Maternity mold

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Doulas Erica McMillan, left, and Dawn Nobles create a belly cast for Diane Johnson of Kailua with husband Mike participating in the process. The sculpture of the mother-to-be's pregnant belly can also be turned into a piece of art. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Left: If you don't want to decorate your belly cast yourself, find a specialist. Dawn Nobles created this mosaic butterfly. Right: One mother collaged adoption papers, passport photos and airplane tickets on her cast for her adopted Cambodian daughter. Photo by Ronen Zilberman

Barbra An Pleadwell and her husband, Jayson Harper, of Pauoa, decided to get a cast of Mom's pregnant belly with Dad's hands encircling it. Two doulas specializing in belly-casting came over to their home to apply plaster and gauze to Pleadwell's tummy. The baby, Bella Grace, is due this week.

Belly casting For information, appointments Call Dawn Nobles at 680-5433 or Erica McMillan at 291-2650. View embellished belly casts Finished belly-cast art can be viewed at Soullenz Gallery, 186 N. King St. Phone 525-7757 for hours or an appointment, or see www.soullenz.com.

As Barbra entered her ninth month of pregnancy, she decided to commemorate the time, and the tummy, by getting a belly cast. She called her friends Diane and Mike Johnson of Kailua and invited them to join in the fun. The Johnson baby, Hunter Joseph, was due today, so both mommies had tummies ripe for the casting.

Erica McMillan of Waimanalo, a doula (someone who helps women during delivery), and Dawn Nobles of Kaimuki, a doula and midwife, have a company called Origin Birth Creations that specializes in belly-casting.

"It's a celebration of the shape of a pregnant belly," explained McMillan as she spread out the drop cloth on the Harpers' kitchen floor and began filling a bucket with water. "We worship our pregnant mommies and want them to feel beautiful about being pregnant."

As the gauze was mixed with plaster of Paris, and the slithery stuff was applied to Pleadwell's tummy and Harper's hands, the mother-to-be said, "This is kind of tribal and ceremonial."

The Johnsons said the casting feels like a nice, cool spa treatment.

Mike Johnson added, "You know when you're at the beach, being buried in the sand? It's exactly like that."

The only materials needed for a belly cast are gauze, plaster of Paris, water and lots of petroleum jelly to slather over the skin, to prevent painful hair pulls and an after-the-fact belly-waxing effect.

It took about 20 minutes for the cast to harden. When it was peeled off, voila! A piece of sculpture.

"You never know what they're going to look like," Nobles said. "Each belly cast is unique."

The stuff showered right off, both couples said. The petroleum jelly, however, may require a few more showers before it disappears.

Throughout the casting, conversation turned to cravings, heartburn, body temperatures, breast-feeding, babies kicking and the need for frequent hot baths.

Of course, all the pain and discomfort of their ninth month will be forgotten soon after Hunter Joseph and Bella Grace are born. The belly casts will bring back only the happy memories of pregnancy.

To create a finished work of art, the belly casts can be painted, collaged or a mosaic can be added.

Tori Life Goto's belly cast is a different shape: It sports a flat tummy.

The Kailua resident was commemorating the gestation of her adopted Cambodian daughter, Sela Soriya.

"Adoption is mysterious for kids when they grow up, and I'm trying to demystify the process, to show her that she didn't just arrive one day," Goto explained. "We did all the waiting and expecting that natural parents do."

Goto turned her belly cast into a piece of art by collaging adoption papers, passport photos and airplane tickets. The art piece will help her explain when Sela Soriya asks, "Mommy, where did I come from?"

When it comes to a belly cast, the bigger the better. It's ideal to have the cast made during the ninth month (yes, Nobles said, they've missed a few when moms delivered early), so the best time to make an appointment is six weeks before the due date.

Cost for a basic belly cast is $250, and there's an additional charge if dad's hands are included.

If the parents are not artistically inclined, McMillan, herself an artist, can turn the cast into an art piece with or without the couple's direction.

Reach Paula Rath at 525-5464 or paularath@aol.com.