fanciful devices: Dear Lord

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 spent every minute of today editing and posting these. It is a day I will never get back. Damn you, Dad's computer!

Behind the Veil of All.

Plus I can hardly see a thing on this labtop screen so I have no idea if these images are any good.

Fatima. Ceramic pendant from IndianCreekStudios.

Specimen. A real vintage slide I snagged off ebay for almost nothing. No idea what it says. I'm assuming it's German because it reads 'Stuttgart' on the one edge. German gals, I think they're 3 of you, can you make it out? (Note: Stregata, you're amazing. Now that I've read your note, of course I see English and French as well as German. But before that all I could read was Stuttgart. Which, why so many 't's?)

Comprehend the Cosmos.

First Intellect.

In the Realm Between Gods and Mortals.

A Light from Within. (I forgot to list this one yesterday.)

The Demiurge.

I may have used an entire roll of solder on this damned bezel. Maybe I'll stick to my simple soldering without bothering with bezels. They're a pain. Does look pretty cute, though, hu?

I'm too exhausted to include links to anything.

Imna go de-numb my butt.

5 comments:

Spirited Earth said...: these are all grand but i am loving these simple necklaces and the bezel is more than cute.
demiurge is devine; 11/27/10, 7:33 PM
stregata said...: Hope your computer is up and running soon.
The slide has German, French and English labelling. Something about a cross section of a tail, I believe, from an invertebrate.; 11/28/10, 12:02 AM
sharon said...: Loving your blog, your work , and your attitude!
I hope to take you up on the ephemera mail, as soon as I get 2 seconds to myself!
Great great pieces!; 11/29/10, 9:59 PM
sharon said...: Oh, I have a goofy husband and dog too!; 11/29/10, 10:00 PM
fanciful devices said...: hello and welcome sharon! yay new friends.
yup. still got tons of ephemera and youre more than welcome to it.; 11/29/10, 11:37 PM