Patricia Billings

Inventor of the Geobond

Sometimes when we are working, we have to find the solution to a problem or difficulty that arises. Afterwards, this solution may become an invention, applicable elsewhere.

This is more or less what happened to Patricia Billings, born in Missouri in 1926. She was a sculptor by profession and worked with plaster. One of her sculptures fell and broke. Thinking of the Renaissance sculptors, she decided to experiment to find a substance that would make the plaster less brittle.

It took her eight years to discover this substance, a milky additive that creates indestructible plaster. It makes plaster unbreakable, is highly resistant to heat and non-toxic.

It is called Geobond and, not only is it used in sculpture, but also in the construction of buildings, bridges and aeroplanes.