Epiploic Cube part five

 
  This is about the details of the model. I often see or am told about problems or anatomical details that I can immediately see in my mind as fabrics or technical challenges that I have in my work. Peritoneal spaces is one, fragile tissue another. Sometimes it is simply how to avoid that annoying but important thing that is getting in your way.

 
How I translate one to the other is part of what this project is revealing.The world of textiles is broad enough to be able to provide ample examples of material parallels that anyone can understand. My career has incorporated much of the field of textiles to one degree or another, each experience linking and building with its related areas to give me insights into areas that I don't always need to be expert at in order to understand.

 

 I don't need to have made a 17th century dress in Spitalfields silk to know that the underarm is fragile, my knowledge of wearing 1920s clothing is sufficient! I also know about piecing patterned fabric together and that it can take as long to make a repair in pattern look good as it can to make a whole new garment. The details shown here reveal my knowledge of all these things and more translated through a medical understanding.

 Image 1. shows a detail inspired by the hip inserts on an 18thC. corset to which I added folded organza. This was what came to mind when I was told about peritoneal spaces.
 Image 2. shows embroidered ribbon, rouleaux loops and couronnes all in similar tones, a complex surface often seen in vascular surgery.
Image 3. shows raised embroidery on silk where the pattern is disappearing into pleats, this problem is found in early printed silks and brings up questions of frugality and the skill of piecing pattern. It also shows how complex work gets hidden away.
Image 4. shows wear and tear that is perhaps beyond repair yet some parts are still sound. How far can you take the repair of antique materials is a challenge I have often witnessed in surgery.