PROMENADE:
DOVE
HEADPIECE
This headpiece was created during my first year in university for the 2018 Queen Margaret University showcase. Each student was given an animal to design and make a headpiece for, using a hard hat as a base. The headpiece was to inspire the fabric and trimming choices for a custom-made 17th Century three-piece men's suit.
My headpiece was inspired by the dove's biblical connotations, It features the whole body of a dove, which is midflight swooping down to pick up an olive branch, an allusion to the Genesis Flood Narrative, through which God spares Noah, his family, and examples of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood. The olive branch represents hope and life. A halo in the shape of a doily surrounds the bird.
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CONSTRUCTION
The headpiece was built on top of a hard hat. I made a paper model to create a general shape prototype, which I then translated onto cardboard. Then, I positioned the cardborad model onto the hard hat with duct tape, and covered it in paper tape. I attached a cardboard base wing. Next, using paper maché, I covered the bird an wing for a firm structure. This was then painted off-white with acrylic paint.
DECORATIVE FINISHES
I cut out a cardboard placeholder to gauge the scale and placement of the halo. Next, I began making paper patterns for the wings, which I then cut out in foam sheet. The olive leaves were also made out of foam sheet, which I painted green with acrylic paint for a rougher matte texture. They were attached to string with masking tape, which was also painted over.