Dozens of people attended the workshops at the various recreation centers. The workshop at the Zaragoza Rec Center was a fun and sometimes slightly chaotic event.
The first step in the process was to take a mold of each volunteer’s hand. Artist, Ben Appl would mix the mold material and pour it into a tray then he or Totally Cool/Totally Art Program Coordinator Clinton Hofmeister, would instruct the participant to submerge their hand into the mixture for 10-12 minutes until it solidified. Then the hand was removed from the mold, labeled and placed on a table to wait for the next step.
Throughout the workshop Ben was mixing plaster and filling the hand molds. After filling each mold, it would cure for 15-20 minutes. When it was hard, Ben removed the plaster cast from the mold and everyone would examine the results.
The hands were amazing, some smooth and soft, others wrinkly and calloused, sometimes jewelry is clearly visible. Excited to be part of a public art piece, many volunteers made a second mold of their hand to take home as a keepsake.
