Paper Beaded Dress - Altered Couture 2014

Pictured here shows how I set up and stitched rolled paper beads together to create a necklace and netting  that I used to embellish the chenille chemise. This was worn by my wonderful model, Leah Cross, at an annual fashion show fundraiser organized by Christine DeTroy.

Below is the introduction I submitted to the Master of Ceremonies for Altered Couture which explains the concept for the piece.

Residents replacing a culvert, on River Road in Woolwich, uncovered human remains. Maine Historic Preservation Commission was contacted to investigate. Archaeologists performed excavations and unearthed a cache of artifacts including a large amount of seashells, a fine bone drill and stone spindle weight.

Scientists are baffled by the skull which seems to be of Asian origin. This rare find upends our thinking about the origins of the human race in North America. Samples of the shells were sent to the Geology Department of Bowdoin College and ascertained to be an extinct species of razor clam: A-Leah-Cross Sarosotensis. Radio carbon dating determined the finds to be at least 55,000 years old. The age was surprising, even shocking, for it suddenly made MidCoast Maine one of the earliest places in America with evidence of human habitation. Artifacts were catalogued and moved to the Peary MacMillan Arctic Museum for safekeeping.

After closer inspection, the shells seemed to have been fashioned into a net-like dress. The shells were painstakingly restrung by Susan Perrine of Woolwich and the resulting dress is modeled tonight by Leah Cross of Unity.