HOME ABOUT ALI GALLERY MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY HALL OF FAME WORKSHOPS FORUMS CONTACT US   © 1999-2004 Association of Lifecasters International All rights reserved.

FORUMS   Author Message John Schoonraad Joined: : 20-Oct-2004 Started On : 19-Nov-2009 at 08:19:26 AM, #Views : 6670 Topic Subject : Re: Death casts - 3rd attempt to send A well put case by C J Covering many key points ,like keeping clean in the mortuary,extra release,and thicker amounts of alginate I found one old lady quite a famous one had a very down turned mouth and going by her pictures was quite a smiler she had been dead for 4 days and rigormortise had left the body it was very easy to gentley pull her face in to a slight smile her partner was very happy to see this and the eyes had sunken she was in her eighties a plaster cast was made moulded in silicon and a plasteline pour was made this was then cleaned up and through refrence photos the eyes were restored to the original look this was a face and ears only cast not the back of he head as stated in another cast This is a privalidged service that one can offer to the departed nearest and dearest it is also very draining you feel like you have done a weeks work in one day or that you have been holding your breath the whole time .. It also makes me realise that the term departed is very apt theres no one there just a once beautifull body which endorses my belief that we must go some where it might help if you think their watching you so you had better do a good job I had that feeling with one guy and missed his presence when I handed over the finished casts John Schoonraad Lifecast Ltd (+44)7877035895 Workshop 6 Elstree Film & TV Studios Shenley Road Borehamwood Herts WD6 1JG ----- Original Message ----- From: aliforum@lifecasting.org To: john@lifecast.co.uk Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:43 AM Subject: A new topic has been added-Death casts - 3rd attempt to send( Message No. 2877) ------------Silica-Free & Oh So GREEN-------> NEW! MoldGel SILFREE. A revolutionary formula. Made with all food-grade ingredients. It nourishes the earth when discarded. 3-to-1 mix ratio yields twice the volume as those 1-to-1 brands. Delayed shrinkage for delayed casting - so creamy smooth, too. To learn more about it click here ----------------------------------------------> Hello John Schoonraad Post Date : Thursday 19th 2009f November 2009 05:34:25 AM Posted by : "CJ Munn" cj@rockabelly.co.uk Death casts - 3rd attempt to send:-- > > Lidia, it seems my first reply to you didn't appear in the forum > (this seems to happen to me a lot. Anyone else?) So am resending as > I think it's just as important to have the emotional info as the > practical info.... > > Begin forwarded message: >> >> Date: 17 November 2009 12:14:15 GMT >> To: aliforum@lifecasting.org >> Subject: Re: A new topic has been added-deathmasks( Message No. 2867) >> >> Lidia >> >> I haven't done deathmasks but have done many deathcasts of hands >> and baby's/toddler's feet too. It isn't like casting the living on >> so many levels. As John says you can't ask them to wriggle out so >> there is sometimes a considerable vacuum to deal with in removing >> casts (I imagine less so with faces than hands). It is for this >> reason much more preferable to work without the relatives there as >> at times you have to pull quite hard which can seem disrespectful >> in a way, however delicately you try to do it. I find it helps to >> have an assistant to hold wrists etc in better positions. >> Rigamortis isn't the problem so much as the longer the person has >> been dead, the more the tendons and muscles start to dry up and >> with hands particularly this is noticeable as when the tendons in >> the fingers start to lose moisture they tighten causing the hand >> to form a claw shape, whereas the skin is usually quite >> waterlogged after a few days of rest - it puckers like how you get >> if you stay in the bath too long. I tend to do some delicate >> filling on these puckered areas afterwards to make the hands/feet >> look more like how the parents would remember them alive rather >> than the very clearly dead look of the puckered skin - not much >> so you don't lose detail, just a little replumping of fingertips >> as I find sometimes these diminish to almost nothing as the blood >> in the body (or embalming fluids) can often pool in other areas >> and not reach the fingertips in the same way they would in a live >> person. The body has a certain degree of mobility (rigamortis >> wears off after a few hours I believe) but not like a living body >> - it kind returns to its 'default' position of how the person was >> when they died. If you did want to do a hand, for