Hi again, since I last posted I've done a bit more with the plastic straps. The original cylindrical shape was based on a leg so I continued with that as you can see from the images.

It is difficult to maintain the desired lines as the straps retained there original folds to an extent but with practise I'm sure some good results could be achieved. I also stapled any joints together which proved awkward as the gaps got smaller so maybe using hot glue or similar would be more efficient.

 

As you've seen before I previously made a plaster-bandage mould of my hand, well half of it, intending to make the other half and join them with a hinge of some sort. The idea being that the mould could be opened (like a box) to show the amount of space my hand uses / needs. It's also a representation of a 'sense' of my presence - at least the hand - as you can't help imagining the hand that once occupied this empty space. After discovering the convenience of plaster-bandage to create moulds I have to confess I was like a small child with a new toy. Are the possibilities endless? Anyway I'm afraid to say the other half of the hand mould got put on hold as I was itching to make a mould of my face and hadn't enough plaster-bandage to do both. I went with the face. This process takes a bit of planning, especially if your alone when trying it. I had to consider stuff like covering the eyes - when closed. Breathing - often useful - could have been a problem as like most people at the moment I have a head cold and would have to breath through my nose. As I knew the p-b would set fairly quickly I decided to take a chance on my nose staying clear, a hot whiskey also helps. It turned out the p-b didn't actualy set as quickly as I'd anticipated (10 mins). Setting the alarm on my mobile for 10 mins after I'd applied the final piece of p-b - left eye - I sat and waited, eyes covered, mouth covered, hoping I wouldn't get a blocked nose. Thank God I'm not claustrophobic.

So (a long) 10 mins later when the alarm on the mobile rang, I felt the p-b wasn't yet set enough so decided to wait a bit longer before removing the mould. As I couldn't see the buttons on the mobile when switching off the alarm I was pleased to hear, after 1 minute, the alarm going off again - with an update on the time, luckily. Must have a snooze facility but for only 1 minute - that can get annoying. And it did.  In fact it was twenty minutes after the first alarm before I was confident that the p-b had set firmly enough. Naturally it didn't just lift off as I'd expected. Took another five minutes of gentle persuasion and cursing, and maybe a few seconds of panicking, but I got it off in one piece and I have to say I'm quiet pleased with the result. Think I'll need to reinforce it though as it's a bit fragile. It's kind of like a face shaped poppadom at the moment. Pity I hadn't thought of doing this in time for Halloween - maybe I could've made a good mask from the mould (obviously with alterations....to make it scary......o.k. scarier)