Friday, October 15, 2010

Plaster of Paris Sea Creatures by Heather

Experiment # 4: Pouring Plaster of Paris in Molds

You will need:
• Sea World mold by Knorrpandell
(There are other molds you can choose from at Art friend.
Soap, candle and chocolate molds also work
well with Plaster of Paris. I prefer Knorrpandell molds
since they make lots of interesting designs.)
• 1 kilo of Plaster of Paris
• A mixing bowl
• Water
• A disposable mixing stick
• Acrylic (Marie brand) or poster paint (Sakura brand)


Before you start this exercise, line your table with a plastic sheet.
Don't be like me and use bubble wrap surplus.
Heather spent a good 5 minutes popping those bubbles
before I finally had her attention!

Mix the Plaster of Paris. Follow these instructions.
Pour the mixture in each sea creature mold.

Let it dry.

You will notice that it hardens quite quickly.
Feel the surface once it looks like the moisture has evaporated.
You will notice that at first, it will be very cold.
It's like holding a wet porous stone. Then in minutes,
it starts to get very, very warm. I made Heather touch it,
she seemed fascinated :) Plaster of Paris is quite safe for children.
Just make sure that you assist them if you feel that they
are too young to do it themselves. Let them mix, let them pour.
Always involve them. It's an important part of the creating process :)



Remove the dried plaster from the mold.
Then prepare to be amazed.
I didn't tell her how to paint any of these sea creatures.


(Heather is one of my students in my Art Camp Experiment.)