CIMG5020 Me in a face casting frame

CIMG5020 Me in a face casting frame. The snug fit of the frame around my face probably helped to prevent alginate from running off onto my hair and neck.

The end goal was to make a plaster mask of my face, as documented step by step in my blog post.

My friends M and P used to make plaster masks based on real human faces. They would first make a cast of a person’s face from alginate, a gooey material that captures the shape of your facial features to a tiniest detail. On its basis they would make an actual mask out of plaster.

First, M prepared a cardboard frame with a face-shaped hole in it. Then she made the hole fit snugly around my face by putting weatherstripping around its sides.

February 2007, Austin, Texas