instance, you >> cannot dangle the arms off the side of the gurney or mortician's >> table in order to cast them upright in a pot, as there isn't >> enough freedom in the shoulder to allow that. So I usually take >> masses of plastic sheeting and a plastic covered board on which to >> rest the hand to cast it and plop some alginate underneath and >> lift and slump the hand into it if I am working alone (adding more >> alginate on top, then securing with plaster bandage. Or if I have >> a staff member to help me I get them to hold the wrist up and I >> apply thick alginate by hand around the upright hand this way (and >> a plaster jacket - sometimes a two part jacket depending on the >> shape/position of the hand. >> >> I cannot overstate the need for cleanliness, which is hard for us >> casters in a clinical environment no matter how hard we try. Most >> mortuaries are subject to spot inspections and the sort of dust/ >> splatters we create even on plastic sheeting could cause them to >> be closed down. Casting in hospices and hospitals is slightly >> better as they don't seem to mind the odd splatter of dust but >> take enough sheets to cover the floor area and the whole of a bed. >> Make sure you have access to running water in the room or nearby >> and take canisters to transport it from place to place, and don't >> forget things like a power cord extension lead. I've found it >> really helpful to take loads of babywipes for clearing up and a >> dustbuster handheld vacuum. I usually pour my plasters in situ, to >> make sure I have got a good one and to make sure the mould doesn't >> dry or get damaged on the way home. >> >> Most hospices have rooms for those who have died which are like a >> normal bedroom for when the child/person is alive, but beware that >> when they die, these rooms have refrigeration facilities - I mean >> the whole room is made very cold, not just one area, so that the >> relatives may visit the body of their loved one for as many days >> as possible to help them accept what has happened before the >> funeral. First time I did a hospice death cast I turned up wearing >> thin summery clothes and froze the whole way through the experience. >> >> Many relatives will ask to be involved and I have done this, but >> it makes it MUCH harder, as you have to make very sensitive and >> polite conversation with someone wrung with grief whilst doing a >> technically much more challenging job than you are used to and >> feeling scrutenised the whole time. And the pressure is immense to >> get it right as you only have that one opportunity. The technical >> side is only one small part of it - we are not trained as grief >> counsellors and yet people naturally splurge out all their stories >> about the deceased and you cannot help but become a little >> involved and empathise and even if it comes naturally to behave >> with sensitivity and say the 'right thing', it is still >> emotionally very hard. When I cast two murder victims even the >> funeral director felt the need to splurge great details that I >> really wish I didn't know to me because even he had been >> traumatised by these events. I never advertise that I do these >> casts and often have to say no, because I find I need a good few >> months between them to 'recover'. Some are easier than others, of >> course, but casting children is by far the hardest - especially if >> you are a parent yourself. Empathy is what allows us to be >> sensitive and do a really good and respectful job, and yet it is >> also a huge weight to carry because you cannot just switch that >> empathy off at the end of the day when you go home and hug your >> own children. >> >> On a technical side, I use a lot more release/barrier cream than >> normal to help slide them out of the mould since they cannot >> wiggle. And superglue is useful to have on you to repair and tears >> in the alginate mould that may occur when trying to release. >> Better to have everything you can think of than forget something >> vital - gaffa tape also comes in handy sometimes, and take more >> materials than you think you need in case of repeats. >> >> One thing people don't realise is that after a few days of being >> dead the eyeballs of the deceased can start to shrink/sink down in >> their sockets a little which can have the effect of slightly >> opening the deceased's eyelids. Again, this can be a very hard >> thing to deal with if you are not used to being around dead >> bodies. I am still distressed by the memory of the last death cast >> I did where I wasn't warned her eyes would be open before I came >> in the room and there is nothing in the 'living world' to compare >> to it so you must always be prepared for the unexpected. If >> embarking