teeth. The hand is inserted into this mixture and once it has set the hand is removed to create a perfect hand-shaped hole. It is into this hole the plaster is poured. When the plaster has finished setting the alginate is ripped away and the perfect plaster hand remains.

My first attempt was a bit of a failure as the alginate mixture was full of lumps. Graham was my hand model and his pretty hands ended up looking like they were covered in disease.

I decided I needed some big hands so that the "shelf" could hold some big books. I found them in Peter Dean, one of the instructors in the furniture department who teaches woodworking to the sophomores. He has to be around 6'8" and his hands fit the bill. He was nice enough to give me an hour of his time and luckily we came away with a nice alginate mold. I had planned on doing two sets of hands in case something went wrong along the way, but his hands were so big we used the mixture I had planned on using for two sets on one. Luckily it all worked out.

That is until all the fingers fell off! The alginate mixture is flexible and the slight movement of the loose hand caused it to become detached from the still surrounded fingers. In the end all I got was one thumb to remain attached. Luckily, the breaks were clean and I was able to glue them back on with minimal effect. A little plaster patching and they will be fine.



For scale...