David A Smith

I find the sculptures of David A Smith incredibly exciting, where the striking figures of death are intertwined with the tacky incandescence of neon. Brilliant!

Northern Carvings

For some reason or another I'm Facebook friends with Inuit throat singer Tanya 'Tagaq' Gillis and due to that I occasionally see some interesting Inuit art. I also remember a project from Uni which focused on worldwide, other than western, views on depicting imagery and upon choosing Inuit styles to study I find the overall perception of this art familiar, though the only name that sticks in mind is Jessie Oonark. Though the materials used could be considered controversial with skulls, claws, antlers and tusk making up the majority. I love the raw beauty found in these sculptures, evenmore so when they become wearable such as in the work of Ruben Anton Komangapik who includes jewellery in his range of sculpture based work. Another favourite is Davidee Itulu, the antler etchings are amazing! Here they are below:

Nick Sikkuark, Mark Tunglik, Emily Pangnerk Illuitok

John Terriak

Ruben Anton Komangapik

Davidialuk Alasua Amittu

Ruth Qaulluaryuk

The Drop of a Hat

This post is dedicated to my newly found millinery inspiration

Rebecca Coffee

 What I find so striking about the first image is the clear links to Ethiopian culture as I was immediately put in mind of the tribal headdresses of the Omo Valley, as taken by Hans Silvester.

James Faulkner

The interesting yet controversial material of road kill in millinery.

Loren Anthony James-Wood

With a strong avian influence, this millinery style is a nod to the 'plume boom' where many birds were used whole in the making of hats.

Coconut

These two images headdresses/hats are both formed from coconut, the first of unknown origin and the other from Rarotonga, Cook Islands. I found them whilst sourcing imagery for my coconut collage for Art School Disco, finding the shapes and use of material particularly inspiring.

Noel Stewart

I think the success of Stewart's designs at such sizes is what appeals to me the most, that and the use of mussels in the headpiece below is genius! 

Whole birds

These images are from tumblr so I have no idea where they originally came from, though they are a great demonstration of the fad that was stuffing and attaching whole birds.

Piers Atkinson

 I've found that the right combination of the exotic, the fun, the alluring combined with a varnish of professionalism is apparent in Atkinson's work. Another vast array of of materials from which to draw inspiration from.

Ashley Lloyd

The macabre work of Ashley Lloyd is extremely in tune with my personal taste. Shrouded in mystery and shamanic influences, Lloyd uses materials that allow the hat to become one step further than an accessory towards an apparent human/animal mutation.

Riitta Ikonen

Though Ikonen's imagery is not entirely about the hat, there would be no photographs without this focal point. Forms such as ice, grass and seaweed have all been utilized in this form of hat making which of course solidifies the often recurring natural influence.

The following two images may not be hats yet are still extremely intriguing! Also by Riitta Ikonen.