Concept Pages

Another problem we hit was that due to butt stitching the seams we would not be able to butt stitch the arm seams and the sleeves to the shoulder seam as it would sew through onto the reverse side of the garment. But to the rescue came out tutor and helped us to create a bridge between the seams to conenct the pattern pieces together, it worked perfectly, disaster averted and result equaled uber cool garment!

After removing the seam allowances and cutting out the pattern pieces, the next task was to sew the pieces together. As we didn't have a specific machine for sewing neoprene; as it is very thick! we wern't able to sew the pieces together normally layering on top of each other, we thought we had hit a brick wall and were a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to sew the neoprent comfortably due to lack of equipment. Being over adventerous second years we resovled the problem and used butt stitich sewing which in the end resulted in a very neat edging and joined the pattern pieces together perfectly, creating strong structure and shape within the shoulders.

It was really hard to place the pattern pieces on the neoprene as the pieces didn't lie flat. So next though was how to place the pattern pieces without damaging 1. the pattern pieces and 2. the neoprene!
We thought of taping the pattern pieces onto the neoprene and drawing round them with tailor chalk..idea was genius and worked a treat. Result equaled perfectly set out jacket pieces.

Sam and I decided to use Neoprene within our designs to emphasise the innovative aspect of our garment. Neoprene is a smart fabric and when pushed or embedded leaves an imprint, it is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibile. The idea of short term memories being imprinted, recording an image, relates to leaving and imprinting marks on the Neoprene.

Neoprene is very hard to work with especially sewing it with a sewing machine that isn't made to sew Neoprene, henece the sign our tutor wrote once the machine was set up!!

Building a Bridge to connect the sleeve and shoulder seams.

Experimenting with Butt Stitching to create shape and structure within the shoulder.

The Neoprene creates a silhouette of a memory, although the MRI scan looks simplistic the key is looking internally into unreconisable features and translating that into fabric. I want to look at a simplsitic garment but the technical aspect relates to the intricate details of the scan.

Initial Ideas

Design Development

Within our workshop alicated days Sam and I started to look at toiling on the stand, panelling and different techniques to develop our inital ideas, putting flat designs into a 3D form so if there were any adjusments we needed to make we could develop them.

Memory Blanket

The 'memory blanket' consists of silhouettes of human groups 'sewn' together in the form of a blanket. The connected shapes are suspended in order that shadows are created so that the projected image may become the focus of attention. The story is unrecognisable until the work is spotlit. Then the shapes shown resemble the thoughts and memories of childhood - really very clever design. I really like the idea of creating memories out of silhouettes, and drawing memories from the past from distinctive shapes and figures that the memory has retained. The colours are also key point within Wendy's work as it symbolises key moments from the past, this relates to memory encoding and what the memory choses to remember about different people. Wendy has created a series of acrylic installations on the subject of memory and narrative told through light and shadow.


The viewer is encouraged to study the work carefully, to play detective, in order to discover the stories hidden in the artworks. A continuous memory blanket (a contemporary tapestry) features the artist's inter-related personal experiences. Individual episodes are linked by threads - the ties which bind us - illustrating how Wendy perceives a sense of interconnection between the people and events in her life. In contrast, smaller pods focus on a single subject or story. The semi-circular shape of these pods embrace the viewer, allowing shadows to fall upon them, drawing them into the narrative process.

Goldfish Memory

Short-term memory (sometimes referred to as "primary memory" or "active memory") refers to the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds. Estimates of short-term memory capacity limits vary from about 4 to about 9 items, depending upon the experimental design used to estimate capacity.

Short Term memory can be translated through to fabrics especially innovative, smart fabrics. Neopreme and Memory foam are fabrics which when imprinted on create shapes and embedded outlines which last for secondsthen spring back to their original form. Heat sensitive fabric also changes colour when exposed to different temperatures this is not permanent and lasts for minutes if not seconds, this short term memory aspect can be related through to these smart fabrics in the sense the outcome is not permanent and is only a short term effect.

Angela Palmer

The increasing cross-over between science and art has seen an explosion of work in a myriad of media worldwide, resulting in exciting collaborations between the disciplines. Angela’s work is largely based on details derived from MRI and CAT scans which she engraves or draws onto multiple sheets of glass, layer upon layer.

"This layering Technique could be seen as layering and trapping memories between the sheet of glass."



This technique allows her to use the scientific anatomy of the human body stripped of its recognisable features.
Most of Angela’s work is based on MRI scans of herself - rebuilding the body, slice by slice, to create a self-portrait. While the works may not be instantly recognisable as a portrait, they are objective representations – removing the familiar to expose the extraordinary architecture of the internal human form.

Silhouette of a Memory

Here I have experimented with inks, blending colours and letting them run to represent the shapes and colours within the coloured MRI scans. I then scanned the image into photoshop and looked at layering blocks off colour and differing the opacity to create the illusion of embedding a memory and creating a structured silhouette of a short term memory.