Flathead Lake in September is a delicious thing to behold. The sun is low enough to offer a gilded and rich light pretty much at any time of the day, the air sweet and chilled to pink up your cheeks.
And the last couple of years have brought us the distinct pleasure of an affair both captivating to watch and to be involved with - the Dragonboat Races.
I, for one, am a fan of most anything that has an ethnic flavor. The Dragonboat is a celebration of the 'tribe', both of cultures far away and long ago, and within our workplaces and our friendships. The relationships that tie us together with bonds stronger than bloodlines at times: our friends - our 'people'.....folks; that would be your tribe.
I feel a connection with the tribes of the globe, the elements that defined the tribe - their ancestry, their practices, their ritual and their art. And that's what captures my imagination: the art of the headdress....that personal object of definition - that expression of who they are and the manifested desire to make beauty and be beauty. We were all created for a kingdom greater than what is at hand, and headdresses seem to reveal the dream in all peoples, tribes, tongues and nations that we are seeking a glory greater than ourselves.
The Curried Myrrh fall collection once ago echoes the richness of the Berber culture, and also introduces a piece in honor of 'my family tribe'....
Just like the Berber people need protection from the elements, so do we. Particularly in Montana where the cold leaks down the mountains in early September...
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| this is Brooke. she is part of my tribe. |
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| she is wearing "Takama" which means 'warmth' in the Berber languauge |
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| this is 'Takama' with fringe |
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| and the 'Takama' without fringe |
This piece is dedicated to Hans, my grandfather. He made this hat, a version of a 'french lieutenants' hat out of straw - a simple material, perhaps the common man's fiber, easy to get a hold of and inexpensive...kind of like fleece...
From Denmark 1944 to Montana USA in 2014:
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| introducing the "Kepi" |
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| my version of a hat my grandfather made, long ago and far away |
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| this is my grandfather and mother making their 'kepi's' out of straw harvested down the road |
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my mama and my bestefar working away, 6 done...(hanging on the house)
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