I found this walnut slab and thought the little ring on the top was cool. Wasn’t sure what it was when I bought it but I thought it looked a little like the eye of a peacock feather.

When I started to look for inspiration around peacock feather eyes, I found this beautiful Indian blue peacock mount from Creel and Gow. I realized that the lines were similar to my slab. This became the inspiration for my piece.

First, I started with the creation of the eyes. I needle felted multiple layers and then hand embroidered a feather-like texture over the top with a combination of blue, dark teal and light teal. To finish the top of the feathers, I used brown silk yarn slightly stiffened and tied to a cotton wrapped wire.

Then I started working on the head. Lots of blending between teal and blue. The most time consuming part was the creation of the plumes – little wool tufts on silver wires.

I struggled for quite a while trying to decide how to handle the middle section. Trying hand dyed doilies and lace, as well as, a simple macrame pattern as options but not liking either. It just took away from the walnut. In the end I created small felted feathers in a U anchored with an additional eye.

The final design of the full peacock also incorporated blue glass pins (some with bead caps) that anchor the feathers for a little sparkle. I am very pleased with how striking this piece is and how a piece of walnut could transform into a full peacock!.