Make your own tiki head using plaster and mold.
Proceeded only by carved drawings, tikis are one of the oldest methods of art. The carved wooden or stone idols represented the gods of the culture. If you want to decorate your home with giant tiki heads, instead of spending lots of money to purchase a tiki from home stores or garden supply stores, make your own for less money, using tiki-head mold and plaster. Place the finished tiki in your yard or in a tiki-themed room. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cover the work surface with trash bags or newspaper.
2. Fill a storage bin 3/4 full with playground sand or rice. Insert a large tiki head mold, found at craft stores, into the sand. The sand adds support to mold when you fill it with plaster.
3. Mix plaster with 1 cup of water in large bucket. Use a stirring stick or a disposable spoon. Add additional water, in 1-cup increments, until the plaster is the texture of pancake batter, free of lumps. Adjust the amount of plaster and water for larger molds. The amount of plaster depends on the size of the mold. However, for a 3-foot mold use 20 cups of plaster.
4. Spray the inside of the tiki-head mold with a thin layer of cooking spray. The cooking spray acts as a release agent.
5. Pour the plaster into the prepared mold until it is level with the top of the mold. Wiggle the box or tap the mold to release air bubbles.
6. Allow the plaster to sit for 48 hours. Once completely dry, remove the mold from the box. Turn the mold over and press the outside of the mold to release the plaster tiki head. If the mask does not pop out, wiggle the mold gently to release it. Paint the completed tiki using acrylic paints. Let the paints dry for 24 hours before displaying.
Tags: amount plaster, cooking spray, mold release, tiki head, tiki-head mold