Photo: Alanna Riley
Made from simple patterns, these mini paper hats conjure birthday party fun, with the grown up twist of lux materials. The cone hat design pictured above was a solution to the adult Hallowe'en costume dilemma- how to cheerfully participate in a costumed event while maintaining costume control for a quick switch if being costumed is no longer necessary. Doug & I sported the first cone hats For Ingrid Bachman's exhibition The Portable Sublime (The Portable Sublime Oct 31 to Dec 6, 2003 at Gallery Optica), Vernissage attendees were encouraged to come "in costume" to the event celebrate the Hallowe'en season. Even with these subtle additions to our outfits Doug & I stood out in a costume-less crowd.
Photo: Alanna Riley
My mini-paper hats became more advanced with the three piece tiny topper pictured above. The basic paper cylinder is accented by an upturned brim which adds a comical air when perched on the head. I elaborated on my basic design with the addition of Japanese printed papers called Chyogami or Yuzen. I am always amazed by the colour combinations found in these papers, gradations of greys and browns or poppy reds with fuschia & tangerine. The patterns of the papers form intricate repeating structures in bands, grids and organic clusters.
Many of these papers were originally developed as wood block prints for wall decoration and for ornamenting small objects like tea boxes and tins. Many of the patterns were adapted from the textiles of fancy dress kimonos, featuring "cranes for long life; bamboo for flexibility; plum blossoms and pine boughs for beauty and longevity" (www.japanesepaperplace.com).
Photo: Alanna Riley
This new round of more elaborate "chapelier en papier" was exhibited as part of the Joyce Yahouda Gallery commercial art experiment The Store (www.joyceyahoudagallery.com). In 2005, sixty paper hats were commissioned by Montreal's W hotel as part of their first anniversary celebrations.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Projects: paper party hats
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1 comment:
Dear Ms. Carruthers:
As I was searching for some images of beautiful paper hats for a website I am building of the first section of my short story, "Prelude -- The Orphans of Pall Mall," I ran across your blog, and I have taken the liberty of including one of your photographs on the site, with a link back to your blog, with full credit given to both you as the creator of the hat and to Ms. Riley as photographer. I hope this is acceptable to you -- you may look over where your handiwork has landed at http://www.squidoo.com/sherlockholmesfamily2point0, about halfway down the page.
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