fanciful devices: Finally! 60 Items in shop!

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.

9/19/10

Finally! 60 Items in shop!

I love a full shop. May not last, as 3 items in the shop are reserved. But sales have been slow so... yay?

Antique French Religious Cards.13 Frame Worthy Prints. Book of Hours.

3 items in my oft-neglected 'antiques' section

Large Ledger Book with Alphabetized Tabs.

I made this little guy:

Ladybones Road. Soldered Fossils and Miniatures Choker.

My visiting sister saw it and was like, 'It needs color. It's so dark you can't see anything. Make this green.' And all that proly would give it more mass appeal. But I am a slave to my muse... Translation: I gotta do what I'm inspired to do, not what I think more people will like.

Soldered fossils, quartz from Sparrow, faceted jet glass, tag from Opulent Oddities... dyed antique bandages... It's really short- 17 inches. Well, short for me. Actually fits me like a real choker, but I have a thin neck. Maybe shoulda made it longer, but I never make anything for my skinny gals...

I also finished a custom order!

Synesthetic Perceptions. Custom Order for Shessoweird.

This one is crazy long. As usual, I thought I could finish it up real quick before reality hit.

This glass bead trim is from Sparrow's supply shop. The string was practically brittle, it was so old. So I glued a lot of it down then encrusted it w/my wax/dirt mix to sorta seal it all in place.

Oh and remember the sacred heart I was working on?

Here it is now:

Cute, hu?

Oh happy, productive day.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: Wow, that sacred heart is gorgeous! I also love the fossil necklace. I don't think it needs more color.; 9/19/10, 3:43 PM
stregata said...: Love the custom necklace! And the sacred heart is fantastic.
You are right - you have to listen to your muse - otherwise, she might be insulted and stop talking. LOL; 9/19/10, 11:37 PM
fanciful devices said...: hu? what link? i checked the 3 links included and they all work. if you wanna go to my shop, you can enter thru the etsy mini on your right.
and that 'staff member' line made me laugh and laugh. and also made me wonder if you were confusedly commenting here what you meant to write on some other blog. staff member! oh, lord that cracked me up so hard....; 9/20/10, 1:39 AM
Penelope said...: I think William is a spambot.

but nevermind about that- HOLYMOLEY look at that sacred heart!!!! That's amazing. You're amazing. Yes you are.; 9/20/10, 4:29 AM
fanciful devices said...: what is the spambot hoping to achieve exactly?
and: no YOURE amazing!; 9/20/10, 2:08 PM
Desiree said...: I'm in love the sacred heart. Are you planning to use it in your jewelry or is it a personal piece?

I never got the opportunity to thank you for the ephemera. Thank you!!! I've been wanting to experiment with some resin lately and I think it will come in handy.; 9/23/10, 2:45 PM