I adore it when people ask me to create a ceramic torso based on their body. 
It is nerve wrecking of course, because so much can go wrong – anytime.

You start by applying plaster strips over the skin.  And then you make a plaster replica, filling in any under cuts with clay.. 
You now need to build clay walls all around the replica in order to contain the fresh plaster poured over it in order to create the mould.
When the plaster has dried, the replica needs to be separated from the mould. Often, the two lumps of plaster get stuck together… 
And you need to use a mallet and chissel in order to separate them…You can see how the arm is hopelessly stuck…This is the stuff nightmares are made of – If I don’t manage to remove the arm without damaging the mould I will have to start from scratch.

 
At last I have my mould and it now needs to dry for a week or two until it is ready to use. In my next post I will let you know how I got on. In the mean time, please have a look at my ceramic torsos at www.annakeiller.com/torsos