The Seaweed Collector:

For Victorian women, the delicate art of seaweed collecting was a safely domesticated and social accomplishment in lieu of a formal scientific education. This popular occupation allowed a certain level of aesthetic freedom while simultaneously demonstrating a refined sensibility and prestige of the collector’s character. Structural chair-like elements representative of the home stand in as frames with appliqué and embroidered algae cores. Perfection is measured by the timely act of hand stitching to display the careful arrangement of appendages and leaving a lasting impression as mere decoration or socialite disillusion.