Figurines for the garden: we create exclusive decorations with our own hands from plaster

Material features

Gypsum, like its variety, alabaster, has long been used in construction. It is easy to work with him, even a child can handle it. To make complex volumetric figures, you will have to stock up on ready-made forms or build reliable wire frames.

It should be remembered that alabaster is fragile. In construction, it is used for interior decoration. If plaster sculptures are displayed in a garden without proper care, children will quickly break them, and pouring rain will complete the destruction.

Video "Garden figures made of plaster, made by hand"

In this video you will see a master class on making plaster figurines for the garden.

Manufacturing

For creativity, a novice master will need a suitable type of gypsum:

1. Sculptural. It is in demand for the injection molding method. With its help, it is possible to create objects of large sizes. If you use a frame, durable products come out.
2. Acrylic. It is similar to the sculptural one, although a little lighter. When mixed with marble chips or aluminum powder, the products will resemble natural marble.
3. Polymeric. Serves as a raw material for the creation of small garden forms.

Gypsum begins to harden already at 4 minutes, and is fully set in 25–30 minutes. Dilute it to the consistency of liquid sour cream.

Any suitable items are used in the role of casting forms:

• construction helmets or half a rubber ball - will fit for creating "ladybugs";
• plastic bottles - the basis for elongated objects or elements of prefabricated structures, for example, the legs of a mushroom or the body of a snake;
• inflated balloon.

The stores sell ready-made forms of suitable sizes, which you can stock up on before starting work. However, the mold can be built independently on the basis of the same plaster or silicone:

1. A liquid gypsum solution is made in a container of a suitable size.
2. The object, the shape of which is needed, is pressed in half.
3. They are waiting for the plaster to harden.
4. Repeat the procedure for the other half.
5. The two blanks obtained are varnished, then glued.

It turns out a three-dimensional volumetric shape for filling.

The cast billet should be given a presentation. To do this, it is primed, then painted or varnished. This must be done even at the stage of hardening - this way the paints are better absorbed into the material. When creating monochrome figures, paint is added at the initial stage, mixing it with plaster mortar.

Sulfuric or hydrochloric acid is used to clean the mold from the remains of gypsum.

Here are the main mistakes that beginners make when creating plaster figures:

1. Do not stir the powder in water, but pour water into gypsum. This leads to the formation of lumps, it will not work with the solution.
2. They are trying to create massive sculptures without a frame. The material is unusually fragile, it is easy to damage a heavy form. As soon as a crack appears, the figurine, which has no base, falls to pieces.
3. Excessive amount of gypsum is made. Within five minutes, the solution will harden to a cobblestone state, it will not be possible to re-dissolve it. You need to prepare the plaster in parts.
4. Too little solution is being prepared.As a result, it is not enough, and while a new batch is being stirred, the partially filled workpiece is already hardening.

Flowerpots

You can make unusual pots from plaster with your own hands.

For work, you should prepare:

• gypsum;
• flexible wire for the construction of the frame;
• construction bandages;
• water-based paint;
• acrylic varnish for outdoor decoration;
• large bucket.

Here is a step-by-step progress of work:

1. We put the bucket upside down.
2. We braid it with wire, tuck the edges and hide.
3. We remove the finished frame.
4. Preparing a gypsum solution.
5. Put the bandages in the solution, soaking them for a couple of minutes.
6. The frame is covered with bandages from the inside and outside, the thickness of the walls is about 2 cm.
7. We coat the frame-bandage form with plaster composition. We give half a day to freeze.

The surface of the flowerpot is cleaned with emery, leveled. After the preparation of the pots, they are decorated with small pebbles, multi-colored glass and beads. To paint the pots, they use their own imagination.

Flowers and leaves

Find suitable large leaves, such as burdock or water lilies. Pour a layer of sand with a slide, cover it with a film. Lay the leaves face down on the sand. The seamy side is covered with a plaster solution 1–1.5 cm thick. Allow half an hour to cool. Turn over the castings, remove the sheet, cut off all excess and sand. It turns out an exact copy of the plant, on which the smallest streaks and bends are visible.

To make decorative flowers, you need to donate cut buds, dipping them entirely in a plaster solution, then remove and let dry. However, instead of living ones, artificial plastic analogs are also suitable.

Mushrooms

For manufacturing, you will need two casting forms:

• plastic bottle for the leg;
• old bowl for a hat.

In order for the gypsum to be easily removed from the mold, its inner part is covered with cling film smeared with a special solution. It is prepared according to the following recipe:

• 7 tbsp. l. water;
• 1 tbsp. l. liquid soap;
• 2 tbsp. l. sunflower oil.

A figure is created in several steps:

1. The bottle is cut across, the upper part will serve as a shape for the stem of the mushroom.
2. The prepared film is wrapped around the inside of the mold.
3. The ready-made gypsum mixture is poured into a mold turned upside down.
4. When the gypsum hardens, the plastic is cut with a knife and the finished leg is carefully removed.
5. The old bowl is also wrapped inside with a film, plaster mortar is poured.
6. When the gypsum begins to harden, stick a sharp end into the center of the "leg".
7. Give time to freeze.

The workpiece is primed. You can use PVA glue, dissolved in water in a 1: 2 ratio. Three hours later, the mushroom is painted using facade paints. After drying, the surface is varnished.

Having made a large mushroom, the leg can be painted by scratching and depicting round windows, doors and a brick wall with the help of compasses and paints. It will turn out to be a kind of "hobbit dwelling".

Animals

Making animal figures requires either ready-made molds for casting or the skills of a sculptor. The execution process is organized depending on the initial conditions.

If there is a form:

• a solution is being prepared;
• the casting mold is wrapped from the inside with cling film, then a kind of frame is built for greater strength of the sculpture using wire, plastic skewers, etc.;
• fill the form with a solution, give several hours to cool;
• remove the workpiece, remove the film.

If you have polymer clay and sculptor skills:

• the body of a bird or animal is molded from clay;
• draw images of feathers, paws, wings, etc.;
• the product is dried before hardening, then used as a workpiece to create a casting mold.

The frame for making sculptures can be made from scrap materials. For example, how to make the basis for the figure of a cat:

1. The plastic bottle is cut in half at the top and bottom.
2. 4 slats are attached to the bottom from below, forming paws, one strip in front for the neck and one in the back for the tail.
3. The upper part of the bottle is strung on the rail-neck.
4. A gypsum solution is prepared.
5. The lower, upper parts, as well as slats are coated with the composition, forming the cat's body, head, tail and paws.
6. Add details like ears, eyes, cheeks.
7. Stick in the wire, forming a mustache. They are also lubricated with a solution.
8. The surface is leveled by polishing with a palm and left to harden for several hours.

That's all, it remains to cover the figure with a primer, paint and varnish. The empty part of the bottom half of the bottle can be used as a planter or fruit bowl.

Care Tips

For finished garden sculptures to last longer, they need special care:

• teach children to treat them carefully;
• protect from moisture by covering the surface with primers and paints;
• so that the paints do not peel off, the surface is varnished;
• with the onset of cold weather, the sculptures are transferred to storage in a warm, dry room.

To create garden figures, it is worth involving children, if any, in the family.

This process is simple, but it allows you to develop a creative streak, at the same time replenishing the site with cute decor details.