FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Pomegranate and the Spotted Dog
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Once upon a time I went to college for a degree in Textile Design (Mexico City in the early 90s); since, I have moved to the USA, become a musician, teacher, jeweler, crafter and dabbler in many things. I have never lost the love of textiles and wanted to make a small piece that I can carry around and remind me of the love of stories as well as my love of handcrafted objects. Due to the nature of my job, I cannot wear clothes for history bounding (music teacher of young children/parents gets to be messy and sweaty stuff) as they are bound to get stained, ripped. I wanted something that I can carry around my personal stuff (wallet, keys, sketch book, pitch pipe, guitar repair kit) and still remind me of my love of stories.
Recently last year found out the “Lore Olympus” stories and loved them. I have always loved tales and stories from many different places; I like the retelling of the old myth and the images drawn by the creator of the web comic really grabbed my attention. I wanted to use some elements of the story of Hades and Persephone, without using the images of the creator of the comic but giving it my own twist. I sketched the most iconic symbols: pomegranate, Cerberus (with a spot on his chest that may resemble Hades) and a vine that is over growing with life and at the same time has elements seen in the comic.
Outline the construction…
I decided to go for a very simple pattern (drafted by myself) with a small bag in the outside to hold smaller objects. I looked at many, many boards in Pinterest and patterns and I just decided to go for it, and give it try. This is my second bag pack (the first one took me a year to complete) cause I experimented with embroidery and stitching and it is twice, as big as this one. The shape of it is two rectangles that have a rounded top, joined by a smaller rectangle as bottom (this is made of leather so it gives it a bit of structure and protection) and the sides are made of two rectangles that hold the zipper attached to the sides with are more of a square… nothing too fancy but it was a bit hard to make them fit more less like I wanted. Some of it is stitched by machine and the finishing is mostly done by hand.
The embroidery is by hand and mostly experimental, though I used “real” stitches I played with it more to paint with thread than to look like embroidery. Used satin stitch, chain stitch, something that may resemble cross stitch but it is not. I used a linen look for the fashion fabric to give it a “rugged handmade” appearance, and quilting cotton for the lining. Silk, polyester, rayon, metallic threads to “paint with thread” and beads and synthetic felt to give a 3D effect.
The way I screamed when I saw this! Lore Olympus meets Foundations Revealed! What! Great job and this is so fun! I really enjoy all the texture you used.
Thank you very much, I am itching to do more things 😁
Such a good idea! And well executed, great job♡
Thank you! Loved doing embroidery and following wherever the thread would take me
Your colour palette is lovely. How nice to be able to take the bag with you on all your daily adventures!
I love your idea to make something that you will love and use in your daily life, this is inspiring me to make a backpack of my own! Also the embroidery is so lovely, and the symbols you used are such a simple yet effective way to capture the main elements of the story, well done!
This. is. AWESOME🥰 Fantastic work on the embroidery, and the colours works so well together. Great job!
Lovely embroidery and some great little touches too.