in Final Project, My Work, Process, Research

Final Assignment: The Blood Bag

My mood board/inspiration:

I wish to explore blood and blood vessels but not in the gory way. I am very intrigued by how they look like under the microscope and there are so much complexity and texture to it.

Method used:

I tried a few methods which I feel best fits the aesthetics and the methods that are able to capture the details of my subject.

Plastic fusion:

I love how the thin plastic melts and create hole like how the blood vessels look like under the microscope like the images in my mood board.

Water soluble material:

This is inspired by the blood and blue blood vessels running through our body, I used this method because I wanted to explore how this method can wrap around out body. I didn’t wash everything as I felt like the shine from the water soluble material also look little like the plasma.

Wet and Dry Felting:

This method is my favourite as it really help me create some very fine details. This is supposed to be inspired by arteries openings and plasma. I mixed in bit of embroidery at the edges to create some short of thickness to the arteries opening.

 

Thermoplastic:

I used a heat gun on synthetic material, and just held it close to the fabric until it wrinkles. It creates some really interesting vein like effect and some bums that looks like cells.

Ink Transfer:

This method really allows me to create some interesting pattern that mimics the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood with the vibrate colours it creates.

Latex:

I wish to explore some blood clogs (left) and veins under the skin (right), however I feel like this is too gory for me.

Bleaching:

I wanted to explore this method because it is a very organic and raw method. I wish to create some blood cells and veins by tying some thread around the red fabric, then soak in bleach and add some embroidery. I love the effect it produces.

 

Applications:

Thermoplastic:

Felting:

Water soluble material:

Final product process:

Method: Wet and dry felting

I created two huge pieces of felt (Red with white, and Blue) with the wet and dry felting method. Red – oxygenated blood, White – plasma, Blue – deoxygenated blood.

I then draft out a pattern for my bag on a spare fabric and then pin it onto my felt to cut it out.

After cutting them out, I mark out where I want to cut out the arteries and vein openings on the red and blue felt.

With the holes cut out, I start to do the embroidery at the edges of the cut out to create the arteries and vein opening thickness (inspired from my mood board on the microscopic view of the blood vessels)

I also added some beads and embellishments to suggest the red and white blood cells and also to add some details and texture to the piece.

After I’m done with the embroidery and embellishment, I then felt the two pieces together.

For the strap, instead of just doing a normal rectangle strap, I decided to felt some long cylinder strips and braid it to suggest the 3-dimensional arteries and veins connecting everything in our body.

Final and packaging:

I wanted my packaging aesthetics to be like crime and evidence inspired. Hence I pack my Blood bag and samples in ziplock bags and label them like how evidence will be stored from crime scenes.

Mood board and description:

Sample packaging: