Title
Her cup runneth over
Year
2023
TechniQUE
sculpture + video
DIMENSIONS
SERIES
–
MATERIALS
vintage novelty chalice, willowed ostrich flues
Description
Willowing feathers consists of a tedious hand process whereby inferior quality ostrich plumes are lengthened and thickened by hand knotting additional flues to the feather. In the early part of the 20th century, this task was completed by young women and girls toiling away in the NY plumage sweatshops of the lower east side. These individuals were often prone to contracting tuberculosis from the extreme dust and fluff of the workplace.
"How doth the manufacturer
Improve the ostrich tail?
By willowing the scraggy ends
Until they’re fit for sale.
How cheerfully he sits and smiles
Throughout the livelong day,
While children knot the tiny flues
And make the plumes that pay."
– Sorrowful Rhymes of Working Children 1911
