For this assignment, we were tasked to mold and cast our fingers. This assignment was a fairly shorter process compared to the other assignments. I never molded anything before and I am glad I now know the ratios and ingredients of the materials required to successfully execute this project. Follow the steps below to recreate your own!

Step 1: Make Your Own Cup O’ Mold

The first step is to create the finger mold. To do so, we used alginate which is a cheap, water-based material. It is important to get the ratios correct and stir aggressively to remove all the air bubbles. If too much water is added, it will take longer for the mold to cure. I used a 4:1 ratio of water to alginate (250g : 50g) and stirred for about 4 minutes to get the desired consistency. My cup o’ mold was now ready. I then stuck my index finger in the mold and waited for a whole 5 minutes without access to my pointer finger. After the mold was dried to a jelly-like substance, I carefully rescued my finger and pulled it back to the sunlight.

Step 2: Introduce the Cast

Now that my finger had left a negative impression on the alginate mold, it was time to introduce the plaster to the mold. For the plaster, we used a 2:1 plaster-to-water ratio (30 g: 15 g), stirred and stirred, and poured it into the mold. To make sure the plaster reached all the way to the bottom, I tapped the cup with the mold and poured more in until it was full. Now that the plaster was in the mold, I attached the screw. The head of the screw was placed in the plaster, and the tip of the screw was secured with a piece of tape going around and on top of the cup o’ mold. This was then left to dry. I came back the next day, and carefully pulled out my fake finger from the mold, and voila! My not-so-creepy finger hook.

Step 3: Repeat, Repeat 

Since we were tasked to make 2, I repeated steps 1 and step 2 to create another one. Easy Peasy.

Step 4: Make ’em Pretty

Now that I have 2 index fingers, it is time to make them look pretty. For post-processing, I spray-painted my fingers a metallic gray, left them alone for a couple hours, and then clear-coated them.

Now that I look at them closely, I think I might need to give them a serious manicure.

But, finger wall hooks are now ready! If I were to do this again, I think I might curve my finger a bit more so they fulfill the purpose of a hook. Regardless, I love them! This assignment taught me how important it is to get the ratios correct when it comes to molding. Luckily, I did not run into issues with this one!

Step 5: Calculate the Worth of Your Fingers

Material Costs: 
Alginate: 100g, sold @ $8.99/454g = $1.98
Plaster: 60g, sold @ $10.78/2136g = $0.30
Silicone Cup: 1 pc, sold @ $9.99/10pcs = $1.00
Screws: 2pcs, sold @ $6.97/238pcs = $0.06
Matte Clear Coat: $6.48
Silver Spray Paint: $10.48
Total = $20.30
Labor Costs:
1.5 hours * $7.25/hour = $10.88
Total = $10.88
Grand Total = $31.18