So, kanzashi are seasonal in Japan. Certain flowers go with certain months. Sometime in the spring, wisteria are all the rage. Wisteria are interpreted in kanzashi as....well....these dangling things, perfect for a cat to play with. A younger cat, that is. I'm certainly not amused with such trifles at my station in life. I am a Snowball Princess, you know.
Helen was scared of the whole idea and never tried it until her wedding-dress designer friend Lannette in California http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignByLannette was fantasizing about a dress with wisteria kanzashi dripping from the shoulder. Helen thought she'd give it a try as a comb hair accessory. About 3 months later (it was a slow, deliberative process) she came up with this:
And you can buy it here https://www.etsy.com/listing/102226652/blue-flower-hair-fascinator-kanzashi
OK, here are versions of wisteria from other kanzashi artists....sorry I can't name all of them:
By lilyashes on Etsy:
By littlecookie on Etsy:
By PolishedKanzashi on Etsy:
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteI think your wisteria kanzashi is beautiful. I like that it suggests the wisteria but isn't a literal interpretation. Also, the origami-like look to your blooms make the whole thing very poetic. Brava!
Joana
Thanks, Joana! You're right, the falls suggest wisteria, but the top flowers are definitely other things....I actually intended the 4-petaled flowers as hydrangea, and the 6-petaled flower as, I don't know, something else. When you get right down to it, almost nobody's wisteria really looks like the real flower, which is a complex pea-like flower, a legume sort of thing.
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