I'm thrilled to be presenting
the second installment of Mad Hatters March...
featuring one of my favorite Etsy Shops:
Cerublu and store owner Lisa Wiseman.
Click HERE to read installment one.
Lisa, aka Cerublu, is a woman of many talents... upon further investigation one can discover that admist those many gifts... she is an artist that works in a multitude of medias... is a musician in a variety of styles... an accomplished horse woman: rider, teacher & trainer... a motorcycle maniac... and a wilderness girl !
Brizel Handcrafts' feature series will be focusing on Cerublu's fantastic freeform crochet work... Lisa explains that "Freeform is a very broad description for a huge range of methods and techniques and can be defined in a lot of ways. One is "a technique that allows the crocheter to explore the creative and artistic possibilities of the craft in unexpected ways."
When I asked Lisa how she had gotten started on her hat making adventures... she replied: "Some years ago, a neighbour and friend told me about a "cool" beanie she'd seen, so I surprised her on her birthday with an even cooler one. A friend of hers saw that hat and wanted one too... and since then I've been selling hats."
Lisa exhibits and sells her crochet work in several galleries. She has sold her work privately and in a variety of venues... then she found Etsy.com and spearheaded the Cerublu shop there. She has recently opened another store on Zibbet.com which she feels is "looking to be a great site for buyers and sellers of handmade items".
"Doctor Seuss was my favourite childhood author and there's always a Seussian influence in my hats ! A sense of the ridiculous and a love of whimsy are two of my strong character traits and I have a deep admiration for the landscape, flora and fauna of the amazing and unique wilderness in the area where I live in Australia. This has all come together in my crochet work."
The hat below is called The Playful Parrot... "Parrots of many types abound here and I love to see them frolicking about, chattering and shrieking. They are so beautiful, and can be such clowns. From the tiny, strutting grass parrots to the darting, swooping rainbow lorikeets and the large, exquisitely-colored king parrots, all seem to have a real sense of fun. Inspired by the colors and patterns... this hat is a wearable art tribute to some of my favourite birds."
"Juxtaposing strongly contrasting colours and textures is just plain fun ! Doing it in a way which draws on my experiences and inspirations is what makes me keep crocheting. That and coming up with new ideas, variations and improvements on designs, giving homage or acknowledgement to influences all comes out in my work."
TODAY'S FEATURE is on CERUBLU's SCART HATS
Scarts are a combination of hat and scarf, hence its creative name.
Lisa explains the origin of her widly innovative design: "I had been making and selling various types of hats as well as other garments when I came up with the idea for the scarts. I love making things which are different and being able to solve a problem in a non traditional way..."
Whilst Cerublu's creatrix enjoys wearing hats and scarves... "my problem is that I have a tendency to take them off and lose them... and... wide scarves always seem to let in the draughts somewhere. "What if the scarf was attached to a hat ?" I thought."
"So I combined an earflap hat with two narrow scarves which dangle from where the earflaps of an earflap hat would be. They keep the ears warm, hold the hat on in high winds, wrap elegantly around the neck... duel scarves provide better coverage of the neck than a single traditional scarf would. Voila! the scart hat was born... a wonderful solution to one of "life's little problems".
The hat above is one that I personally commissioned Lisa to make for me. It is called Winter Solstice... and is a hat that was especially designed for me to wear during the longest coldest night of the year.
Since I keep an all night vigil celebrating & waiting for the sunrise... I wanted a hat that would keep me extra warm. Lisa extended the hat's rim at the back of the hat and choose extra soft yarn to keep my face & neck warm. I also wanted a hat that would exude the symbology of the winter solstice, so we discussed ways that she could integrate the qualities of the sun and the night. The result, as you can see is absolutely superb, and it is now one of my most prized hats !
Berry Mosaic above is a scart hat, shaped like one of Cerublu's stocking hats (these will be featured next)... a gorgeous medley of purples and violets and is a true testament to Lisa's ability to combine a vast amount of different yarns, colors, and textures to create a marvel one of a kind art hat.
The crown section of scarts may be domed, like the Winter Solstice hat, or shaped like that marvelous stocking hat above... but most of Cerublu's scarts are of the 'pointed' variety... usually twin peaked and sometimes with tri-corns.
