The finished lifecast of Chris Pilcher's face, made with a plaster-gypsum mix, and with a faux-metallic finish.

There I sat, my face covered in goop, my hair wadded up in a rubber bald cap and my chest covered in a barber’s drape. No, this wasn’t the result of a wild night out gone horribly awry, but art in progress. Lifecasting is an art form. It is also a lot of fun. The premise is simple: take a mold of someone’s face, hand or other body part using a substance called alginate, pour some plaster into the mold, and voilà! You have art!

In practice, it actually takes years of experience to do correctly, as something as simple as the wrong water temperature when making the alginate can result in a problem. And, of course, you cannot just take a cast of someone’s belly, stick it on a wooden board, and say, “Here you go, that’ll be 50 bucks.

Many lifecasts are painted after they finish drying.

But, you may ask, who practices such an art? Lots of people. There is a world-wide community of artists, called the Association of Lifecasters International, or ALI for short. Members range from part-time hobbyists to professional lifecasters. And, as chance would have it, NOVA is graced with the presence of one such member, NOVA Fortnightly’s own Kama Storie.

Based out of Fairfax, Storie has been lifecasting for 10 years, and the experience definitely shows. It isn’t easy, keeping the alginate out of a person’s airways, while simultaneously trying to spread it to the entire face before it starts to dry. Storie did a spectacular job of keeping one of my most basic and needed functions working. The whole process took about 30 minutes, including the time it took to mix the alginate and cut the plaster bandages.

So what exactly is the process?

It starts with a bald cap, keeping hair out of the face and therefore out of the path of the alginate. Then comes the relaxing cholesterol conditioning, which covers any and all facial hair so that it, too, does not stick to the alginate. After this is done, the alginate is spread all over the face, even over the eyes and the lips, but keeping the nostrils clear. Once this layer sets a little, another layer of alginate goes on, which is promptly covered with a plaster bandage, so that the mold will keep its shape.

From there, the mold is pulled off the face, and the person can take a nice, deep breath through his mouth. But that isn’t all. After the mold is completely dried and ready for casting, the artist mixes together a plaster made of gypsum and subsequently pours it into the mold.

Once the plaster has dried, the mold is cut away, revealing in stunning detail a replica of the subject’s face. From here on out, it is all down to creativity. The artist may paint pictures on the cast or coat it in a metallic paint, making it look like metal, or even simply leave it the way it is.

Many different body parts can be cast. The material used for the mold is the same material used by dentists to take molds of teeth and is therefore non-toxic. Many people have their children’s hands or feet lifecasted. Some people even have casts taken of babies before the babies are even born. These are called pregnant belly masks, and are usually decorated with pictures, writing or a mold of the mother’s arms holding the mask.

There are also many casts of adults holding hands with their children or spouses. Newlyweds often get a cast made of their hands sporting their wedding rings, and in some cases, the wedding rings themselves are even added to the finished mold, so that they never lose the ring.

Molds have been taken of animals: dogs, cats, lizards, snakes. You name it, they have probably had a cast taken of it. This is a good way for someone to remember a pet, even long after the pet has passed on.

Lifecasting is fun. It is different. And it looks very cool. If you want more information, or are interested in having it done to your own face, you can check out Storie’s web site at Body-soul.biz. More information is available on ALI at Lifecasting.org.

By: Chris Pilcher

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