Plastered

May I present to you the result of much work this afternoon?

I wish I had photos of the intermediate stages, but here’s what’s been happening the past few days:

1. Mike wraps me in wet plaster bandage.
2. Before it sets completely, cut up center front and center back.  Remove cast.
3. Let cast dry for a couple of days.
4. Using a tapestry needle and button/upholstery thread, sew the two halves of the cast together.
5. “Tape” together the sewn edges using more plaster bandage, first perpendicular to and then parallel to the cuts.
6. Seal up the armholes with more plaster bandage.
7. Through the neck and bottom openings, smear the entire inside cavity with paste wax (as a mold release agent).
8. Seal up the neck with more plaster bandage

And voila! the sculpture you see above.

Tomorrow I’ll start pouring the foam.  This is 3-pound foam, so one cubic foot weighs 3 pounds.  I have a two-gallon kit of foam, which should be plenty for two dress forms.  I probably won’t finish pouring foam until Saturday, though – you have to do the stuff in layers – and after that, I’ll remove it from the plaster mold (hopefully not damaging it too much in the process), sand/rasp down the dress form to the correct measurements, and mount it on the stand.  There are actually more steps, but I’m omitting them for the sake of brevity…I expect this project to take up a good chunk of the weekend.

Wedding-dress-wise, I’ve sewn together and finished all the seams of the second lining.  Tomorrow morning and/or Saturday, I’m going to sew on the pearls, and then on Sunday I’m going off to Sharon’s again, so we can work on dress and coat together.