Students at Oxford High School are wrapping each other up in tape like Egyptian mummies and art teacher Michele Whalen couldn’t be more pleased.
Don’t worry, she’s not crazy and the students aren’t out of control. It’s just an art project.
Art students have been learning how to make body castings using plain old clear packaging tape like you’d find down at the Post Office.
‘It’s a great introduction to plaster body casting and things like that,? Whalen said. ‘They’re learning the basic sculptural concepts of body casting.?
The way it works is simple.
Students wrap their arms, legs, hands, feet, torsos and heads in three or four layers of tape, then cut the tape casting off and seal it back up with you guessed it, more tape.
‘Once they figured it out, these kids just went to town,? Whalen said. ‘It usually takes a couple people to do a body because it’s just easier that way.?
According to Whalen, there are a couple different ways to do tape casting.
Probably, the fastest method is to simply cover the body part with Saran Wrap, then apply multiple layers of tape over it.
Another method involves applying the first layer of tape sticky side up, so pictures and snippets of color can be affixed, then sealed in place with more layers of tape applied sticky side down.
‘It’s just like laminating something,? Whalen said.
Because the castings are hollow, they offer many opportunities for creative expression.
‘You can put lights inside and plug it in or fill it with jelly beans if you want,? Whalen said.
Not only are these tape castings wonderful examples of student talent, they can also be useful tools in other classes.
Some of the art students just finished making a tape body for use in the school’s new forensic science class.
‘Mannequins and dummies cost so much money,? Whalen said. ‘This is like $20 and they’ve got their body.?
Forensic science teacher Kelly Bollman was very excited about her new body.
‘I thought it would be nice for the students to have something that’s produced by the students,? she said.
The tape body will be used as the victim in various crime scene scenarios, so students can study CSI-type things like forensic ballistics, trace evidence and lividity.
‘I can see a number of instances where I could use this particular form,? Bollman said. ‘I thought it was really awesome that we could combine the art class and what they’re producing with some of the stuff that we’re doing in science.?
‘I love to do things that are cross-departmental and interactive whenever we can.?
Bollman said it’s possible the art class could cast individual body parts for crime scene situations where only a hand or foot is found.