fanciful devices

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.

8/14/10

Some new pieces.
I Do Not Exist. Indonesian Glass and Soldered Images.

I Do Not Exist.
Self Descent. Stone Coral Buri Seed and Soldered Image.

Self Descent. Self Descent. Stone Coral Buri Seed and Soldered Image.

Eventually we choose exile & self descent.
If that inner universe,
objective & in distant accord,
affords some patience
sometimes we see a man emerge
wholly himself.
(...)
So private we can hardly speak.

-Jon Anderson
A Canal is Torment. Garnet and Quartz Dangles.

A Canal is Torment. Garnet and Quartz Dangles.

A Canal is Torment.
To replace the ones that sold as soon as they were listed.
That Dark Thread of Sadness. Soldered Currency and Black Bits.

That Dark Thread of Sadness
That Dark Thread of Sadness. Soldered Currency and Black Bits.

The glittering dance of brilliants must be strung on that dark thread of sadness which is time.
-Vernon Scannell
So Much Like Anger. Soldered Currency, Tobacco Tag and Garnet.

So Much Like Anger.
So Much Like Anger. Soldered Currency, Tobacco Tag and Garnet.

When the sun tilts back wing to root in a fierce sleep, the birds inhabit the branches like doubts. They soak in the dusk rocking themselves into small blind possessions of the wood and sing one note into the falling temperature. By dawn they are black fruit hanging from the bark you think looks so much like anger.
-Jack Myers
All the quotes are from the massive pile of poetry that was sent to me by Denise Herrera. They seemed to fit quite well with these pieces. (Except I may be arranging the 'self descent' one wrong.) However, the last 2 necklaces sold as soon as they were listed (to the same customer who snatched up the original 'canal' earrings, thanks Margaret!), so I don't think the poetry will be enjoyed by too many folks. Which is why I'm including it here.
I was asked by TesoriTrovati what I use for patina. I use Novacan. Liver of Sulfer is so stinky that I have to do it outside, and I live in a condo, so I have tons of neighbors all around my little patio, kids playing, dogs, and I can't do that to them. Well, I tried, but I got scolded by my husband and father. Which reminds me, I need more Novacan. I used tons on my Extreme Oxidation extravaganza. And no, tesori, I don't ever leave things shiny. I think the older and crustier, the better it looks. I feel like I still haven't hit the place where it's too much! I find that shiny is very distracting. If I have something with a reflective surface, I can't stop looking at that glint of light, and it takes away from the overall design of the piece.

6 comments:

stregata said...: Fanci, these pieces are awesome! Love the buttons on Self Descent.
Am going to miss seeing your creations while I am away.; 8/14/10, 11:30 PM
fanciful devices said...: those are not buttons but actually little disc buri beads- arent they cute! the headpins they're on are shaped like stars at the end. ima go check out yr blog to see were yr going...; 8/14/10, 11:44 PM
stregata said...: Thanks for hopping by! Will be posting later - we are driving down to Tuscany to spend some time at the beach. Where I will collect pebbles and shells and bits of sea glass...; 8/15/10, 12:01 AM
Cake said...: I'm just going to have to stop coming by here...I want, no, I crave....no, I neeeeeeed...what is a cross between crave and need?....oh, how about cneede?
Anyway it fills me with wishing I had a bottomless wallet just to buy all of your stuff.
xox
Cake; 8/15/10, 1:12 AM
fanciful devices said...: lol
the correct word is 'creed, silly. not to be confused w/'nave', which is a combo of need and misbehave...

stregata- driving to tuscany! just that sentence makes me amazed a jealous. where are you that you can drive there? aw, hell. did i just go all dumb american?; 8/15/10, 7:58 AM
stregata said...: Fanci,
you will recall that I live in Germany. I live in southern Germany, just north of the Alps. So I drive through the Alps, which takes me through Austria and into Italy and then we just keep going south. One of the advantages of living in Europe is that the countries are small, compared to America. Makes travelling sound exotic.; 8/15/10, 8:52 AM