Inspired by Reading November Blog Hop...

I know... it's already December, but with the holidays we pushed back the blog hop of November's selection of the Inspired by Reading Book Club, "Proust's Overcoat" by Lorenza Foschini.  It was a short book about a man's obsession with the possessions of the melancholic and unhealthy author.  I thought it was a quick read and was entertained by the treasure hunt quality of the book.  It was studded with all kinds of gems of inspiration perfect for our purposes.  If you're not familiar with the Inspired by Reading Book Club, we read a book and then create something that was inspired by what we read.  Then we share what we made.

And without further ado... here's the reveal:

I made this necklace.  The focal is made of polymer clay, wood, and a stone bead.  In the beginning of the book, they talk about the protagonist's upbringing and how he amassed his wealth in order to afford Proust's belongings.  The main character is an heir to a perfume company and develops a scent called, "Le Dandy D'Orsay".  In the book, they describe an octagon-shaped bottle with a rounded black topper that looked like a pearl.  The rest of the long necklace is made of vintage Czech glass in black and gold.

Here's what Laurel made.  She made a tiny mustache out of a recycled leather bag and did a decorative bead edge  The mustache can be hung from a long chain necklace, so that it can available for quick access.  She styled the photo by laying it on French bottled water and a fur trimmed coat... kind of like the coat in the story.  The mustache was inspired by Proust and his brother's mustaches.

This necklace was made by Alison.  She said she was inspired by the description of Proust's desk.  The author described it as being very ornate and made of black pear wood with brass accents.  Alison used a mix of Hamilton gold knots, glass, stone, and filigree to create this piece!

But wait... there's more!  Check out what other participants were inspired by in the book:

Sarajo Wentling

Mary Harding

Jeanne Steck

Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, and Alison Herrington

We are taking a break from December!  But the full list of books can be seen by CLICKING HERE.  January's book selection is, "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.  We have tentatively scheduled the meet-up for Wednesday, January 28th at 5PM at Allegory Gallery.  The blog hop is the following day.  To find out more about what we do and to keep up with the events, CLICK HERE to visit our Facebook group page.