fanciful devices: stuff

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.

3/17/10

stuff

I'm at a huge adult education conference here in Chicago this week. So I haven't taken pictures. Still somehow find time to make this wacky stuff. Up top, I need to paint-grunge the 4 links on the buckle because they wouldn't oxidize. Means they're aluminum.

Second is a real antique clay pipe from England. That's right. None of those fake antique clay pipes you see at your local department store all the time. I was into antique clay pipes before they hit it big and sold out.

2 comments:

Penelope said...: I have to get my lawyer on to you to demand you stop being so freakin' awesome. Fairly warned- my lawyer is a fish called fishyfish. He pays careful attention but I've not heard anything on my lawsuits. I don't think he's even left his tank.

I really like the minimal prettiness on the clay pipe necklace, it's very early Georgian pastoral, which is a look I'm into right now- the Elizabethan ghosts mutated.

The way you coiled the rope to make a hoop on the top necklace is genius.; 3/18/10, 9:03 PM
fanciful devices said...: Hee, hee. I was just thinking I'd like to do some very early Gregorian pastoral. ??????
I'll have to switch the big loops on the upper right for the dark ones on the lower left. As is, it dug into my neck. Every single chain section has been moved to every position possible. Not by choice.
And the coil on the 1st one is the only thing that worked at all. On top of that is a rusty old key ring double-loop thingy.
I can't wait to get good pictures and post them in my shop! Why must there be sleep and meals and work and going to the post office and bathroom getting in the way of making?; 3/19/10, 2:02 AM