fanciful devices: More Before and Afters

A Stone Is Nobody's

A man ambushed a stone. Caught it.
Made it a prisoner.
Put it in a dark room and stood guard over it for the rest of his life.

His mother asked why.

He said, because it's held captive, because it is captured.

Look, the stone is asleep, she said, it does not know whether it's in a garden or not. Eternity and the stone
are mother and daughter; it is you who are getting old. The stone is only sleeping.

But I caught it, mother, it is mine by conquest, he said.

A stone is nobody's, not even its own. It is you who are conquered; you are minding the prisoner, which is yourself,
because you are afraid to go out, she said.

Yes yes, I am afraid, because you have never loved me, he said.

Which is true, because you have always been to me as the stone is to you, she said.

Russell Edson

FAQs

1. Are you a Southeast Asian dancing girl from the 1800s?

No, sorry to disappoint. My avatar and banner images are from an ancient book I found in the depths of my grandmother's cabinets. More on that here.

2. How do you make everything look so old?

First, you need a good oxidizer to brush on every bit of metal you can reach. I'll tell you all about it here.

Then there's this wax. I first mentioned it here. You'll have to scroll down a lot.

3. How can you be so productive?

I'm insanely obsessed and I have no offspring. I do nothing else- I don't have a day job, I don't clean my house or cook, I spend all day in pjs, often completely abandoning personal hygiene... I only interact with other humans when I walk my dog. And I like people! But I prefer dogs.

And I'm sloppy- but I make that sloppiness work for me.

4. Any tips you'd like to share?

No! Except for these 16 posts about techniques and this one about how to find your aesthetic.

5. Would you be offended if I took some inspiration from your designs?

Well, I'd be happier if you outright copied them.

No really, imitation is how we learn. I have enough ideas to go around. And even if I don't- please. No one's going to do this obsessively enough to threaten my business. (Probably.) I learned by copying others and I've seen others copy me as a step toward developing their own voice. So feel free. (I'd love if you tossed me a link in my comments, so I can feel like a proud momma.)

6. What do you look like?

Why, what have you heard? Really? Wow.

1/2/10

More Before and Afters

I improved this gal, here's another.

before

and after

Much simplified. I don't know what I think about it, though. And also much better backs on these.

before

after

And so on.

before

after

Also, I realized I'd never posted this gal,

which I made along with my soldered pieces.

However, I only have these 3 pictures.

Hopefully, it's enough, although taking pictures has become a lot easier since I discovered the light in my bedroom.

2 comments:

kaapi carla said...: carissima, amo le tue cositas....faccio fatica a sceglierne una o l'altra...sono come tante voci in un coro di voci senza tempo, nel tuo lavoro artistico sento devozione, celebrazione, gioco...cioè teatro rituale poetico originario ancestrale...
In una fase ma vita nuova , in cui sto ritrovando azioni poetiche tralasciate, (sono in pensione da settembre), mi è di grande ispirazione questo incontro. Grazie!

Ti scrivo in italiano che è simile allo spagnolo, in attesa di imparare un pochino almeno l'inglese che ho cominciato a studiare pochi mesi fa.
Ieri,sabato, sono arrivata all'ufficio postale che era stato appena chiuso. Domani salderò il mio conto, non vedo l'ora di ricevere le tue meravigliose cositas...

un abbraccio
:-)
kc; 1/3/10, 4:15 AM
fanciful devices said...: I was able to start making sense of this comment using yahoo translator. In parenthesis are my ideas as to the intended meaning, lol:

most expensive (dear), I love yours cositas (little things)….I make hard work to choose some or l' other… is like many voices in a chorus of voices without time, in your artistic job (work), (one) feels devozione (devotion), celebration, game (play) … that is ancestral original poetico theatre rituale (?? but it sounds nice)…

In a phase but new life (?), in which I am finding again poetiche actions omitted (a lack of poetry in my life), (they are in pension from september [it's on vacation]), me is of great inspiration this encounter (I'm very inspired to find you). Thanks!
I write to you in Italian who is similar to the Spanish, waiting for to learn a pochino (little) at least l' English that I have begun to study little months ago. Yesterday, saturdays, have arrived all' post office them that it had been as soon as closed. Tomorrow I will knit my account, I do not see l' now to receive your wonderful ones cositas (I can't wait to get your wonderful little things)…

OK, aside from making me blush- that was too much fun!; 1/9/10, 7:47 PM