I was always pretty freaked out by the colorful fingers displayed in the OEDK and I am honestly so glad to now have made my own. This homework was probably one of my favorites, as it involved a fun process that resulted in an even more fun product!
Since, I missed most of the molding and casting demonstration that happened in class, this was my first time doing many of these steps; however, the instructions were through and pretty simple. I started by collecting all of my supplies including materials such as water, alginate, Rockite, and tools like a drill, containers, tape, and a scale. I measured the alginate, water, and Rockite out using a scale prior to starting.
I then followed the directions, starting with mixing 6.75 oz of alginate with 1.5 oz of water. Using a drill with an attached stirring bit, I mixed these materials together, gradually pouring more water into the alginate. I believe that I stirred the mixture together too long before sticking my fingers in, as it was already hardening when trying to get my fingers in.
Instead of just doing two fingers, I tried to do three in case something happened and one was unusable. It was a pretty tight squeeze, but I was able to fit all three in the mold. Keeping my fingers in the alginate solution was a little uncomfortable as the consistency of the solution got worse and worse as it hardened and it was cold.
Once it had been five minutes, I removed my fingers and started on the Rockite solution. To make sure I had enough of the solution for all three fingers I doubled the measurements, 20 grams of water with 70 grams of Rockite. The Rockite solution took significantly less time to mix and was basically ready to be poured in the model immediately. Although, I believe I made a little too much, as the finger models began to spill into each other when I tried to move them. After pouring the solution in, I was able to add the nails. I thought the mount would be able to accommodate three fingers, but the holes were not spaced out enough, so two fingers had to share a nail.
I let the Rockite sit in the model for about a day and then was able remove the fingers. Removing the fingers was going went well, but when I was trying to wash the fingers off, I broke apart the ones that share a nail. The fix was easy though, just a bit of super glue.
After the fingers were cleaned and dried, I then spray painted them. I started with the silver paint, but then I was worried that the difference between painted and unpainted would not be obvious, so I switched to the pink spray paint. At first, I tried to paint them by just holding the mount and going for it, however my fingers got covered in paint and so did the mount. Therefore, I changed the setup to instead stick the nails into a cardboard piece and propped said piece up on a spare spray can. I did a few layers of the colored paint then went back with the clear coat a few hours later.
Overall, I think the fingers turned out well. There are a few imperfections that I believe came from over-mixing the alginate solution in the beginning. I really enjoy having models of my fingers and am having the greatest time asking people if they want to see my fingers and then showing them these.
Clean Workspace:
Cost Breakdown: Raw Materials * Alginate - $20.00 (1.25 per oz - $8.43) * Rockite - $21.00 ($0.05 per gram - $3.50) * Water - From OEDK sink Labor * 2 hours x 15.00/hour = $30.00 Tools * Containers - $9.00 * Scale - $15.00 * Drill - $130.00 * Tape - $10.00 Total: $205.93
