I will tell of my adventure attempting a mold made purely of marshmallow creme. I started out optimistic. My plan was this: line the inside of my plaster mold with plastic, pour marshmallow creme in, let it set, easily slide giant marshmallow out of mold, remove plastic, bask in the gloriousness that is me for creating such a wonderful sculpture. It's not hard to pin point exactly where this plan went horribly wrong. Lining the inside of the plaster mold with plastic just sounded so much easier in my head. My first attempt of simply placing a bag in the mold failed epicly. First, the marshmallow creme was not in an easily pourable liquid state I imagined, (this was my first contact with marshmallow creme and I wrongly assumed its properties). So I tried my best to fill the plastic bag with the fluffy creme. But the bag was not in the form of the mold obviously so this was not going to work. I solved this problem momentarily by redoing the plastic. Only this time, I used double stick duck tape and duck tape to the max to get the plastic bag to keep the form of the mold. But it was not happenin I tell ya what! So I thought and thought about what I could use in between the creme and the plaster. I assumed that if the creme hit the plaster directly it would most definitely stick. I resolved to use Petroleum Jelly as my releasing agent. Yes, this was my full proof plan. I was very excited to use food coloring and make it all cool crazy colors. Let me just say, it was absolutely perfect in my mind. So I melted the creme a little in the microwave to get it more liquid and dolloped it in. I let it sit for a few hours, but it was not becoming very hard so I transported it to the freezer. After a couple hours in there, I figured it would not get much harder. So I took it out and very carefully removed the plaster mold. And.... wait for it..... moment of truth...... unfortunately the creme came with it. It all pulled apart and at that moment my sank a little bit. All this time and effort for this? I big pile of mush???
In short, I was a tad bit stressed. It is my style to wait till the last minute to do these things. I feel like I have my best ideas in crunch time. So the moment of stress was intense, but was just that: a moment. I looked at my mush and smiled. Though it was just a pile of nothing, it was my nothing that I had created. And it was really quite beautiful. I decided that since my sculpture had been far from an intended success, I would document its welcomed failure. Dyes mixing together created a landscape of color that I felt I had never seen before. The Beatles song
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds came to mind immediately. The more I examined the creme left on the three plaster pieces, the more I started to fall in love with it. I do declare that the forms (including the texture, shape, dialogue, and ESPECIALLY color) might be the most beautiful things I have ever created. These are my photographs documenting the creme's evanescent existence in my shared kitchen in Pullman Washington.
One last note. My housemate inquired as to what the substance was. She said it looked like marble or plastic. I disclosed that it was purely marshmallow creme and she asked if she could eat some. I recorded it here:
For my second mold I had really wanted to make rice crispy treats. I went ahead and did it. Though I only have one mold to present in class tomorrow, I am not worried. After watching the creme ooze and change for upwards of an hour, I feel that what I got out of this project is much more than a simple form that I have constructed in a traceable fashion. Like the Navajo sand paintings, this was all about the process for me.
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