Castings create memories

MOSES LAKE - A teenager's face, a hand of a far-away sweetheart or a dog's paw can be crafted into a casting to keep forever.

Moses Lake's Luci Anderson creates the above items and more as part of her business Timeless Castings & Garden Art.

Anderson completed her first casting about 30 years ago of her brother's face, who was about 30 at the time.

He's now 62, and Anderson said she told him she would do another casting.

Anderson's also done metal art and explains how she was finally able to try casting when she remarried about a year ago.

Before that, Anderson said she wasn't set up to do the work and didn't have the money as a single mom. Now her daughters Camille and Elina help with projects.

Recently, her work was on display at Habitat for Humanity's auction in Moss Lake.

Her connection to her family is strong. She talks about her late sister Elida and how they spoke about Anderson making a mold of Elida's hand.

Elida died before Anderson could craft her hand. Anderson was "heartbroken," she said.

But she says she's looking forward to helping others create memories with her work.

So instead of sad feelings about their departed loved ones, people would experience happy feelings by having personal mementos, she noted.

She read about an artist doing a death mask of a child, which are molds done of the faces of the dead. She noted she would like to progress to making death masks.

Producing molds of children's faces or hands give parents a timeless keepsake of their child's appearance at a certain age.

During an interview with the Columbia Basin Herald, she showed a mold of two touching hands. One hand was her daughter's and the other hand was Anderson's 3-year-old granddaughter.

Anderson also plans to make large bowls to serve as outdoor memorials. The bowls can hold ashes, water, flowers or a few mementos of the deceased

person.

Molds of torsos and pregnant bellies are also possible, she said.

Anderson is also interested in progressing to making ice molds in similar shapes.

She said she's "so excited about the emotion she gives people" with her work.

One of her upcoming projects entails making facial molds of a couple in their 60s.

Anderson also plans to make a mold of her stepson's girlfriend's hand. The mold will be sent to Iraq, where Anderson's stepson is serving in the military.

If someone is far away, a mold is a neat present to give, she said.

"You can feel it, it's there," she said.

The item can be kept in a drawer, she added.

The cost of a pair of plaster hands starts at $65, faces and bellies are $125 and sell for about $40. Prices depend on the type of mounting, painting or bronzing done.

For more information, call 509-989-4297.