The Icicle Princess above is a tri-corn scart... the listing description reads: "exotic and elegant three-cornered and triple-tailed... this hat boasts multiple-color entarsia crochet "icicles" interspersed with bobble "droplets" in the crown section and scarf ends of symmetrical length with abstract, asymmetrical, blue and teal "icicle" stripes. The hat's back section has blue and teal icicles on a white background. Three luxuriant, fuzzy tassels complete the hat's three tails. The front tails are blue while the rear, longer tail is white. Lots of soft, fuzzy yarns frame the face and edge the scart, making it a most luxurious bit of wearable art headgear indeed !"
And just when you didn't think it could get more exciting... Homage to Iris is an example of a stunning Cerublu twin-peaked scart !
"Iris, personification of the rainbow and a messenger of the gods, is often represented either as a rainbow, or as a young maiden with wings on her shoulders. She is associated with communication, messages, new endeavors, the sea and of course the rainbow. This exotic and fluffy scart's vivid crown shades from violet around the face up through deep ocean blues to paler sky-teal blues, vibrant green, golden yellow, warm oranges and vivid hot pinks."
"Vividly colored, festive helium balloons soar into a clear blue sky !
... The forehead section of this scart, called Balloon Skies, features a definite, deep point or widow's peak, drawing attention to the wearer’s eyes and excluding draughts. The entire hat is edged in a row of sky blue moda vera "medley" yarn with its own pink, yellow, blue and purple bobbles. With this lovely edging and its feathers and eyelash feature yarns this hat is very soft..."
Oh my goodness... my head is spinning, where's my Cerublu hat ? lol
So we'll take a break from bright colors for a moment and feast our eyes on Confection of Gloom. The artist literally used every gloomy-coloured yarn she could lay her hands on. lol.
"This fantastically dismal and slightly ragged stocking cap and scart is designed- from his sketches- for Gloamstur to 'remain hidden within the foggy, murky depths and waltz to the wearisome vibes and the vapid drones. All cut and comfy in my stocking cap.' As well as being a comfortable and head-turning garment to wear, the Confection of Gloom, with it's deep folds, should also be very handy for carrying small belongings in; pens and pencils, a notebook, a spare pair of socks, (a cat, maybe ? lol) you name it !"
That's right... the fun thing about scarts is that they can also double as a bag... yep, turn them upside down... knot the two scarf ends together and shazam! you got a tote ready to throw over your shoulder.
Seriously though... Many of Cerublu's scarts, especially the horned varieties and for example the one above named Homage to Selene and the one below called Dreamsicle Moon... have such theatrical &/or tribal qualities that these hats evoke ceremonial usage. They are at the very least hats to be worn on very special occasions !
Selene, after all, "is the personification of the moon... She influences all the lunar cycles and is traditionally worshipped on the full and new moons..." Lisa choose to create a hat full of strong black and white contrasting tones with bobbles to represent lunar shapes.
Dreamsicle Moon is another lunar hat, one especially custom made for me. I asked for a hat that could be worn outdoors in the winter to moon gaze as She wandered across the open skies at Twilight. We talked about colours: purples, violets, and silver... softness & warmth... we discussed the different phases of the moon, which motifs were to be designed into the hat... full moon on the forehead, crescent moons dangle from the twin peaks and at the tips of each scarf quarter moons !
I am, and continue to be, Over the Moon with all of my Cerublu hats... which collection, I might add, continues to grow exponentially. Lisa brings a divine consciousness and life into her creations... the care and skill that goes into the many details of these hats is what's most special about them.
HATography
1. Brainsucker
2. The Playful Parrot (available for purchase HERE) 3. Winter Solstice, front view
4. Winter Solstice, side view
5. Berry Mosaic
6. Icicle Princess
7. Homage to Iris
8. Balloon Skies (available for purchase HERE) 9. Confection of Gloom
10. Homage to Selene (available for purchase HERE) 11. Dreamsicle Moon
12. Wildfire (below)
Artist statement:
"While each of my items is unique,
if you would like a variation on anything you see here
or have a new idea you'd like me to realize, just ask,
I love making original creations for individuals !"
CLiCK HERE to visit CERUBLU's Etsy store
image DESiGN content copyright
ownership remains with the artist
Lisa Wiseman from Cerublu Studio !
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