Hats on Exhibit--Spruill Art Center

I was recently asked by the Spruill Art Center, in Atlanta, Georgia, to exhibit in their art show celebrating their 35th anniversary. This exhibit will hang during the month of July in their Gallery, and the artwork will be for sale--both through the gallery and their website.

Below you will see the two hats I entered. These hats have been given names since the gallery wanted the title of each artist's work. I hate "Untitled" so I named them based on the elements they embue.

This hat is free-form shaped from natural sinamay--a straw that is manufactured in yardage/meters. I love the way it can be manipulated into beautful folds and swirls, creating very abstract shapes. It can also be blocked over hatblocks, but in this case I've simply hand-shaped the hat. There are no embellishments on this hat, except for a piece of frayed black sinamay added for contrast. The hat itself is embellishment enough, don't you think? This hat is entitled, "Roller Coaster."

I've really been interested in creating sewn braid hats recently. Probably because I've taught the skills in the last two classes--in Atlanta and San Antonio. The hat above is a combination of sewn braid circles, about 7 as I remember, tacked together just as they touch each other. I knew I wanted to use this particular peacock feather because it had some lovely shades of lavendar in it. That was the starting point for using the lavendar coqs and veiling. This hat is entitled, "Got My Eye On You."

Happy 35th anniversary, Spruill Art Center!

Texas Millinery Class--Parisisal, Sinamay, Braid

This past weekend I taught a class entitled Sensational Straw: 3 Millinery Techniques, in San Antonio, Texas. The class was held at the Southwest School of Art and Craft, a venue I've taught at three times before. We had a full class of 11 ladies, ready to learn how to work with parisisal capelines and hoods, sinamay (blocked and free-form), and sewn straw braid.

I love Texas! The food, the people, the margaritas! The next couple of shots were taken on the Riverwalk, a beautiful park that meanders through the city along the San Antonio River.

That is a HUGE American flag! Kinda surprised there isn't a Texas flag that big hanging nearby.

Lovely ivy covered bridge over the river. Tour boats and river taxis traverse the river allowing riders to enjoy the beautiful buildings, wildlife, and to people watch.

Amy (from Dallas) chose to work in blocked sinamay and sewn braid. Here you see her brim and the tip of her crown. I love this natural sewn braid. Very classic.

Dale chose to work with an orange parisisal hood and sewn braid.

Here you see a top view of the shape she blocked and free-formed--nice upturned crown.

And here's her final product with a triple row of the natural sewn braid. While it was going to be her brim, it turned into a nice mid-band embellishment. This looked fantastic on her!

Jessica worked with a lavendar parisisal capeline which she then interlaced with the natural sewn braid. So the brim was lavendar, natural, and lavendar again on the outside edge. Nice touch, Jessica!

More of Jessica's hat in progress.

Elizabeth was taken with making a Fedora, which she did a nice job of. She decided to edge the Fedora in aqua sewn braid.

Wiring of the brim edge in progress. See the aqua braid on the side? This is how she will be finishing off the edge of the hat.

This hat is a very nice example of blocked sinamay (crown) and sewn braid (brim). This shot shows the petersham being added to maintain the headsize and to protect the hat from perspiration and makeup.

And this is Sarah in her completed hat! She chose to add a hatband of silk noil which had been created in a recent shibori class.

Nice hat! Aztec statuary on the Riverwalk.

Thank you, Southwest School, for another delightful class of talented students. Always a pleasure!

More Atlanta Flowermaking Pictures

My friend and fellow milliner, Diane Shaggott, sent the following pictures from the recent flowermaking class in Atlanta. Diane's orchid is the one on the bottom row, center. She used silk chiffon and silk velvet for her's. Nice, Diane!

I normally don't have pictures of me in the blog...'cause I'm making the pictures! But Diane sent these along for me to include. Below you see me demonstrating using the radius head for shaping rose petals.

I have been teaching quite a few students flowermaking lately--both privately and in public classes. It is one of those classes where absolutely everyone loves the outcome. Can't beat that!

Check out Diane's website at Hats to Di For!

Next week I'll be teaching at the Southwest School for Arts and Crafts in San Antonio, Texas. I'll be posting pictures next week. Watch for them here.