fanciful devices: makey-makey make

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.

10/4/10

makey-makey make

Got something finished, photographed and up today, woo-hoo! Tetragrammaton. Fabric Cuff.

Tetragrammaton.
Tetragrammaton. Fabric Cuff.

I can't even pick which photo to show you guys.
I'm working on this but I'm balking against the color:

We'll see I guess.

In other news, my 2 year old nephew is visiting from California and speaking in eerily perfect sentences. A friend of my sister's did a fire dance at a party and he can't stop telling us- "Kat can eat fire." He must remember that when he was an infant my mom would call him chunky monkey because now he'll suddenly yell, "Chunky monkey!" at her and run off, giggling his tiny tush off. That off-balance toddler run. Plus he can count backwards, which he loves to do for his toy airplane's take-offs. And he can dance! Man, no wonder parents are so hyper-critical. As babies we each convinced them we were the second coming of prodigal amazingness. What a disappointment we all must be...

3 comments:

Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: LOVE LOVE LOVE as always, Fanci....
I love the way you talk of your work....love the chunks and medallions and buttons....; 10/4/10, 4:43 PM
stregata said...: Actually, I think everyone is amazing, in their own special way.
Love those cuffs. But that necklace has me wanting to see more...; 10/5/10, 12:28 AM
fanciful devices said...: thanks guys! you dont mind the muddy orange color? of the necklace? i may have over-de-saturated the color on the picture....; 10/5/10, 3:25 AM