FRAGILE STRINGS

fRAGILE STRINGS

Inspirations

The inspiration for my design is leaf vines. They are visible vines in a beautiful net structure and connected on the leaf. They provide nutrition to ensure the smooth progress of leaf physiological functions. Another thing inspired me is an art project that I did in China’s primary school, which is the skeleton leaf bookmark. We used chemicals to boil leaves removed the mesophyll from vines, dye them and turn them into beautiful bookmarks. The final project is a shell and has a soft beige color on it. The whole design is the combination of this beautiful and detailed leaf vines structure with the sheerness of skeleton leaf to create wearable art. The meaning of this design is presenting people with the essence of leaves and how strong they are. People might think leaves are fragile, however, after boiling with chemicals and removing the mesophyll, all the vines are still staying together and keeping the shape of leaves. It is hard to notice all the leaf vines when leaves have not been made or turn into skeleton leaves. However, they are the They silently transport water and nutrients to all parts of the leaf and support the leaf, increasing the area of photosynthesis, keeping leaves health and green. During the researching process, I was also inspired by leaf bowls made from real leaf skeletons by a Japanese American artist called Kay Sekimachi. She discovered that the unique veins and natural extension of leaves can reveal an elegant quality. Her skeleton leaf bowls shocked the art world and were collected by major museums in the United States. Looking through these bowls, they are thin and transparent, with a sense of crystal clear, the whole bowl looks both firm and fragile at the same time. This characteristic attracts me, and I want to present people with a combination of fragility and vitality from these skeleton leaves.