Hat For A Towering Intellect

As you can see, the silk neckties have worked their way into my hats. It was time to revisit the Hat For A Towering Intellect with the improved skill set I've developed. This is really fun! I used to give each hat a title and a fun story tag back when they were at Zoe & Floyd, the much missed gallery that used to be in Seymour CT. But doing shows and general business led me to drop that. I think it's time to return to tagging the hats and to the level of carefree craziness I had at that time. There's an odd synergy between playful and serious. That's what I'm going for.

Oh Christmas Tree, part 1

When I was a kid we lived in a rural Connecticut town on the edge of the Cockaponset State Forrest. Driving home from work one evening my dad found a small owl lying stunned in the road, so rather than leave it so vulnerable, he scooped it up and brought it home. He had a friend who was licensed to rehabilitate wild birds so he called him up and we took the owl to his place. It was an awesome visit! We got to see the hawks who were recuperating from injuries up close. There was a barred owl they had named George sitting on a stump in the kitchen recovering from an injured wing. The family cats were prowling around just outside the reach of George's tether, eyeing his unfinished dinner. They had learned the hard way that even if he looks like he's sleeping, it's a bad idea to mess with a barred owl's dinner! But we weren't a threat to George's dinner so we were allowed to pet his head. Our fingers sank into the softest feathers imaginable. Adding to the magic of the visit, it was about this time of year and they had an enormous Christmas tree in their cathedral ceiling living room.
It turned out that my dad had found a saw whet owl. My sister and I had been calling it Victoria, but Victor would have been more appropriate. After an examination, Victor was pronounced to be fine, he'd just need to rest overnight and then could be released. My dad's friend casually walked over and placed Victor in the Christmas tree.
That was the inspiration for my just for fun project after my last craft show. I'm calling my owl Seraphina. She's made out of the same felted wool sweater material that I use to make my hats. We just need a Christmas tree for her to sit in.

Shaman's Hats

Friday was going to be spent with a friend but she had to cancel. It must have been meant to be because I was ready to put the inspiration I'd been soaking up from Folk Arts in the Soviet Union to good use. These are my two favorite hats. Since getting the book last Sat. afternoon I've looked through it every night before going to sleep. This gives my mind time to absorb and mull over the pictures so by the time I sit down to work I've got them sorted out. If you've never tried this, you should. Another trick is to look through a book like this upside down. You'll see the shapes differently, not so much as what the subject actually is.

Hot Colors Beret

Today's new hat is a hot color beret. Next up I need to get back to painting. Dan and I are working on one together and I have reference for more in the mason jar series I'm doing. Unfortunately, I lost track of time yesterday and stayed up way too late. I took forever to fall asleep, had a string of weird dreams and woke up discombobulated. I've felt wrong footed all day but if I can get some painting done I know that will help.

Harold! Come Back!

I'm a visual person and I like blogs with pictures so here's another hat that I have up on etsy now. I'm not too sure what I feel like writing about this morning so I'll start with the hat. I call it Harold and it was inspired by a Monty Python sketch about an English and French joint venture in aviation, the sheep airliner. A few bits later we see a farmer out in his field looking up into the sky shouting,"Harold! Come back!"
It's a beautiful day with just a hint of fall in the air. Just the sort of day that I really need at about this time of August. Back to school is in sight and honestly, I need more structure in my life. I seem to turn into a slug in August.