Hats and Inspiration

People often ask me how I get inspiration for my artwork. My answer is that I don't really know when or how inspiration will come, but the key is to be open to the world around me.

For example, while researching the newly opened exhibition of hats at the Victoria and Albert Museum curated by Stephen Jones, I noticed this instruction sheet on the V&A website. Artist Nick Robinson lays out visuals on how to make an origami hat.

I gave it a try, first with a regular piece of paper, and then using smaller pieces of paper. After a few attempts, it started to be fun. By that point, I was confident enough in the method that I could modify his instructions to suit my vision. I used pretty Japanese handmade washi paper and applied ribbon trims. In the end, I abandoned the origami method altogether and tried a pillbox style. And this was the result. These paper hats are very tiny (the pink one is maybe an inch tall).

A trio of Party Hats
Mixed media, copyright Ingrid Mida 2009