fanciful devices: I listed something

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.

I used to put off taking pictures until I had millions of things to list and then it became a superhuman effort to photograph, edit and list them all. Now that I have a studio right where there's good light in my place, I can actually manage to put up, say, a single thing at a time. It's much easier! So I made this quite unexpectedly:

A tiny tiny grain of sand in the sky.

It has it's name on a sliver of 'found poetry' text visible through a glass ring. Many of these bits were gifts from Sparrow. Or my supply-sending customer bought them from her for me, I'm still unclear...
This was one of those that come together in a spontaneous jumble. I'm not sure if that is better or worse than some of my more designed stuff that looks ... self-contained. Maybe just different.
A tiny tiny grain of sand in the sky. Beach bits and Turkoman Necklace.

Oh, I also took this picture:

It may just be the most artistic picture I've ever taken! And its a little measuring spoon filled with... can anyone guess? You'll never guess! $30 gift certificate to anyone who can guess!
Note: you can make as many guesses as you like. No one's guessed yet!

16 comments:

Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: looks like carmelized sugar....the kind that you can spin to make cracked sugar drizzles on things with...
I'm guessing, but 30.00? I'll definately try reeeeaaaaaallllllly hard to guess!
but it is probably some kind of petroleum product...but that would be
two guesses. damn.
LOVE the new necklace!; 10/8/10, 3:12 PM
Unknown said...: I think it looks like some sort of silicone sealant; 10/8/10, 3:33 PM
Anonymous said...: 2-part epoxy? I really love the new necklace.; 10/8/10, 4:46 PM
swopemelmel said...: It looks like honey and butter when it's melted together on a nice hot country biscuit made from scratch. Yeah that sounds good to me !! LOL!! Could be corn syrup but that didn't sound quite as yummy.
swopemelmel@aol.com; 10/8/10, 5:06 PM
Linda said...: i'm gonna say gum rosin. i really need a gc, so can i guess again in another comment?; 10/8/10, 6:20 PM
*Debi* said...: aww I was going to say resin. Ok, second guess, wax?; 10/8/10, 8:14 PM
fanciful devices said...: Ok, now I want a biscuit and I need to look up gum rosin...; 10/8/10, 8:17 PM
*Debi* said...: melted embossing powder?; 10/8/10, 8:35 PM
*Debi* said...: Apple (or another flavor) jelly?; 10/8/10, 8:38 PM
*Debi* said...: Karo(corn)Syrup?; 10/8/10, 8:50 PM
Penelope said...: congealed egg whites?

I love that necklace by the way. How is it I can send you these things and you make such beautiful things with them? I mean it's not like I send you junk I don't want, but most of the stuff I send you is stuff I've had forever and can't think what to do with.; 10/8/10, 9:07 PM
stregata said...: LOVE the necklace - it is fantastic!!
As for what it in the spoon - it looks like some sort of resin - although I have never seen such interesting swirls - maybe the hardener of a 2 part epoxy that has been left out and dried?; 10/9/10, 12:39 AM
*Debi* said...: Do I sound desperate yet? lol Tree sap??; 10/9/10, 1:56 PM
Tina said...: It looks like a crystal, gem, or glass. Pure loveliness!; 10/9/10, 1:57 PM
Tina said...: My other thought is melted plastic.; 10/9/10, 2:03 PM
carol said...: hi
it looks like some of the grease my dad used to use when doing stuff to his car when i was little
but
it also looks like toffee. when my mum used to make toffee she would take a spoonful of some of the mixture from the saucepan and place it into cold water to see the softness or hardness of the toffee mix so that she could tell when it had had enough boiling.

caRol; 10/9/10, 7:47 PM