Like you see at many shopping malls there are quite a number of free-standing stalls at the Royal Garden Mall in Pattaya. On one visit there was a stand where you could have a wax casting made of your hand by repeatedly dipping it into a heated container of tolerably hot liquefied paraffin, building up a coating of five or six layers of wax. Once the wax had cooled the vendor carefully removed it and you could take it home with you, I guess; I didn’t stick around to see what happened after it was removed, so maybe it was used to make a more permanent casting afterward. I’m of an age to remember a group known as the “Plaster Casters” - groupies who followed rock and roll stars and casting similar things, but we won’t go there.
As warm as it gets in Thailand I suspect it looked more like a discarded glove not long after it had been set down and forgotten for a few days, but who knows – it may have become quite a conversation piece:
“Hey, Sek – what’s this thing in your refrigerator? It looks like a ghost hand”
“Oh, that’s a casting I had done over at Royal Garden a few weeks ago.”
“Well, it gives me the creeps... can I move it?”
Anyway, this young boy was more than tickled by the whole process, his family enjoyed the experience with him... and that was probably enough.
The wax was then filled with a plaster-like substance, which when hardened was taken home.
ReplyDeleteThat should have been my guess, based on the heat in Thailand... it certainly makes more sense! As I said, I didn't see what happened after the dipping, and your comment completes the story. Thanks for joining in.
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