Laura Del Villaggio – USA

Belinda

Description

The inspiration for my competition entry is an ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail. The ouroboros is an ancient symbol, first appearing in Egypt and often associated with magical alchemy. It means “all is one.” The ouroboros represents the duality of existence – birth and death, good and evil, day and night – and the eternal balance of universal forces. In the continual loop of snake eating tail, there is a constant harmony and renewal of opposites.

Beginning with a vintage ring block and sparterie, I was able to block a spiraling frame that was ideal for a stylized ouroboros. The finished piece is covered in silk and hundreds of iridescent peacock plumage feathers, which resemble the scales of a snake. The result is a stunning feathered headpiece, reminiscent of a turban. It is an infinity loop, easily adjustable in size and wearable in many ways.

Materials

• Japanese Sparterie
• Millinery Wire
• French Fleece
• French Elastic
• Black Silk Taffeta
• Peacock Plumage Feathers in Green and Blue
• Thread
• Gel Adhesive
• Victorian Jet Glass Bead

Techniques

• Blocked two layers of Japanese sparterie as one, spiraling around a vintage ring block to achieve length needed
• Determined length and width of snake, marked style lines, then sewed on wire
• Trimmed, folded and hand-stitched seam allowance of sparterie over wire
• Padded inside curve with French fleece
• Sewed French elastic around edge
• Blocked silk taffeta lining and hand sewed to frame
• Covered outside of frame with silk taffeta
• Cut, stripped and sorted 700 peacock plumage feathers
• One-by-one feather-work technique, applying feathers by row, tail to head