I was given the parameters of a making a piece that was a bird alit on a wide-brimmed hat and given creative freedom as far as the rest goes. I found this lovely sun hat made from woven horse hair and got to work on a recently sourced hen from my dear chicken master buddy. She was rather large- a little too large for this purpose, but I was so enamoured with her coloring I plowed ahead and taxied the skin onto a smaller, altered form. I posed her to be perched, curious, holding back part of the brim with her wing; almost an extension of the wearer's head.
I gave her a pair of oversized eyes and lined them with crystals, as well as embellishing the original coat with some brighter pheasant feathers. A gold and diamond chain around the brim completes the look.
Look at that beautiful fuzzy bum! The blueish feathers underneath the tail are the pheasant accents.
I added a poof of white with some belly down at the end of the chain, and called it a day. Well, there were some structural issues to address but I took care of those earlier. When one is wearing such a monumental structure on one's head, it helps to have straps on the ready to hold said structure into place. I rather enjoy the pomp and circumstance of dressing up in this way-having an entire creature on my head makes me taller, it makes me stand up straighter, and I am so much more aware of how I move my head. It feels very elegant. I am eager to see how well my birthday sister and recipient of this gift wears it.
Photos by James Coughlin
*I never actually put more love into any one piece than another. I adore all of my children equally.
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