The object lesson: Developing Ideas

 For our 'object lesson' task during the second week, we are choosing an object to practice our creative mind to develop the object into a finished outcome. From all of the objects laid on the table, a white seashell with rather unique curve and sharp edge caught my eyes. So I decided to choose that to be developed. 

When I take a closer look to the shell, I can see the unique shard edges on the outer surface and the glossy smooth pearl-like layer on the inside, however at first I can't think of any ideas how to develop the seashell into something different,  so I'm making a mind map by filling it with words that remind me of the shell. As I was playing around with the seashell, I got an idea to shine a flashlight on the inside of the shell as the glossy surface reflected the light and create a sheer kind of hologram. Then I thought of playing it with water and put a mirror underneath. I was fascinated how the water drops create ripples on the mirror. 

Although I like the effect of the shell with water and mirror but I thought that it's not strong enough to be developed further, so I took a different approach this time and try to observe the shell more closely. I notice that the upper arc of the shell has a sharp texture that remind me of stegosaurus's bony plate and also human spine. 

At the same time, thinking about human spine reminded me about a spine dress I saw on TikTok made by the user 'etjesaulinw' which is a dress that has a spine decoration made with manipulation technique. 

Spine Dress by etjesaulinw

etjesaulinw (2023). TikTok - Make Your Day. [online] Tiktok.com. Available at: https://www.tiktok.com/@etjesaulinw/video/7299042463572872490 [Accessed 19 Jan. 2025].

This inspired me to recreate the spine look by draping fabric on the mannequin. Different with the original spine dress which uses Canadian smocking technique, my recreation is a drapery straight on the mannequin without first creating smocking pattern for the spine. Because I was unsure on how to recreate it and can't found any video tutorials, so I make a sample from a small piece of fabric to see how it turned out.

When I was happy with the sample, I then started draping with a longer fabric to create a long enough spine so it will look similar like the human back bone. I had fun experimenting with drapery and I really enjoyed making the folds and pin it to make an arc that's presenting a spine. The finished drapery took less than 30 minutes to finish, and I was satisfied with how it turned out. As it's just an experiment drapery with cheap fabric, so I don't iron the folds before putting it on the mannequin, however if this going to be an actual garment piece, I would first prepare the pleats by ironing it so it will keep the shape. I would also trim the excess fabric on both side so it will look neat and clean.