fanciful devices: Indonesian Glass...

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.

8/3/10

Indonesian Glass...

... came in the mail today.
Let me catch my breath.
They're from yukidesigns.

The package included these beauties that for whatever reason (ie, I didnt pay attention to the measurements given) I thought would be 3 to 4 times this size. But I love them tiny! Don't the yellowish ones look like little teeth?

I'm thinking there's a necklace here:

Also, my lovely buyer requested the hand pendant be lengthened. I always offer free sizing, if it can be done. I want things to fit perfectly. Finally, someone asked. Ok, folks have asked before, but not often.

Anyways, I decided to go bold:

Which gave me ideas on what to do w/this dark shell heishi I had yet to use...

Oh, there's another treasury to post but I have to go to work- grrrr. >:(

OH- I almost forgot my news. I've decided to switch over to all Priority mail. It'll mean I can ship from home, so no procrastinating going to the post office. Also, I'll be using those little boxes so no worry about padding or damage, and that I'll ship more often and things will get there super fast. Domestic will be $5, but international will be expensive. Like, $12. I'm thinking of saying if you want to pay less, request regular mail and agree in writing to accept responsibility for loss or damage. Can you tell I've had a couple mail issues recently?

All I need is a new decent printer...

OK, may not be news-news, but it is big in my little world.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: If you use Endicia, you can print First Class postage from home with delivery confirmations for 15c each. No, I don't work for Endicia, but I've been using them for two years and I couldn't be happier. Just thought I'd let you know about another option before you commit to Priority only. And I love the new beads!; 8/3/10, 8:43 PM
stregata said...: Love the beads - looking forward to seeing what you do with them!; 8/3/10, 11:14 PM
Penelope said...: I'm about to flip out with that heishi bead loop there!! I swore, seriously- it's that good. Girl you blow my mind.

And yeah- I don't know what's wrong with my tape measure, but 99% of the stuff I buy I think 'oh I thought it was bigger.'; 8/4/10, 4:24 AM
fanciful devices said...: lol- i expected them to honestly be 4x as big!
so, fancylinda... ok, now i'm full of questions. ima have to convo you or email or something.; 8/4/10, 8:13 AM