Dinkie Dannies

WHILE some mums are content with a few pictures to remind them of their pregnancy, a growing number are having plaster casts made. Sally Churchward meets the artist crafting them in Hampshire - and three mums who have enlisted her services...

There is a growing trend to capture the curves of pregnancy in increasingly artistic and creative ways.

While some people are happy with a couple of snap shots on their phone to immortalise their baby bump, others favour a studio photo shoot, sometimes combined with belly painting.

And a growing number of women are having casts taken of their torsos, to create life-size replicas of their pregnant forms.

Helen Hannah, of Dinkie Dannies in Sway, who specialises in creating three-dimensional sculptures, mostly of babies and children's hands and feet, has noticed a growing trend for pregnancy bump castings.

She puts the blooming popularity down to word of mouth, with customers often being inspired by seeing a friend's cast to get one of their own.

"It's definitely a growing trend as more people get to hear about it and see other people doing it," says Helen, who created her first pregnancy cast eight years ago.

"I think the appeal is because it's unique - it's your body and you know that. It's capturing a moment that you may only have once or twice in your life and it's there forever. It can help you to remember that special time and also creates a lovely piece of artwork."

She adds that it's important to have a cast made by someone experienced.

"There is a very small possibility that you could faint while being cast, so being with someone who knows how to sit you so you get a good pose, but one that doesn't risk fainting is really important," she says.

"It's also really important that pregnant ladies don't lie down to be cast."

How revealing a cast is created is a matter of taste and cost.

Women can have anything from just their tummy to their full torso and their own/older children's/their partner's hands cast.

The detail of the finish will depend on the method used, from capturing the shape to the fine details of skin, down to pores and goosebumps.

Prices range from £90 for a plaster bandage cast of just a tummy to £400 and up for a detailed alginate cast.

"I think the thing that makes it different from getting photos taken is that it's life size and three dimensional so it really preserves that sense of how big you were," says Helen.

And Helen has also noticed a growing trend for women having casts made of another body part - their bottoms!

"Some women have it done when they get married as a gift for their husband or when they have a birthday with a zero in it," she says.

"I'm currently working on a bottom for a woman who has just turned 40. She has a fabulous figure and wants to capture it as a gift for her husband before it all heads south!

"I'm making more of an art piece based on her form, so people won't necessarily realise it's her bottom, but she'll be able to look back at in when she's in her 80s and say 'I looked pretty good, didn't I?'"

Helen says that people tend to display their body casts in their own bedrooms, so limit the number of people who see them, adding that everyone who has had one done has said they love it, even years later.

And she is still fond of the cast she had made of her own baby bump, when she was pregnant with her second child.

"It helps you to remember that time and it's also a complete one off piece of artwork, that's definitely you," she says.

'My three-year-old loves to see herself in my plaster tummy'

Lisa Locke still loves the plaster bandage cast Helen made of her pregnant torso around three and a half years ago.

It hangs on her bedroom and she says it is a favourite of the whole family, including her -three-year-old, who loves the fact that it captured her mummy's tummy when she was still inside it.

"My husband and I knew the second pregnancy would be our last and I wanted a cast made to help preserve the memory," says Lisa.

Helen says that people tend to display their body casts in their own bedrooms, so limit the number of people who see them, adding that everyone who has had one done has said they love it, even years later.

And she is still fond of the cast she had made of her own baby bump, when she was pregnant with her second child.

"It helps you to remember that time and it's also a complete one off piece of artwork, that's definitely you," she says.

'My three-year-old loves to see herself in my plaster tummy'

Lisa Locke still loves the plaster bandage cast Helen made of her pregnant torso around three and a half years ago.

It hangs on her bedroom and she says it is a favourite of the whole family, including her -three-year-old, who loves the fact that it captured her mummy's tummy when she was still inside it.

"My husband and I knew the second pregnancy would be our last and I wanted a cast made to help preserve the memory," says Lisa.

"Some people do think it's a bit strange," she admits.

"It's not on public display but when I've had tradesmen in, they seem drawn to the boobs and then don't know where to look!

"But when I explain it to people they seem to understand why I had it done."

"Some people do think it's a bit strange," she admits.

"It's not on public display but when I've had tradesmen in, they seem drawn to the boobs and then don't know where to look!

"But when I explain it to people they seem to understand why I had it done."