This is one of my interpretations of the Firebird, who was known all throughout Russian mythology as the powerful, fearsome and majestic bird with fiery plumage. Ever since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by my Slavic heritage as well as the art and history which only fueled my love of it. There was something about the story, about her that captivated and inspired me to want to make something parallel to the Firebird's might. She was powerful, but demure. Regal, and yet altogether savage and owned by no one. In short, I wanted to be her.
Overall, the kokoshnik took me well over a month to make; hand beading the individual pieces, fitting the headdress to my head. Really, this was my first time taking on a project of this caliber and had little resources to go with. It attaches to the head via a wide ribbon which ties in back and a detachable headband to hold it steady on my head.
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| Did I mention it has a 6-7 foot train? |
The ensemble consists of a skirt from Butterick(?) with an altered pattern to complete the rest of it. Seeing as I am a towering 5'3", the headdress, along with the silhouette and the train definitely added the illusion of height.
I guess the overall point of this post (other than the fact that I wanted to show a little bit what I'm about) is that I am still asking myself the same questions whenever I start an ostentatious project: What now? What do I do when something so amazing is created from my bare hands, that I doubt anything made after this will compare?
