Hello! I’m excited to share my experience making a mold of my fingers, then casting them in Rockite and painting them purple, for some reason. Only in EDES210.
Here’s James and I paired up, mixing our alginate for the mold.
Mixing alginate!
We think we may have added a little too much water, because it took a long time to set. But it worked out ok – the mold was perfect and James and I got to watch Instagram Reels! After mixing the rockite and pouring it into the cavity created, I let the cup dry with screws suspended into the rockite to make a secure mount.
Letting the rockite set.
24 hours later, I was able to remove the fingers from the mold. I wish I had gotten a manicure before!
The result, unpainted.
Once these were settled, all that was left was to select a color. Let me tell you a story. James and I have a friend named Franco Gomez. A couple of years ago, Franco showed up to lunch wearing a bright purple hoodie. Ever since, him in this hoodie has been lovingly referred to as “greedy grape”. In this spirit, I will be painting these fingers purple. After securing a cardboard backing and the required purple paint, I set up in the loading dock and got to work.
Nearing completion of the painting!
I did this in thirds: spray what I could reach, rotate the fingers 120 degrees, and repeat. This was to ensure even coverage, and I think they turned out pretty well, but there are certainly signs of overspray and a little dripping. If I could do it again, I would be more careful and take my time with more coats to ensure evenness.
The result.
Here’s what I came up with: two weird-looking fingers that I fear will never make it into my home decor. But at least I know how to do this now! I look forward to applying my portioning skills to my final project.
The clean workspace.
As always, here’s my clean workspace.
Total Cost
Materials
1lb alginate mixture @ Walmart: $17.95. I used very little of the powder, so let’s say $2.
10lb Rockite powder @ home improvement supply: $18.99. I also used very little of this, so let’s say 50c.
Spray paint: ~$5/can. Therefore, another 50c.
Tools
No machines or tools were used, besides the cups used to hold the mold. These are effectively infinite use though, so I won’t count it against me.
Labor
~1.5hr of work, so $15 at the going lab assistant rate.
Total: $18.
What a steal for two paperweights with mildly sharp screws on one end! This was pretty fun though. I hope Franco someday Googles his name and this comes up. That would be hilarious. Franco – if you’re reading this, drop me a text.
