fanciful devices: And the last 2 are up

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.

11/5/10

And the last 2 are up

Terrifying Angels. White Assemblage Bracelet.

Terrifying Angels.
Find Your Way to Music. Wide Dangles.

Find Your Way to Music.
PHEW!
Also, I wanted to tell you guys, because I don't think I say it enough, thank you from the deepest depths of my entity.
I respond to your comments w/my comments but some people don't re-read them after posting one, so I should say it here. It is so so so encouraging to get your sweet little comments w/all the unnecessary exclamation marks, the way we all seem to write on the internet for some reason.
The internet/handmade world is totally female dominated and you can see that clearly in how much we encourage each other and prop each other up. It seems like the 'fine art' gallery world is totally male dominated and people are secretive about their techniques and cliquish, snobby and competitive. Totally male, in many ways. Some galleries you can only get in by appointment or they make you ring to get in, not very welcoming. We, on the other hand, are like, "look at these pictures of my messy studio, let me tell you exactly how I made this..." We rock.
I don't know what I'd do w/o my gals. And one of us succeeding sure doesn't mean the rest of us can't also- we don't consider it a race w/only one or two winners. I don't think I'd even be doing this if it weren't for other blogger-crafters that set the example. I might never have tried art in my adult life. Or surely wouldn't have gotten this far w/o all the internet inspirations. I'd proly still be f*cking around w/my horrible paper collages I used to try to make.
Yesterday, I made my husband sit and listen while I read Jennifer/SacredCake's comment about holding her breath when she first saw that recent black necklace. I was all, "Robert!!! Did you hear that!!??!!! She was holding her breath! Isn't that amazing?" And he was laughing and agreeing that it was amazing.
Every so often I tell a family member something like that, since they can't appreciate what I do on they're own, God love 'em, and it makes them happy and feel that whatever it is I'm up to, I must be doing well. And then I jump up and down, wiggle my rump and do a happy dance. Which makes them laugh.

2 comments:

Linda said...: I don't know why the people closest to us can't seem to appreciate what we do when we want their approval more than anyones. I think that's why we are sent others who somehow appreciate us/what we do even more! There is nothing quite like the support of others who do/love the same thing we do that makes us wiggle and squirm in pure happiness. If anyone deserves to do a happy dance, it's you, darlin'. Don't ever doubt it. xo; 11/6/10, 11:58 AM
~Debi said...: I get all tickled inside when I get a comment on my blog too!!! (unnecessary exclamation marks) It's nice to get support from our fellow crafters. But seriously, you do such awesome work; you deserve it :); 11/6/10, 1:09 PM