viscaria:

will you dance with me?

borage:

courage

yarrow: healing

allium :

strength

oakleaves:

bravery

almond blossom -hope.

snowdrop -hope.

yarrow – healing

alium – strength.

eremurus - endurance.

eucalyptus – protection.

honeysuckle: bonds of love.

oakleaves: bravery.

pansies: receipient is being thought about. The flower's name comes from the French word pensée which means thought or remembrance. .

rosemary: remembrance.

violet, blue: watchfulness, faithfulness, I'll always be true.

yarrow: healing.

zinnia: thoughts of absent friends, in memory of an absent friend.

borage – courage.

bay Leaf – strength.

artemesia - symbol of dignity.

marigold - comforts the heart.

pear blossom: health and hope.

rose(tea) - I’ll always remember.

snowdrop- hope and consolation.

viscaria - will you dance with me? .

zinnia (yellow) - daily remembrance.

I have been looking at the definition of garden to generate ideas gar·denn. 1.A plot of land used for the cultivation of flowers, vegetables, herbs, or fruit. 2. gardens Grounds laid out with flowers, trees, and ornamental shrubs and used for recreation or display. Often used in the plural: public gardens; a botanical garden. 3. A yard or lawn. 4. A fertile, well-cultivated region. 5. a. An open-air establishment where refreshments are served.b. A large public auditorium or arena. v. gar·dened, gar·den·ing, gar·dens v.tr. 1. To cultivate (a plot of ground) as a garden. 2. To furnish with a garden. 1. To plant or tend a garden. 2. To work as a gardener. adj. 1. Of, suitable to, or used in a garden: garden tools; garden vegetables. 2. Provided with open areas and greenery: a garden community. 3. Garden-variety.Idiom: lead/take down the garden path To mislead or deceive (another).

i have discovered a project working with radiography and textiles .. it would be an interesting process to work with .. ...

• creating embroidered textiles which would then be xrayed
• embroidering layers of text/ stitch/ fabric qualities
• digitally manipulating results to created digitally printed imagery.

Revealing the hidden: the X-radiography of textiles

Mary M Brooks, Senior Lecturer, Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton . Sonia A O'Connor, Research Fellow in Archaeological Conservation, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford

X-radiography of textiles

X-radiography is an established non-destructive investigative technique used in many areas of conservation practice which has not usually been applied to textiles. The aim of this interdisciplinary research is to explore the potential of x-radiography as a tool for the characterisation, condition assessment, study and conservation decision-making of ancient, historic and contemporary textiles. Such X-radiographs enable hidden aspects of textiles and textile artefacts, such as seaming, stuffings and structural supports, to become evident as well as more subtle details such as internal stitching threads, variations in weave structures and differential metal weightings on silk fabrics. It can also be used for mapping areas of repair and deterioration. The benefits of such analysis are not only for conservators and curators since X-radiographs are also an exciting and dramatic tool for communicating a greater understanding of textiles to the public. http://www.bl.uk/services/npo/journal/2/textile.html

I have been looking at Kew Gardens millenium seed bank website as inspiration and also found some fantastic images of seeds for the book "Seeds - Time Capsules of Life"

millenium seed bank The MSB and its partner seed banks are not mausoleums - the seed they contain remains alive for decades and, in many cases, hundreds of years. More importantly, that seed is being used now to provide a wide range of benefits to mankind, ranging from food and building materials for rural communities to disease-resistant crops for agriculture. The collections held in the MSB, and the knowledge we are deriving from them, gives us almost infinite options for their conservation and use. With future climate change scenarios and the ever-increasing impact of human activities, the MSBP is already looking towards the next 10%. http://www.kew.org/msbp/

thinking about the garden theme of the arts commissions within the hospital and seeds used within brachytherapy i have been looking at plant seeds and xrays of seeds ..

Brachytherapy (radioactive seed implants) is sometimes used to treat small tumours of the prostate gland. It is carried out under a general anaesthetic, or sometimes a spinal anaesthetic. Small radioactive metal seeds are inserted into the tumour within the prostate gland, and they release small doses of radiation very slowly over a period of time. The seeds are not removed, but stay in the prostate tissue. The radioactivity gradually fades away over approximately a year. The radiation affects only the area a few millimetres around the seeds, so there is no danger of it affecting other people.

• xray
• seeds
• needles

xray with purple highlights

xray with seeds

i have been looking at brachytherapy seeds trying to understand more about the process involved in brachytherapy treatment.

brachytherapy seeds

brachytherapy : Radiation treatment given by placing radioactive material directly in or near the target, which is often a tumor. Brachytherapy for prostate cancer, for example, is also called interstitial radiation therapy or seed implantation. In brachytherapy for prostate cancer, radioactive seeds are implanted in the prostate. The seeds might be titanium-encased pellets containing the radioisotope iodine-125. "Brachy-" is Greek for "short." The opposite of brachytherapy is teletherapy, treatment in which the radiation source is at a distance from the target.

• brachytherapy seeds
• plant/ flower seeds

my textile commission will be placed within the radiography and brachytherapy area of the hospital so much to my preliminary research has centred around understanding these processes.

'we want views of the outside, trees. flowers, fields etc. Choice of colours, original art work on walls. Overall design based on comfort, to encourage feelings of ease rather than tension and fear, not just a functional building'

Patient comment from Tonic Patient consultation