Lucid-laralewis copy

Heading: Text Reads: Lara Lewis (in pink drawn font). Background image is a moonlit landscape with the silhouette of grass, and bushes bordering a swirl of green Northern Lights.

"The Spite Hat"

By Lara Lewis

Tea-tanned salmon leather, rabbit fur, cotton thread

As an occasional textile artist, I wanted to explore new materials, and given the name Lucid, I turned to my dreams for inspiration. I had a terrible nightmare where all my friends with children circled around me and called me a horrible baby hating bitch for not wanting children and I said, "No, I do like kids, and I don't not want them, I'm just indifferent," and they were like, "No! You're a horrible, baby-hating bitch!" Instead of talking to my therapist, Jane, about this, I decided to spite the versions of my friends in my dreams by making The Spite Hat. Would a baby hater make a little hat made specifically for the head of a baby? I don't think so.

The hat (or crown, as it became) is made of fish leather trimmed with rabbit fur, both of which I processed from scratch myself, and was a great experience getting to know the animals in my life on a deeper level.

Special thanks to Audrey Eastwood and Nick Cox for letting me borrow their babies.

Bad photos: me

Fancy studio photos: Tyler Simmonds

Models: Norah Cox & Jane Cox

A Salmon leather crown with rabbit fur trim on a black fleece surface in front of a blue curtain. The crown has many points of distinct shapes and sizes. The leather is light brown with a grid-like scaled texture. The rabbit fur is light grey and fluffy.

Dried and treated fish skin lays out on a white surface. The skin has a scaled textured in places but is smooth along the lower edge of the material. Its colour is a gradient from dark deep brown to a light brown with white flecks.

Lara is pictured working on the crown. She smiles while she works with the leather suspended in her hands. Another artist is pictured in the top right corner of the image examining Lara work.

Lara is pictured working on her crown. She holds up the leather while another artist holds another section of the leather. The two artists are mid-discussion.

Lara is pictured working on her crown. She is in the process of securing the leather in a cylindrical shape. The background is a white wall with a folded pile of materials on a shelf behind the artist.

A side-view of baby Nora wearing the finished fish leather crown with rabbit trimmed fur. Nora is sleeping, the crown fits her head perfectly. Her head is being propped up by the hand of the person that holds her.

A front-view of baby Nora wearing the finished fish leather crown with rabbit trimmed fur. Nora is sleeping, the crown fits her head perfectly, she wears a diaper. Her head is being propped up by the hand of the person that holds her.

Jane, a young child, wears the fish leather crown with rabbit trimmed fur. Jane is also wearing a pair of yellow pants. The hat rests on the crown of Jane's head. The backdrop is a played-in living room.

A close-up front-view of baby Nora wearing the finished fish leather crown with rabbit trimmed fur. Nora is sleeping, the crown fits her head perfectly. The backdrop is a living room table and the legs of the person holding her.

The Spite Hat by Lara Lewis

3D Model Description

A 3-dimensional rendering of Lara Lewis's Spite Hat. A Salmon leather crown with rabbit fur trim on a white background. The crown has many points of distinct shapes and sizes. The leather is light brown with a grid-like scaled texture. The rabbit fur is light grey and fluffy.

Bio

Lara Lewis (she/her) is a queer and trans mixed Mi'kmaw theatre artist based in Kjipuktuk. As an actor, she performs between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. As a dramaturge, she's worked with writers in all four atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, and New York.

Lara is also a textile artist, focusing on embroidery and cross stitch.

Lara is a graduate of the Fountain School of Performing Arts and University of King's College and a member of Glooscap First Nation. She is the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Volunteer award at the Theatre Nova Scotia Merritt Awards.

Heading Text Reads: What Kind Of Future Do You Dream Of? (in pink drawn font) the text is on a blue-black spotted backdrop with a blue swirl of northern lights. There is a white bird mid-flight in the left of the image.

Footer image is a moonlit landscape with the silhouette of grass, and hills bordering a light grean-blue central sparkling clearing.

Using Format