into this career area you DO need to be very strong >> sometimes and suppress your natural reactions sometimes for the >> sake of those around you and of course professionalism. It is >> worth asking a lot of questions of the medical practitioners/ >> hospice staff/morticians about the position of the body, look of >> the face, position of hands (if doing them) before you go in. >> Every single deathcast I have done has been different and a >> challenge in some unexpected way. However I would agree with John >> that it is a special honour to be trusted with something so >> incredibly important, and can mean an awful lot to the families if >> done well and with great sensitivity and respect. >> >> It is not, however, an easy way to make money. Unless you are >> planning to toughen up by doing it really really regularly, I >> would say it takes it out of you each time it happens. >> Particularly where children are concerned. I always come home and >> have a good cry afterwards and feel the need to hug my own little >> boy a lot or retreat under my duvet for the rest of the day, and I >> think you'd have to be quite a tough cookie not to be similarly >> affected. >> >> If you wish for any more info, feel free to email me off forum. I >> hope no one is offended by my candid reply, but a few lifecasters >> have asked me about deathcasting recently, and I do think it is >> important to consider ALL aspects of it before getting into it >> because it is truly nothing like lifecasting in my experience. >> >> Best wishes >> >> CJ > >> On 17 Nov 2009, at 00:30, aliforum@lifecasting.org wrote: >> >>> ------------Silica-Free & Oh So GREEN-------> >>> >>> NEW! MoldGel SILFREE. A revolutionary formula. >>> Made with all food-grade ingredients. It nourishes >>> the earth when discarded. 3-to-1 mix ratio yields >>> twice the volume as those 1-to-1 brands. Delayed >>> shrinkage for delayed casting - so creamy smooth, too. >>> To learn more about it click here >>> ----------------------------------------------> >>> >>> >>> Hello CJ Munn >>> >>> >>> Post Date : Monday 16th 2009f November 2009 07:21:58 PM >>> Posted by : "Lidia Branch" transitions@nb.aibn.com >>> >>> deathmasks:-- >>> hi collegues >>> anybody has experience, not just info but actually hands on >>> experience with making deathmasks? >>> Might be interested in offering this service to the local >>> hospitals. Especially neonatal (babies) >>> What should i know about casting a death person. I am worried >>> about clean up and things like that. >>> thanks. >>> >>> REMINDER: to UNSUBSCRIBE or change how you receive forum messages >>> you must log on to ALI using your user name and password. You >>> will then click on the link in the upper right of the page >>> titled: Edit Information. Once on that page scroll down to the >>> bottom of the page where you will see three radio buttons >>> providing you a choice of: Receive a posting when its made / >>> Receive a summary of postings once a day / Receive no postings. >>> Select the appropriate one for you and then click Save. Your >>> changes are now made. >>> >>> TO RESIGN MEMBERSHIP: To remove yourself from membership rolls >>> please address an email to emccorm@aol.com with member name and >>> logon name is you have it. You will be promptly removed from ALI >>> >>> ALI is an international organization whose members are engaged in >>> the art and creative industries. Its purpose is to promote the >>> art of life casting, create public awareness of this unique art >>> form, provide its members with forums to exchange information >>> resources to enhance their effectiveness and advance >>> opportunities for their artistic success. >> > REMINDER: to UNSUBSCRIBE or change how you receive forum messages you must log on to ALI using your user name and password. You will then click on the link in the upper right of the page titled: Edit Information. Once on that page scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will see three radio buttons providing you a choice of: Receive a posting when its made / Receive a summary of postings once a day / Receive no postings. Select the appropriate one for you and then click Save. Your changes are now made. TO RESIGN MEMBERSHIP: To remove yourself from membership rolls please address an email to emccorm@aol.com with member name and logon name is you have it. You will be promptly removed from ALI ALI is an international organization whose members are engaged in the art and creative industries. Its purpose is to promote the art of life casting, create public awareness of this unique art form, provide its members with forums to exchange information, resources to enhance their effectiveness and advance opportunities for their artistic success.