Qin Inspired Headpiece (Project 1)

Our assignment was to create a headpiece using bristol board and a pattern we created on Adobe Illustrator cut out by laser cutting. We quickly brainstormed a couple ideas that may fit as a basis for our creation. I thought of something organic and somewhat floral because my pattern was inspired by a chrysanthemum flower as I drank chrysanthemum tea one night.

Afterwards, as we started to laser cut and create our piece, a thought popped in my head one night and I thought about my Chinese heritage. Though I was born and raised in the states, growing up in China for the last 9 years has made me think more about my race and the Chinese history. I am extremely interested in the dramatic stories that create such beautiful tales throughout the Chinese history, and especially with all their jade, china among other ancient artifacts that have changed the views on China around the world. One in particular that stood out to me was Qin Emperor’s beaded crown of the Qin Dynasty (the first dynasty of Ancient China).

 

This crown is important to Chinese history not only because it was worn by the first Emperor of Ancient China, but also because it has significant meaning behind its design. It has 9 strings of 11 inches of jade beads along the front and the back of the crown. There are five different colored jade beads on each string and they all mean different values of the Chinese culture. At the same time, this crown is extremely beautifully crafted for its time and as such important artifact, I was extremely intrigued by it when watching replicas of this crown in Chinese dramas with my mom when I was a little girl. This image still sticks with me now, thus I incorporated this design into my headpiece.

Finally, I finished my headpiece using two of my laser cut patterns, folded and cut to rounded corners of my chrysanthemum pattern, punched holes with a hold puncher and made chains in various lengths holding on to the rims of the crown, and cut strips of my other chrysanthemum pattern and hung them in the back. In total this took about 6 hours to complete, but I am so glad I took the time and effort to make a beautiful piece that speaks to who I am and what I believe in.