Plaster Hand Sculptures

The subject of this sculpture is a hand that is pulling a rose out of a pot, and there is intentionally no setting represented by the white board it is mounted to, so that the focus is not taken off the hand. This sculpture was made by making a form of my hand in alginate, then casting it in plaster. Once it was dried, I was able to take it out, along with extra plaster that was poured (making the pot) and paint it with watercolor paints. To make the rose I used Sculpey in thin circles, slowly building them up to make the rose, I then used green Sculpey to make the leaves. Using acrylic paints, I added different highlights to the rose petals and leaves, then I added a sealant to make the leaves shiny, and while I was at it, I coated the hand as well. To create the background, I took an old plaque and painted it white with a rough brush to add texture and finished it by distressing the edges. I chose to create this sculpture because when I took the plaster hand out, and immediately thought that it looked like it was holding something. So, after sketching some ideas this one seemed best to me. The specific elements and principles of design I used in this sculpture are shape, color, texture, and balance. This is composed evenly, with the main focus centered on the plaque.

The composition rules and techniques I used in this sculpture are formal balance since everything is centered in the middle of the plaque with no "weight" to one specific side, and leading lines since the stem and the roots lead your eyes to the hand and pot. My project did not evolve really at all because I kept the form to my original sketch, the only idea that came up as I was going was to paint the hand with watercolor and put a sealant on some of the pieces.

The meaning behind this project is that the hand is pulling this rose out of its pot, kind of diminishing the rose's overall beauty. Also, this project helped to introduce us to a new medium, that is plaster and alginate, since I have never used it before. This project relates to my life because I had never used these materials before, so it was interesting trying to use it for the first time. I think that my artwork could be stronger if I had added different small details, possibly something like Sharpie designs on the hand, or something on the white background around the edges.