How I turned 4lbs of my excess sagging skin into human LEATHER – The slimmed-down artist’s ‘crazy’ idea saw her store it in her freezer, right next to her berries!

An art student who lost sixth place turned her sagging skin into human leather, all in the name of earning a Ph.D.

Katie Taylor, from Oxford, recounted how the idea of ​​’crazy’ came naturally to her once she decided to have the cosmetic operation last March.

The 52-year-old, who studies fine art at Oxford Brookes University and uses “body aspects” in her work, begged surgeons to let her keep the skin.

They agreed, with the promise that it would be picked up immediately afterward.

With Ms. Taylor stuck in the hospital recovering after the procedure, her friend was asked to pick up the 4 pounds of excess skin.

He cycled with the skin in his front basket, before putting it directly into Mrs Taylor’s freezer, where it stayed for nine months.

Mrs Taylor said: ‘The freezers weren’t that big so it was right next to the frozen berries.

After keeping it buried in his freezer, he contacted an expert with 30 years of experience in prehistoric “skin tanning.”

With his help, Mrs. Taylor was able to turn it into leather. The grim process involved soaking and stretching her fur, before tossing it into a dryer.

The mother of two lost six stone after being diagnosed with type two diabetes when she had her second child in 2004. To manage her diabetes, she turned to a ketogenic diet and started lifting weights, losing weight in the process.

Ms Taylor, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when she had a second child in 2004, still isn’t sure what she’s going to do with the leather on her stomach.

But it could be placed in an exhibition in the future.

He has also sent his stomach fat to a tattoo ink manufacturer and is now thinking of getting a tattoo with the ink.

She said: “I thought I would do something with the skin, but I don’t think I can cut it now.”

“I think I want it to stay in its shape because that’s the shape it was in when I took it off.”

Ms Taylor added: “It’s a reminder of where I came from, how I got to where I am today and just how amazing and resilient the human body is.”

‘I use materials that challenge what can and cannot be done in my art, and I definitely have a corporeal aspect to my work.

“The idea of ​​bodies and the circularity of human remains or decomposition is part of my PhD project, so this incorporated quite well.”

She said: ‘You can see my C-section scar, stretch marks and even hair follicles in the leather I love.

‘It is capturing marks and signs of my life.’

The grim process of turning his skin into leather involved soaking and stretching his hide, before putting it in a dryer.

To control her diabetes, Ms. Taylor turned to a ketogenic diet and began lifting weights.

When she reached her happy weight in March 2022, she decided to have the surgery to remove the loose skin around her stomach.

But keeping body parts after surgery is not an easy process.

To preserve the skin, Ms. Taylor contacted her surgeon’s secretary and sent them a two-page letter explaining why she wanted to preserve the excess skin.

He also had to refer to the Human Tissue Act of 2004 and compiled other examples of people who had retained parts of their body, such as fat removed by liposuction.

The hospital agreed to return the skin to her post-op on the condition that it be collected immediately after surgery.

Making use of every bit of excess skin, the artist also sent her stomach fat, pictured above, to a tattoo ink manufacturer and is thinking of getting a tattoo with the ink.

Ms Taylor said: ‘My amazing friend Catalina collected the skin on her way back from work.

‘He cycled back to my house with my skin in the front basket of his bike.

“She had already cleaned out a draw in the freezer, so she put it right in there.”

Initially, Ms. Taylor wanted to do the leather at home and purchased a tanning kit.

But she finally decided to contact some leather experts, including some survival courses, but she was turned down.

That was until he got in touch with Theresa Emmerich Kamper, in Exeter, who has a PhD in experimental archeology and more than 30 years of experience in prehistoric skin tanning.

To preserve the skin, Ms. Taylor contacted her surgeon’s secretary and sent them a two-page letter explaining why she wanted to preserve the excess skin.

Taylor traveled to Exeter in January this year and stayed at a hotel near Theresa’s house for a week while they completed the process.

She said: ‘Theresa was absolutely amazing and very knowledgeable.

“We started by scraping the fat off the back and removing the membrane.

“Then we soaked the hide in a vegetable tanning solution while stirring and checking it every day.

“After it soaked, we stretched it out a lot and rubbed it with oil before drying it in Theresa’s dryer.”