See that? That is effed up latex that is. I should not be able to scratch the latex like that. The liquid latex can part and as the liquid evaporates I ccould create channels, but a sharp brittle stratch in still white latex? No.

Latex in its natural state is a white liquid that turns a murky clear colour when cured. This in not cured. this has gone really horribly wrong. Eventually it will cure, oh yes. But it does so by going through a jelly like stage. This causes it to crack because there s no stretch when it is like this but it still shrinks as the water evaporates.

I thought it was me. But it is not. I tested all my methods but frankly that above should never happen.

My latex did have a pinkish tint to it, but I’ve had that before and no issue. Now to retro-research what went wrong (I have my suspicions).

|      

operafantomet:

glassprism:

…No, I actually, genuinely like it. It’s not my favorite of Christine’s dresses, but at least it’s better than the original “Hershey’s Kisses” dress, at least in my opinion. I’ve also seen the dresses other productions used, and thought they were… just okay. (Hungarian one looked a little too modern, the Polish one a bit cheap, mostly because it looked exactly like the dress they used in ‘Think of Me’, only a shade of pink.)

I don’t like the current UK versions of the dress, especially not the sleeveless one Sierra Boggess wore in the Royal Albert Hall concert and ESPECIALLY not the butchered one Katie Hall wears in the UK tour. I think the colours are too bright and the materials looks to synthetic. But how can you not like THIS? 

image

Or this?

image 

Crazy. Crazy, I say. 

I agree. I hated the way the dress was a flat shiny cone when I saw the London cast. But I do adore the US and Aussie versions so much. I think it is because there is a subtler layering of so many nets as well as the balance of the neckline that extends in to the sleeves.

One day I may make that dress. Gotta admit, of all the masquerade costumes I most want to make the Monkey Girl 🙂 The first time I saw the show the ballerina absolutely understood her role as a symbol, to provoke so many varied responses in Christine. Never seen it so well played since. Sigh. And her little shaking paws at the entrance of Red Death…. Wow. 

digitalsprawl:

vertisol:

letsdothewave:

myallyistheforce:

Cats do this because its a hunting instinct to snap the neck of their prey.

*the more you know*

still adorable

those are the eyes of a cold blooded killer

and suddenly everything strange about my cat’s behaviour becomes startlingly clear.

More like disemboweling/tear apart/just break now damn you- cat prey is usually about the size of that ball.

When I play games with my cat it usually winds up with him trying to disembowel my arm.

He’s just a big softy really. 

I am in misery due to health problems spiraling ever down. Also Nyreen molds work but are super hard to use right now. All in all I am finding the will to complete this project more difficult to summon. But here are the best of the bad pulls test driven. They need interior support but are comfy to wear. These probably need the latex mix fine tuned, also the expensive prethickened latex at that.

Phone tumlr doesn’t allow multiple images 🙁 or tags 🙁

|      

My specialist says there is no point getting more xrays. Pretty conclusive there.
From Hand Surgery: Rheumatological and Degenerative Problems, Nerve Compression Syndromes (see link in text)
That bone is not normal
And to show I’m trying hard to show it as it really is.

My hands. They are deformed.

I have a degenerative disease caused by my immune system attacking synovium tissue throughout my body, this surrounds joints as well as tendons, ligaments and internal organs.

Fricking awful right? Yep. And it has a pretty benign sounding name which makes it really hard to get across why this is such a devastating disease: Rheumatoid Arthritis. This is not benign. The disease and medication is pretty hard on the whole body. Heart disease and liver failure, oh and a highish risk of lymphoma.

But lets look at the reason for the name: the arthritis. This is not a bit of achey and painy. This is full on erosion of joints that never get better. That never stop getting worse. Once you have a joint where the immune system has had a really good go you are ****ed. All that is left is waiting out the pain for surgery. And let me tell you. It ain’t pretty.

Given my age (young- compared to the age they will generally do this in NZ) I am not likely to get replacement but fusion. Which means no flexion at all. I’ll have to waggle my arms from the elbows. This book explains a lot of the issues specifically related to the wrist (also fingers if you go searching). BE WARNED. Graphic photos of surgery. The snippets view can give you warning of the pages in particular.

As to my other joints? Well my specialist has called them a few names but there is a fairly restrictive view of what is “active” but there is some activity in my knees, ankles and elbows. Oh a lot in my elbows. Funnily enough with synovitis! There are pockets of liquid at large joints (in particular) and I get a lot of inflammation of these near my elbows, knees and hips.

So when I say I can’t do something I can’t. It’s not I won’t. A small bit of damage today leads to a few years less functioning.

And I am currently experiencing a fairly active flare up as I have been off my monoclonal antibody therapy (aTNF inhibitor) for 2 months. This is because the other fantastic side effect of the drugs and the disease is recurrent and long lasting infections. I think I have spent 9 of the last 12 months on antibiotics. And of the last 10 years.. I think I have seen my gp more than I have seen all of my friends combined.

Just to put the work I have done in to perspective and why I take so long between days of activity.

|     

Nyreen @masseffect This was the final test before making the mold. There is no nose on the form and I forgot to put some clay under there to give a better profile, but it shows the pieces still do line up as intended 🙂

The jaw is more heavily layered in the chin as the latex fully cured overnight and I didn’t expect it to- so I hadn’t slushed it around properly. This is a test anyway 🙂 The jaw hinge is feathered out so that it can be clipped to shape once all the pieces are assembled.

|     

 
 

Today’s work.

About 3kg of clay to create a wall as a guide for the plaster and to support the head. About 6kg of plaster. Maybe more… yeah.. it was about 6L of water.

I managed to make this as a one piece mold after all, thank goodness. I was worried about seam flashing and how to support the full mold once made and in two parts… I used my hand as a guide. So long as I can get my hand in the neck opening I’ll be able to clean the clay out and also slush easily once casting begins.

|     

operafantomet:

I’m bitching on Facebook again.

https://www.facebook.com/WLGMT is the page for the Wellington shows. It’s not the tour coming back in case anyone was wondering 🙂 Should be fun to see who gets cast and to watch the progress 🙂 Sorry, tried to reply to your ask and then post this as an ask but no links are allowed in asks. Askhats. 😉

He sighed and opened the black box and took out his rings and slipped them on. Another box held a set of knives and Klatchian steel, their blades darkened with lamp black. Various cunning and intricate devices were taken from velvet bags and dropped into pockets. A couple of long-bladed throwing tlingas were slipped into their sheaths inside his boots. A thin silk line and folding grapnel were wound around his waist, over the chain-mail shirt. A blowpipe was attached to its leather thong and dropped down the back of his cloak; Teppic picked a slim tin container with an assortment of darts, their tips corked and their stems braille-coded for ease of selection in the dark.

He winced, checked the blade of his rapier and slung the baldric over his right shoulder, to balance the bag of lead slingshot ammunition. As an afterthought he opened his sock drawer and took a pistol crossbow, a flask of oil, a roll of lockpicks and, after some consideration, a punch dagger, a bag of assorted caltrops and a set of brass knuckles.

Teppic picked up his hat and checked it’s lining for the coil of cheesewire. He placed it on his head at a jaunty angle, took a last satisfied look at himself in the mirror, turned on his heel and, very slowly, fell over.

― Terry Pratchett, Pyramids: A Novel of Discworld

|