A belly for biz
Plastered abdomens help moms recall one of the biggest moments of their lives.
Patrick Connors
Staff Writer

For Diane Bonneau, the celebration of child birth starts before a baby is born.

To help women remember their pregnancies, she opened Lasting Impressions, which specializes in making plaster casts of a mom-to-be’s torso.

“It’s a keepsake. It’s also a bond between mother and child,” says Bonneau.

She works out of the downstairs of her home in Lewiston, but also plans to bring her operation to baby showers throughout the area. For now, Bonneau says, the casting is just an avocation.

She works mostly on weekends and says she’d be willing to do six jobs a week.

The process is relatively simple.

Plaster-coated cloth strips are applied to the body after being dunked in water. The strips are smoothed after they are draped on the skin, although some women prefer to wear a body stocking. It takes around 10 minutes for the cast to dry, allowing removal.

Scented candles burn throughout the process, and Bonneau says she plans to offer foot massages while the plaster hardens.

The cast must dry for 48 hours before it can be displayed or worked with further. Women often chose to paint their belly replicas and hang them.

Some casting businesses offer to bronze the mold or suggest using them as bowls.

Lea Cutter, who owns the I Am Collaborative, a casting operation in Portland, says some of her clients line the inside of their molds and use them as baby cradles for the few weeks immediately following a pregnancy.

Cutter’s husband casted a series of 10 molds of her midsection before she gave birth. The replicas are on display at the New Life Reiki Center in Portland.

“I had some anxiety about my body changing,” says Cutter about her pregnancy. “I was looking for a way to see it in a new say and to celebrate it.”

Although Bonneau says she will focus on pregnant women, she also hopes to do “life casts” – molds of faces and hands, in particular.

“You can really see the detail,” she says, motioning toward a cast of her husband’s face resting on a table in her studio.

She pointed to the wrinkles on his forehead and the dimple in his chin.

Bonneau uses the same techniques to cast a face as to do a belly, however the nostrils are left uncovered while the plaster is applied to the head. The person’s eyes and mouth are shut throughout the process.

Prices at Lasting Impressions vary; Bonneau said to call for specifics.

Other casting companies in the United States typically charge between $70 and $100 for a pregnant belly mold, although more intricate and involved jobs cost upwards of $300.

Bonneau discovered the trade about four years ago while watching The Learning Channel, but it wasn’t until last year that she purchased the material to do the work. A recent newspaper article about casting prompted her to pursue it as a part-time business.

She says her experience assisting with casts at the New England Brace Company, where she works, helped introduce her to working with plaster.

Lasting Impressions: 783-3707 or e-mail dibonn50@aol.com

pconnors@sunjournal.com

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