HATalk Competition Entry 2023

Cynthia Peacock

Maker
Cynthia Peacock

Country
USA

Name of Hat
Morning Has Broken

Description

The Greek Goddess of Water gazed at the earth and was delighted with the canvas it afforded her. She began by creating lakes and streams. And then she decided to get creative. After some trial and error, she realized when she mixed her essence, water, with the golden brown earth, rock formations were created, and the new creation glistened with promise. She now gazes upon her creation and dreams about what she will create next — flowers, plants, animals, and maybe if she can figure it out — mankind. Her dreams are infinite, and the world is beautiful.

Materials:

Fur hat body (golden brown to represent earth)
Fabric for binding, lining, and headband (represents the water and the promise of what water can provide)
Birchwood (used to add structure and stability to the hat crown)
Polymer clay, wood, and paint to create the Goddess of water.
Various stones (represents the combination of water and earth). The ancient Greeks believed that rocks were formed when water and earth were combined.
Small blue rocks (indicating new pools of water)
Brown glitter (represents the newly energized earth.
Thread, minimal glue.

Techniques:

Blocking fur felt
Wiring fur felt
Creating hat bands
Creating polymer clay structures
Care was taken to make the hat wearable. The challenge was to create the Goddess to be as light as possible. There is a board that I cut to add support to the crown which is sandwiched between the top of the hat and the lining. There is a peace of cotton batting that lies between the wooden piece and the lining to mitigate the hardness of the wood.

Note: Entries have been not been edited or proofread to protect the integrity of the maker's original meaning.