Ramphastos was inspired by the amazing works of Peter Carl Fabergé. I was curious to see if I could create a seamless, three-dimensional form in textiles, and it was a fun challenge. I started with a plaster casting of an emu egg, which gives an idea of size. The exterior is fabric collage and machine embroidery. The interior is fabric collage and hand embroidery, with some hand-dyed fabrics. “Rufus” sits in a fully three-dimensional and removable environment worked in traditional and derivative stumpwork techniques. There is hand and machine embroidery, and it incorporates hand-dyed and fused fabrics and threads, wire, beads, and a tiny little beak carved by Tom Sterling from a piece of yew, which I stained with acrylic paints.
Tom is a good friend, and you really owe it to yourself to check out his work on his Instagram feed. He also has a wonderful blog.