Friday, September 27, 2013

"Dogeaters" - September's pick for Inspired By Reading Book Club

Thank you again, Andrew Thornton for inspiring me, once again, to explore outside my comfort zone - in my reading and in my jewelry design. This past month, we read Dogeaters, by Jessica Hagedorn. Well - everyone else read the book, I'm still working on it. It takes place in Manilla, in the Phillipines in the late 1950's and follows the lives of several different characters. I have difficulty following books that seem to jump from one character to another and continually look for a connection. I have renewed the book from the library and will finish. For now, for a better synopsis, you will have to check the blogs of the other participants.

I was touched by Rio's relationship with her grandmother. and particularly related to the scene where she is curled up under her "lola's" crocheted bedspread. My grandmother crocheted bedspreads for her three adult children. She would not give them the spreads until she had finished all three. I now have my mother's crocheted bedspread.

I knew as I read those passages that I wanted to create a crocheted design. I could have wimped out and just photographed some crocheted designs from the past - jewelry and afghans. Instead, I decided to try something new. My goal was to mimic the floral motif in my grandmother's bedspread. I lot easier with cotton thread, than wire.
                        
 After several missteps, I did create a flower motif I was satisfied with. I discovered that pearls are native to the Philippines, so I found some freshwater pearls in my stash for a center for my "flower".



                         







A necklace with more freshwater pearls finishes the look.

I think I'd like to try this again with 5 petals.
And... I'm also not sure I love it as a pendant - maybe a brooch?





BTW - that is my grandmother's amazing crocheted bedspread!


Please visit the other members of our group!

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4 comments:

  1. Mary K. McGrawSeptember 27, 2013 at 6:29 PM

    How lucky you are to have your grandmother's crocheted spread. I also like the relationship that was described in the book between Rio and her grandmother. I love how you tied in your beautiful creation to the book.

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  2. Jeanne @ Gems By Jeanne MarieSeptember 29, 2013 at 7:04 PM

    Thank you sou much for your kind comments, Mary.
    I have to admit that this is not one of my favorite designs. I'm thinking it's the execution and the fact that I didn't take the time to perfect it. In spite of my feelings, the necklace did get a lot of attention and compliments at the festival this weekend.

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  3. Andrew ThorntonSeptember 30, 2013 at 11:40 AM

    That's one of my favorite scenes in the book as well! I love how you were able to translate into a piece and blend your own story into the challenge as well! The piece you created is really elegant and I love the pop of contrast from blue and bronzy pearls. The focal you created reminds me of a lacy bird's nest. I think it could work as either a pendant or a brooch. If you want a slightly different look, you might consider giving the wire a patina and buffing the high spots to amp up the contrast and show all the amazing detail you put into the crochet. Of course, it looks quite nice the way it is! Thank you so much for sharing not only the piece you were inspired to create, but also your grandmother's bedspread! And thank you so much for participating!

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  4. Jeanne @ Gems By Jeanne MarieSeptember 30, 2013 at 11:49 AM

    Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments, Andrew! I love the idea of using patina on the the crochet work. I recently purchased a few colors, but haven't had the chance to play with it.

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