~BIRTH ART~
I painted these while I was pregnant..I call them my birth art!
Here is my own personal belly cast before I sanded and painted it! At the end of this page you will find more pictures of decorated and very artistic belly casts!!
Directions for Belly Casting!
This is a wonderful way to honor and preserve the amazing reality of how your body changed to grow a baby. While making the cast, fathers often feel a new connection between themselves and the mother, and an appreciation, if not awe, of her changing body!
A photo captures your body's changes two dimensionally, but a belly cast adds the dramatic third dimension of depth. In the years to come, you can view it from all angles, touch the curves, and explore the inner concavity where your baby curled up waiting to be born.
Even if you are uncertain about doing this kind of birth art, do it anyway. As time goes by, and your love for your baby grows, this memento will mean even more to you.
Mother: Choose Your Pose
Standing or sitting on the edge of a seat, will result in a more round, more full-bodied sculpture. Experiment with various poses: lean forward, to one side or back, or against the wall-find the shape/pose you want to preserve. Assume a position in which you can remain fairly still for about 20 minutes. Don't lie down!! This position produces a flattened breast-belly sculpture.
What You Will Need
*Oil, water-soulable jelly and/or a thin layer of cotton quilt batting or cotton pre-casting (used to wrap a fractured extremity before casting; can be bought at a medical supply store).
*Fast-drying (5 to 8 minutes) plaster bandages (used to make casts for broken bones, they are inexpensive and can be bought at medical supply stores). Get eight (2 or 3 inch) rolls to cast just breast and belly, or 12 rolls if you include shoulders, upper arms, and upper 1/3 of thighs. If you buy 4 or 6 inch rolls, use less.
I have also found wonderful plaster strips that work very well at Michaels Craft store. They are called Rigid Wrap and are about $5 a package. I use 2 or 3 packages per cast. So, be sure to check your craft stores in the paper mache', plaster of paris section!
*Plastic table cloth, old shower cutrain or a drop cloth to protect the floor.
*A cake pan of hot water,to dip the strips of plaster bandages in.
*Art supplies to decorate body cast: Plaster of paris if you want to smooth the origional rough gauze surface; and to enhance features such as nipples or belly button, as well as strengthen the cast. Wire mesh "sandpaper" to get a really smooth plaster surface. Shellac to seal and preserve your creation.
What to do: Getting ready
Sculptor:
1. Put on old clothes or use an apron and roll up your sleeves. Take off any jewlery.
2. Cover the floor with the drop cloth. Make sure the room is warm but well ventilated.
3. Cut the plaster bandages into strips approximately 6, 10 and 14 inches long.
4. Generously apply lubrication to the mother's breasts, belly (neck/arms/thighs), going no more than half way around her sides and just above the pubic hair. If necessary, use cotton padding to cover armpit, belly or pubic hair. (If you don't use enough lubrication or padding, remind the mother to use one of her pain techniques as her hair is being pulled out when the cast comes off!) :o)
Making The Cast
1. Fill the pan with warm water.
2. Glide one plaster strip at a time through the water for a few seconds. Never let go of the strip, keeping it taut, open and flat, (don't let it fold or twist).
3. With the short (6 inch) strips you can gently squeeze out the excess water by running your index and middle fingers down the strip.
4. Apply the strip to the mother's body. Smoothing and over lapping the strips in various directions strengthens the body cast.
5. Work Quickly because the plaster begins to set (dry), and the cast begins to seperate from her body about 10 to 15 minutes after you begin.
6. The cast will be ready to remove about five minutes after you are finished casting. Have her help by doing a little "belly dance" to loosen the cast as you ease it off at the edges.
Finishing Touches
The body cast will need about 48 hours to dry completely before you begin decorating it. It may mold if you decide to decorate it before it is done drying.
Before painting or decorating, smooth the surface of the cast by dry-walling it with a pasty mixture of plaster of Paris or paint it with gesso. (Gesso is a white, durable paint-like mixture of plaster used to prepare and smooth the surface of a sculpture before painting).
There is no end to the possibilites: paint, collage with your baby's photos or magazine cut-outs, tissue paper designs, dried flowers, beads, feathers, or written messages.
After your baby is born, you can add footprints (right where he/she used to kick you under the ribs) on the sculpture with ink or paint,....or make an impression of the footprint in wet plaster on the cast.
One couple had a different inspiration...lined with lambskin, their belly cast became a perfect cradle for their baby's first day!
Create and let your imagination SOAR!!!!
BEAUTIFUL BELLY'S!! A special thank you goes to the wonderful women who have decorated these fabulous casts and allowed me to share them!
