Making art with wax

ABOVE: Northside art teacher Georgia White explains to students that they don’t want their fingers too goopy from sticking them in petroleum jelly to get ready to make molds of their fingers which were filled with crayon wax.

LEFT: Students at Northside Elementary wait for their paper cups full of alginate to dip their fingers in and make molds.

Students at Northside Elementary in Cedartown teamed up with University of West Georgia art students on Feb. 24 for an art project that required some adult supervision. Students got to make molds of their fingers and with the help of West Georgia art students made crayon wax copies of their digits. Here’s a handy guide to making your own wax sculptures.

Supplies

Wax of some kind (we suggest crayon wax, or if you want to make candles or fun sculptures to melt, use candle or wax cubes,) paper cups, and molding alginate. Also, an old pot or crock pot.

STEP 1: Follow the instructions to prepare a mixture of alginate to pour into paper cups. Be sure to put in enough to cover whatever item you wish to mold. Melt wax in a pot on the stove or in an old crock pot. Be prepared to do a lot of cleanup if you wish to keep it for cooking purposes.

STEP 2: Cover whatever item you wish to turn into a wax sculpture with a light coating of petroleum jelly. Don’t put too much, clumps will mess up the mold and the sculpture.

STEP 3: Place your item to mold in the alginate, making sure to leave a hole at the top to remove the item once it dries. It will take several minutes before the alginate sets and is ready to pour in wax.

STEP 4: Carefully, with the help of second set of hands, pour in the hot wax into the mold. Wait several minutes for it to set, then place in a bucket, pot or tub of cold water depending on the size of your mold. Wait at least five minutes before pulling out of the water.

STEP 5: Carefully remove the wax figure from the mold after removing it from a tub. We suggest using a utility knife to slice open the alginate. Enjoy! Need more specific instructions? Try using google with the term “making wax molds with alginate.”