fanciful devices: Making the Makies

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.

8/18/10

Making the Makies

This is my custom piece I told y'all about.

Can't yet be sure if it's done.

Gotta sit w/it a few days.

Here are some new earrings.

So easy to make when you have artisan earwires all ready to go.

The hearts on both of these were sent by my etsy bud babyzorba.

Here's a bracelet that I'm not sure I'm ready to list. I just like it too much!

It was crazy hard to photograph, though. There's so much going on w/it, though it looks simple enough.

One end has an amazing tiger, the other says 'Rolex', the locket is of a samurai, and opens backwards like a Japanese book!

Inside there's this gorgeous old-time lady. All from Uruguay, 'course.... Maybe if I just make it super expensive....

6 comments:

hasapa said...: All hail the modern Hephaestus-- this is looking great! xx; 8/18/10, 9:20 PM
fanciful devices said...: is that an STD?
:P; 8/18/10, 11:47 PM
romantic decay said...: Love the darkness and mystery your jewelry has.; 8/19/10, 9:34 AM
fanciful devices said...: thanks romantic.... stil dont know what hephaestus mean... better look it up...; 8/19/10, 10:34 PM
fanciful devices said...: wiki:
"He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes."
Wow! So flattering...
"Like other mythic smiths but unlike most other gods, Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque appearance in Greek eyes."
...err...; 8/19/10, 10:38 PM
Linda said...: the custom piece is amazing! if you decide to sell that bracelet, call me...; 8/20/10, 1:17 PM