fanciful devices: A reader and commentator, Stregata

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.

6/21/10

A reader and commentator, Stregata

Birds of a Feather Necklace
I have found myself lucky enough to actually discover readers to my blog. Among them, Stregata, has consistently commented, something which you bloggers out there know to be super encouraging. So, out of curiosity I clicked around and found this magnificent necklace of hers for sale on German Dawanda! Er. I think it's German. Lot's of umlauts.

Besides Dawanda, he has no less than 2 estsy shops and 2 blogs! Including a huge list of blogs she follows and blog followers.

(Totally unrelated- really interesting article on sapphire mining in Sri Lanka. FYI- not depressing or horrifying in any way.)

5 comments:

steufel said...: She creates awesome stuff and has such a beuatiful spirit, I was really happy when I discovered her blog a while ago. I think actually I found your blog through her site.; 6/21/10, 1:03 AM
fanciful devices said...: REALLY? that's wonderful. I wondered where my small but growing audience has been coming from.; 6/21/10, 1:00 PM
home based businesses said...: She sounds like an amazing and very talented person. I should also visit her blog myself.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!; 6/21/10, 6:33 PM
romantic decay said...: She always leaves encouring comments and makes great jewelry
I'm your blog stalker from Ohio. I LOVE your jewelry!; 6/22/10, 9:30 AM
fanciful devices said...: welcome romantic blog stalker and home based business! She does leave encouraging comments, hu? Isn't it funny how as we skim through our favorite blogs we so often don't think to comment? But how a comment can make such a difference when it's our blog and work?; 6/23/10, 12:07 AM