How to Create a Plaster Sculpture

Creating a plaster sculpture can be a fun activity. Start small for your first sculpture, but then, once you're successful, you're only limited by your imagination. Perhaps you'll find yourself compelled to make a plaster sculpture of a human head.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Begin simply. Choose a human head for your first sculpture. Find a simple drawing if a head and use that to create your model.
2. Build an armature or frame for your sculpture. Glue or nail a dowel to a base. The dowel should be about 2 to 3 inches shorter than the final height of what your finished head sculpture should be.
3. Create the rounded portion of the frame with flexible wire. Fasten flexible lengths of wire to the base, and curve the wire upward to create the framework for the head. Use at least 4 wires. The size should be smaller than the final head sculpture.
4. Mix plaster of Paris with water. Fill a bucket halfway with clean cold water. Scoop out a large spoonful of plaster, and run it through your fingers to make sure there no foreign bodies in it. Continue dropping in more spoonfuls of plaster, filtering it with your hands all the while, until small mounds form on the top of the water. Make sure that you do this continuously, so that the plaster hardens evenly. Insert your hand to make sure you didn't miss any clumps of dirt, leaves or whatever.
5. Use some strips of cloth to finish making the armature. Tear rags into strips that are at least 50 centimeters long, and dip each strip into another mixture of plaster and water. Create this second mixture by putting 2 inches of clean, cold water into the bottom of a bucket, and add some plaster of Paris as in Step 4. Once you have a good mixture, dip in the cloth strips, and wind them around the wire supports on your armature. Let the cloth dry before continuing on to the next step. This can take about an hour.
6. Apply the plaster from the larger batch to the armature. Add more than you need because you can always take or carve away the plaster to create your sculpture. You can do this with your hands or a trowel. Add more for the forehead and the nose should be higher on the sculpture than the bottom of the head.
7. Use any sharp tool you wish to carve out the eyes, mouth, ears and nostrils, as well as shaping the nose and other details. You can find these tools at crafts stores or building supply stores. If you need to add more plaster to make a detail larger, wet the plaster to create adhesion.
8. Keep your sculpture inside, as it will last longer. If you with to have your plaster sculpture outside, you will have to treat it in some fashion so it will not slowly melt away. Contact an art supply store for input and advice on this aspect of creating your sculpture.

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