Death Masks

I was invited to teach a workshop in death masks as part of our library's summer program for Teens - 'Own the Night'.
Friday afternoon, 9 kids, a librarian and I got together with plaster bandages and liquid latex to make castings of their living faces.  I caught some of the action to share with you.

Faces had to be coated with a glaze of Vaseline prior to application of the plaster bandages.

Hair was pulled up with bands in some cases to keep clear of the plaster.

People worked in teams of two.

The plaster was quick drying, but you had to sit very still until it dried.

We covered the eyes last, and left the nostrils clear, covering them after the cast was pulled.

Completed plaster casts were compelling images in their own right.

A thin coating of liquid latex was poured into the dry plaster casts.

Since it is so humid on our Island, the latex had to be left overnight to dry.  I am excited to see how they turned out!

If you are interested in details of the entire process (which is actually dead easy - hee hee), there is a good tutorial here.  Thank you, Evil Slaughter 13.