I am so glad school is over so I'll be able to finish reading my books! I now have 3 in progress!
And I'll have time to work on my jewelry projects.
This month's book was the Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. It's a tongue-in-cheek memoir of two professional men from Manhattan who decide to run a farm in upstate New York. It's a quick, engrossing book that had me laughing out loud as I shared anecdotes with whomever would listen.
The creativity and talent of the other members of the group is astounding. I almost feel like my simple pieces are not worthy of the group. That said - I am still excited with the materials I found and what I created in a short amount of time.
I had only read about half of the book when I wandered around the local bead shop (Island Bead in Eastport, NY) waiting for inspiration to hit me. And there they were - little glass goldfish reminiscent of Josh's drag queen costume. (I expect you can find out more about that in his first book, I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir, which I plan to read sometime in the future.)
I found some 4mm neon orange candy jade beads and amber swarovski crystal in my stash.
Then I wrapped lots of fish and round beads to create dangling earrings and an ankle bracelet.
There are 3 lonely fish left - maybe the future holds a long chain necklace.
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| These dangle from my handcrafted ss earwires. |
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| Hoping this is a hit in The Hamptons! |
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| I love the way the gold pops out in this photo. Depending on the angle the coating on the fish looks gold or silver. |
I have since finished (and loved) the Bucolic Plague and can't wait to start our next book, The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman. I'm looking forward to having the time to plan out my next project instead of putting it together at the last minute.
I'm also very jealous of the folks who get to meet up in person with Andrew Thornton at the Allegory Gallery. Check out Andrew's blog for more info - http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/
ps - Check out the other participants!
Sarajo Wentling http://
Jenny Davies-Reazor http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/
Jeanne Steck http://
Mary Harding http://
Judy Campbell http://
Michelle Mach http://www.michellemach.com/
Mary K. McGraw http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/
Andrew Thornton, Amy Roadman, and Laurel Ross http://
Your goldfish earrings are wonderful. Love that you used an image from Josh's drag costume as inspiration!! Thanks so for your reference to Josh's other memoir. I will have to look it up.
ReplyDeleteYour goldfish necklace looks like it will be fun to wear. Wonderful color.
Orange is definitely "in" this summer, Mary.
DeleteThanks so much for stopping by and commenting. I'm hoping to have time this summer to read Josh's other book.
Oh wait - I forgot - I just retired from teaching! I should have plenty of time to read!
I admire how creative you were about your inspiration. It never would have occurred to me to think about his drag queen costume. I especially like the earrings. So fun for summer!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle! I thought the references to Josh's costume were hysterical! I was really thinking of cherries or goats, but the little fish really spoke to me.
DeleteWhat a lovely matching set! The fish are perfect for you concept! (The fish are making me hungry for Swedish Fish! Ha ha ha!) Sometimes inspiration needs a little luck and I think your story of walking around the bead store to until you found something that clicked for you is a perfect example of that.
ReplyDeleteAnd... thank you for participating in the book club. Your pieces ARE worthy! Don't ever doubt your place in the group. You're making things and sharing! That's awesome! And I hope to see more of your creations in the future! Keep up the good work!
You're right Andrew - the fish are very similar to Swedish Fish! Originally I was going to do something with red beads for the cherry tree, but decided to stop into the store on my way home from work. It was serendipity that I found the fish!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your response!
You, Girl, are going to be the talk of the Hamptons! Such a fashionista, and with retirement you can hit a new watering hole in that ensem everyday this summer. AND......orange is also a great fall color! Then an autumn vacay to Sweden to show off those fish!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, such a cute and fun idea. Can't wait to see what you create next month!
Terri Greenawalt
You are too funny, Terri. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteThe fish anklet and earrings are so fun, and like how they relate to Josh's drag queen costume.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary!
DeleteI saw this on the FB page and I was so confused! Now I get it! Too funny. I kept wondering how i had missed fish in the book...
ReplyDeleteI had such fun explaining the inspiration to customers at Sunday's Farmers Market. Alas, they are still in my possession.
DeleteThank you, Jennifer!