Full Circle: Plaster with a Purpose

Since I started professionally plastering walls in 2006, my hands have stretched thousands of square feet, from the first pass to the final pull of tape. Walls and ceilings that reflect like glass, deep rich texture, and always a story to tell. On my latest project, my client said the wall helps her meditate, and remember our time together.

My beginnings with plaster casting began in 2012 when I was commissioned to cast a family’s hands to help them remember their Mom who was passing away. All the deep emotions I was feeling became the channel for which a story was told. That project shifted my purpose with plaster. I did a few more hospice projects and an art residency in Chicago to bring hand casting on a collective scale. It was during that residency that the idea sparked to work with police officers and youth. 

2017 was the launch year for The Hand-Held Project's pop-up community casting events with police officers and students. The first event occurred at Pullman Elementary School with 005th District Chicago police officers. During that event, everyone experienced a whole spectrum of emotions. At the start...curiosity with a slight distrust of what was about to unfold. Holding hands, dipping in goo, and having a few moments to turn a stranger into a friend. Within 20 minutes, the mood shifted. Laughter colored the room. We all realized the impact that touching, holding, and capturing connection can have.

The first event ignited a series of workshops at local schools and the 005th District Police Station. So far, approximately 715 people have participated, and 11 outreach events have been launched at police stations and various public schools, stretching from Chicago to Seattle. 

I reflect back on the last couple years since the workshops were on hold. Touch was barren. We hugged through social media and plexi-glass. What still lights me up about plaster? It's making arts education more accessible in our touch-starved world. This simple fluid material that slushes and dissolves has the ability to transmute and make a crystalline impact on people's lives.