.Part One.
As previously mentioned, I've been contemplating making life-sized, 3D self-portraits in the form of soft-bodied dolls with hard heads, arms, and legs. Originally, I was going to attempt to sculpt my likeness from paper mache, but I think that medium would
a.) be too heavy, and
b.) not lend itself to the fabrication of details (such as my nose), as every paper mache visage I've crafted in the past has ended up flat and misshapen.
After thoroughly researching the various methods of casting one's face, comparing the prices of Plaster of Paris at Michael's, Lowe's, Hobby Lobby, and Home Depot (in that order), deciding that I can't afford latex foam and that it was too late in the evening to hit up a dentist for alginate, I ended up buying plaster cloth wrap, this miraculous little package of stuff called 3D Gel, and an assload of Vaseline.
Here's something to keep in mind should you ever try to make a mold of your own face: it is infinitely easier to plaster over your eyes if you have an assistant. Also, be sure to REALLY COAT YOUR EYEBROWS AND EYELASHES WITH VASELINE, as well as any other facial hair that you don't want to (slowly and painfully) rip out. Learn from my mistakes.
The process:
It's difficult to photograph your near-complete mask when your eyes are plastered over. And this is a messy process. Don't wear clothes you like.
The result:
The outside of the cast is not accurate: the nose had to be built up to seal off the nose-holes I left so I could breath while it dried. I also had to strengthen the eye area, as I miscalculated the amount of gauze it would take to cover them the first time, and was totally blind by the time I realized that I should've prepped more. The last picture is of the inside of the mask.
Currently, the cast is filled with the 3D Gel, which is going to take a while to set. As soon as it does, I'll post pictures.
UPDATE: Here's the finished first mold.
For a first attempt, I'm actually pretty pleased. I'm obviously going to need more 3D Gel, though I probably would've had enough to make a nice initial mold had I been more familiar with it; 3D Gel sets a lot faster than I thought it would, and I didn't have time to spread it around the eye area. I'm going to sand away the bits of plaster that clung to the mold, but I think I'm going to have to make another cast; I need it to be smoother, more accurate, with fewer bubbles. Which means, I'm going to need an assistant. On the bright side, next week I'll be serving another tour of baby-sitting, which means I have a ten y.o. slave at my disposal. Mwa ha ha.
.Part Two.
I was chauffeuring my little sister and her friend around today, and Kevin Rudolf/Lil' Wayne came on the radio. Sister and friend, in unison, declared their love for "Let It Rock", and, being the cool older sister that I am, I asked if they wanted me to pump up the volume. Hm... You know, just typing 'pump up the volume' inspires a yen for Christian Slater movies...
Anyway, I asked if they wanted me to turn it up, and sister said,
No, it's okay. I have it on my iPod.
And friend said,
So do I!
And then they both proceded to pop in their earbuds and listen to exactly the same song that was playing on the radio, in complete isolation from one another.
Now, I'm all for mp3 players. When I was traveling a lot, my iPod saved me from countless awkward situations (Picture me, standing on the Richmond platform, waiting for the tube, pointing to my headphones and shaking my head at the visibly deranged gentlemen trying to talk to me, mouthing the words, "I'm sorry, I can't hear you!"... Picture me, crying on a bench in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport because everything that could possibly go wrong has, effectively ignoring passersby who stop to ask if I need help...) But my sister does this every time we get in the car. When I dropped her off at Skate World last night, she (earbuds in) hopped out of the car and scurried over to her friends (also with earbuds in), where they all stood around in a circle and made half-assed attempts to converse.
-Side note-
Skate World has designated nights wherein the parents of kids attending the elementary schools around town volunteer to chaperone, thus enabling a sort of school sponsored hang out time for the students. Mostly, it's the fifth and sixth graders' excuse to 'flirt' and/or 'fight' without parental observation. They get to pretend to be grown-ups. Disturbingly, the crowd at Skate World on these nights looks exactly like the crowd at The Badlander on Thursday nights, except shorter. What parent lets their 11 y.o. kid dress up like a prostitute to go roller skating? Jesus.
-Resume original rant-
When she doesn't have her iPod plugged directly into her head, it's connected to speakers. When it's neither plugged into her nor the speakers, she's watching t.v. Or a movie. Or playing "Super Mario Galaxy" with the volume turned all the way up. I'm serious; this kid never enjoys silence. She listens to it while 'reading' (a subject she's failing in school), while doing homework (ok, to be honest, reading isn't the only subject she's floundering in: she's pretty much destined to repeat the fifth grade), while we're cooking dinner, while she's brushing her teeth, as she's falling asleep... The kid never just enjoys the sound of silence.
I can't help but feel like this constant stream of sound has to be detrimental to her learning process. Not to mention her social skills. And it's not like she's an anomaly; having spent time with a couple of other kids her age this weekend, I get the impression that a lot of them are perpetually plugged in...
Before someone points out the obvious hypocrisy of my complaint (being that I'm never far from the internet, that I have owned three generations of iPods, and that the copy of "Super Mario Galaxy" she's playing is actually mine), I would like to point out that I enjoy a lot of 'quiet time.' I don't have a radio in my car (which makes for a lot of thinking time while driving). I don't listen to music while I read, or while I write. Most of the time, I have a hard time finding anything I even want to listen to (which is why I've been listening to David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" on repeat for like, three weeks now). Furthermore, when I was 10, iPods didn't exist. I broke Walkmans faster than my parents could scrounge up the cash to replace them. And 'hanging out' meant, for me, sitting around in the clubhouse I built under the avocado tree, working on the 'newspaper' my friends and I were trying to get published (in the spirit of objectivity, I feel compelled to mention that the majority of the material our clubhouse was built from was stolen from construction sites, and the decorations inside the clubhouse were pilfered from a neighbor's house... which brings us to my criminal record. But that's a blog for another day.)
I'm not claiming that I'm more intelligent, or even more socially developed than my sister will turn out to be. I'm just saying: iPods are making the future generations stupid. And that parents need to understand the adverse effect that this constant bombardment of sound is going to have on their kids and actually fucking do something about it.
I once read that the only reason people have children is to prove to their parents that they can raise 'em better. Right now, I think that's probably the only reason I would procreate. Though, this weekend has made me realize that me + a child of my own= bad, bad idea; I am selfish, and kids need to be constantly monitored and/or entertained. And fuck that; I'd rather plaster my face without any Vaseline at all.
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