Joanne Rolfe – Australia

Nova

Category: Traditional

Description

Nova:

A companion star system of incredible energy transference, drawing in energy and increasing in luminosity until peaking at critical temperature. Runaway ignition creates a spectacular outburst, the Hydrogen fusion process liberating accumulated cosmic gases and dust.

Highly explosive energy blasts liberate gases and expel them into interstellar space. Then, reduced to its former quiet self, the Nova is ready to repeat the process, ad infinitum.

This headpiece is a snapshot of critical ignition, recording the infinite expanding and contracting of energy throughout the Universe.

Seen through the telescope, light years away, the transient energy forces of the Nova provide a keyhole look into the mystery and the infinite power of the Universe.

Materials

• 14 gauge Millinery wire, Paglina Swiss Braid, 28 gauge Beading wire
• Calcium Carbonate, Silver Paint
• Foam Ball, Sequin Fabric
• Jinsin fibre (red, pink, black)
• Seed Beads
• UHU glue
• Millinery Hat Elastic, Metal Hair Comb
• Needle and Thread, Metal Thimble, Blunt nose Pliers, Wire Cutter

Techniques

• As a foundation for the headpiece I created a Bandeau millinery wire frame by hand.
• The beading wire was attached by hand, twisting and cutting with pliers to create the star burst feature.
• I then covered the beading wire with Calcium Carbonate for flexibility and painted it with Silver Paint.
• A millinery elastic was attached to the foundation piece.
• I created the nucleus with a (trimmed to size) foam ball. Wired the ball, (for attaching to the foundation frame), covered with sequin fabric and attached to headpiece foundation, stitching through fabric layers. I used doubled thread to bind wire to foundation frame.
• Using a long needle I created holes through the sequinned fabric and into foam ball. Cuttting lengths of jinsin fibre I inserted the lengths of jinsin into the ball and secured seed beads onto tips of jinsin fibre with a dab of UHU glue.
• Carefully binding the foundation bandeau wire with paglina braid, I completed the design by attaching a metal hair comb to the centre of the bandeau.