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What's even lovelier is when we don't hide our blemishes or perceived shortcomings, but hold ourselves proud in our individual state of grace, and allow ourselves to see the beauty within our own form. Lifecasting is one art form that allows us to remember what we looked like and keep that beauty as a testament of appreciation. We spoke with Mark Weber of The Weber Studio. Mark is a master in the art form known as "lifecasting". Eros Zine: Mark, what started you down this road of casting real bodies? Mark Weber: I began working in clay in 1996 and experimented with quite a few different styles in my early work. I found myself gravitating towards figurative work. At first, I began sculpting small primitive female figures. I realized that I wanted to do much larger scale figurative work but, being self taught, I didn't have the skills yet to create what was in my mind. Not too much later, I was taking a clay class, and the professor asked us to create an object that conveyed "tension." As I thought about the project, I envisioned a woman whose breasts were about to bust out of her top. I went with the image and created my first full size female torso sculpture. However, as much as I loved the final work, it took so much time to create by hand that I wasn't sure I was cut out for sculpting.  I was walking through a flea market one day and saw an old plastic female display form. It dawned on me that I might use that form as a mold for a large female sculpture. I bought the figure and made my first "molded" female figure. The mannequin was, however, not very lifelike and I found myself very limited.I pictured what I wanted but knew I had to find another way. Why not make molds of real people? I researched how to do this and discovered lifecasting. EZ: And what is it that makes you so passionate about this work? MW: I've always thought of the human body as "living art." The body is so expressive, particularly the female body. I'm intrigued and excited by how different a body or part of a body appears when you take it out of context or, when you simply change the pose. And every body is so different. Think of something as simple as a woman's breast. How different they look when she is lying down verses standing straight up, or with her arms lifted rather than at her side. And how different one woman's breast is from another. It's like having an endless subject matter to work with, and all of it can be beautiful or ugly, mundane or exciting. EZ: What are your favorite pieces to work on? MW: I like challenges. When I am doing studio pieces, I like to find poses that are unusual and that expose a different viewpoint. Although my friends think the really explicit work is the most exciting, I'm inspired and excited by finding more sensual and quietly erotic poses. Also, I love to work with women who are having pieces made for their significant others or spouses. They usually want something romantic, sexy and a little erotic, but not "too explicit." They're excited about the process, and this gets me excited about creating the piece for them. EZ: How frequently are you asked to do pregnant casts? What do you think is the psychology behind that? MW: The women who I have done belly casts for want to capture the moment. It's a keepsake for most women who have it done. For some, it's just the excitement of the process. Its great fun to do the casting and just as much fun to decorate the belly cast when it's finished. Some women even have parties to decorate the cast. I've also done some before-and-after belly castings. EZ: You must find the physical form to be one of great beauty - what's your favorite pose?  MW: I don't really have a favorite pose. Like a photographer, I look for poses that either show off a man or woman's best features or, as I said, I look for a pose that is unusual or will display some unique, interesting or exciting (sexually or otherwise) feature of the body. As I become more artistically free, I am more comfortable examining sexuality and eroticism, and my new work will concentrate on displaying these features.I'm interested in multiples right now, so people posing together interests me. I'm about to do a piece with a man's hands on various parts of a woman's body. I'm not sure exactly where they'll be yet, but I'm excited about experimenting with the many options. I'm also about to do two women, breast to breast. I think some variation of this will be quite erotic. EZ: You're located in Atlanta. Have you ever traveled to do work, or do people trek to you for these have these one-of-a-kind pieces? MW: I do travel occasionally for commissioned pieces. I try to work it into my travel schedule for art shows. If I have more than one commissioned piece I'm more inclined to make a special trip. EZ: If something were to happen to a piece, can you do restorative work on it? MW: Usually. It depends upon the material that I cast the piece in. EZ: What direction are you moving in? MW: I've been doing lifecasting for about 4 years. I'm moving from what I consider more strait-forward work, like torsos, backs and behinds, into more complicated sculptures. Although castings of nudes have an inherent sexuality or sexual tension, they don't always have "heat" and they are frequently not erotic. My work is getting somewhat more explicit, but explicit does not always mean erotic. In fact, explicit is often NOT erotic. I'm looking for things that "simmer," not ones that necessarily "burn." It takes the right model and a lot of experimentation to find that quality, but when you do, the piece is great.  Many of my most sensual and erotic works have been done by commission, so I am not able to use it for promotion. I hope that your readers can see the possibilities from these. I'm always looking for models who are excited about creating sensual sculpture, and I'm always happy to get a commission request from someone who wants to preserve her (or his) body in sculpture as a gift to a loved one.EZ: Is it only erotica you prefer to compose, or can something simple be done as well? MW: Actually, I love the process of lifecasting. Although I would prefer doing the more challenging and creative work, not everyone wants that or is comfortable with an explicit or erotic piece. I also do faces, busts, hands and feet as well as torsos, backsides and the occasional penis or vagina. Actually, feet seem to be pretty popular. Feet for many, as you know, are quite erotic. EZ: How can people contact you? MW: I can be contacted through my website www.theweberstudio.com or by e-mail at . I check my e-mail very regularly and I respond immediately. EZ: Thanks for your time, Mark. I hope you get some new models as eager to experiment as you are. The results are - in a word - sublime. For my readers, please check out Mark's work on his site. I am sure there is something to love for the simplest of tastes and the more complex palates. And when you're thinking of a treat for your SO, consider giving them the greatest gift of all - your body.
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