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Necklace And Pendant
Identifier:
2001.81.13a-bDescription:
a) Silver spider web shaped pendant has central oval howolite stone and smaller oval turquoise stone bezel set in lower corner of web. b) Detachable silver wire neck ring has small u-shaped loop at botton center. Simple hook shaped catch attached to neck ring with small self loop. It appears as though this may not be the correct neck ring to go with this pendant. When the pendant is attached to the catch , it does not seem to be on the correct side.;These pieces of jewelry represent a small sampling of a larger body of work done by local architect and furniture designer Ralph Waldo Demmon. This Ralph Demmom started his career as an architect with Osgood & Osgood, first in their Lansing Office, than with the Grand Rapids office from 1924 to 1927. He started his own design firm in 1927. In order to keep working during the depression, Demmon also designed lamps for Hermann Lamps and furniture for several area furniture companies. Some of his best known desings include the pylons in downtown Veterans Park on Fulton Street, the Mason's home in Alma, and many private homes throughout the Grand Rapids area. After his retierment in 1963, Demmom and his wife Camelia, moved to Florida where he started to design and make jewelry. Demmon, using primarly silver and semi-precious stones, was influenced by Florida's natural environment and the mid-century American modernist art movement. His realistic, objective pieces such as crabs, starfish and birds show the Florida influences. The roots of Demmon's abstract and nonobjective forms can be traced to the Mid-Century Modern American Studio Jewelry movement that had been established in the East Coast and California in the mid-1940s.;This jewelry was made by the donor's father, Ralph Demmon, during his retirement years in the 1960s and most of the 1970s. Demmon made the jewelry to sell to friends and at art sales and shows in Florida during that time. The remaining pieces of his collection were inherited by his daughter's Gloria Gregory (the donor) and her sister Diane Boozer. These pieces were culled from a larger collection held by the donor. She will be distributing the remainder of the collection to Raplh Demmon's grandchildren and other relatives and retain several pieces for herself. The donor often wears selections of her collection.;Sketch of this pendant appears on the first page of the small spiral bound '{jewelry sales' notebook donated at the same time as the necklace. It has the words Aug 1972 written above the sketch and turquoise $85.00 below.Date:
1963 – 1978Materials:
Silver, Turquoise, HowoliteDimensions:
11" hCurrent Location Status:
In StorageSource:
In Honor Of Architect Ralph Waldo DemmonExhibit/Program:
Big Big Bugs (February 20 – May 31 2010)Related Entities:
Ralph Demmon (creator)Ralph Demmon was born February 17, 1894 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the second son of the five children of Elwood Frank Demmon and Blanche Demmon. HIs father was a school teacher at Union High in Grand Rapids for 33 years. Ralph attended Central High School in Grand Rapids and Michigan Agricultural College (Michigan State University) for two years before enlisting in the Air Corps in 1918 during WWI. Ralph earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from University of Michigan in 1923. He went to work in the office of State Architect, Lynn W. Fry in 1923 and stayed until 1924 when he started working as a draftsman for architects Osgood and Osgood of Grand Rapids. In 1926 Demmon designed the granite Memorial Pillars that still stand in Veteran's Memorial Park located on Fulton Street in Downtown, Grand Rapids. In 1931-1932 he was a designer for Hermann Lamps. From 1938 until his retirement in 1963, Demmon worked as an independent architect primarily designing and remodeling private homes. Much of his work was done for clients in East Grand Rapids, Forest Hills, Cascade and other upper middle income areas of the Grand Rapids metro area. Early in his career, Demmon also worked as an independant furniture designer for several area companies. He retired in 1963 and moved to Florida where he designed and made jewelry. He made the jewelry to sell to friends and at art sales and shows in Florida. The jewelry pieces that remained in his collection were inherited by his daughters, Gloria Gregory and Dianne Demmon Boozer. They donated some of the jewelry pieces to the Museum along with various archival materials related to Demmon's work as an architect, furniture and jewelry designer. 1989 Appraisals (valued by) Mrs. Gloria A. Gregory (donor)
Alternate names: Gregory, Gloria Alten Boozer Dianne Demmon (donor) Boozer, Dianne Demmon (donor)