diy plaster heads x Couch Magazin

a decorative and fun way to get a bit of artsy decorative sculpture into the house

need:

styrofoam heads (from the craft store/ dollar store, sometimes used as wig holders)

pen to mark the shape

carving tool such as knife

plaster

(as an alternative you can use craft concrete)

gloves to protect your hands

big brush to spread the plaster

Get a feel

mark the most pronounced parts of your head to have some kind go guide of what you wanna keep from the existing structure

( the first one I made I just went in with the knife and I felt you tend to cut away way too much way to fast - thats why its so small - so I felt its good to have some kind of guide)

get cutting

cut around your marked lines leaving the parts you want to have stick out.

I went around the ears first to give the head a pair in the first place, and then I started carving the face structure

keep your cool

it might look super weird at first and one might ask why you cut into the head in the first place. but goal is to create something that looks like roughly carved from stone or concrete, something along those lines

I tried to cut in big chunks to you get these flat surfaces next to each other. to make the nose area a bit more pronounced I cut into the eye area and made it a big flat surface to get rid of the eye lid shape on the styrofoam.

carve your heart out but don't do too much

you can basically carve away as much as you like. but once its gone its gone, so I would suggest to carve just thin slices and slowly work your way to the headshape you like.

I went ahead and cut away the base part around the neck and carved the neck as well.

a little heavier goes a long way

since the styrofoam is so super light I tried to give it some extra weight to get a safe stand. Usually these heads have a hole in the bottom to stick them onto something, I made the hole a big bigger with a knife to get more material in

once enlarged I filled it with plaster to get a heavy base and get the center of gravity to the bottom.

the cover

last step is to cover the whole thing in plaster. the brand I used is fast curing so I tried to mix just small amounts at once, otherwise you can be left with a big pot of cured plaster before you're done.

I like to make the mixture kinda thin, a little bit like thinned out peanut butter, so its spreadable with a brush.

the smear

cover the whole head in a thin layer and let it dry.

I felt layering thin layers and letting them cure in between was an easy way to get the whole thing covered.

I like the kinda rough and bumpy texture, if you're more after a smooth texture you can take a brush and dampen it with water to smooth out the plaster before fully cured.

once completely cured you can also easily sand it, same thing goes for craft concrete.

trust the process

take your time and just look what's happening while covering and if you like it, since plaster is so cheap you can always add a little more or smooth it a little more.

last thing to to is let them fully dry. usually plaster cures quite fast but is still damp and has this darker beige colour, wait a few days and you'll get a pure white fully dried head. I had mine placed near a space heater wich speeds up the process.