fanciful devices: sneaky peekies

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.

12/19/10

sneaky peekies

Hi dere. Umember me? Now that I'm not teaching I don't have to speak correctly.

Oh that's right- work over! 3 weeks of stinky making to come! Why stinky? Because I don't wanna stop even just to take a bath! OK, that's gross. Unfortunately true, but gross.

I got a buncha earrings to photograph tomorrow.

Here's some with these little wooden animals and 'black diamond' rhinestone drops. Also pyrite and freshwater pearls and dyed tatting.

More animals w/pearls and drops and such.

Tin lid 'blade' earrings.

New berry dangles! And some grungy painted pearl headpin/drops things. When I want un-oxidizeable things to be grungy, I just paint 'em. Mostly, it works. I darkened most of the beads in the necklace up top w/plain old watery acrylic paint.

Here's some work in progress

So whaddaya think of the oldified pictures? I like that it hides the fact that the pictures are awful nighttime/artificial light images. What is it about actual bad vs. cute/fake bad? What we think is attractive changes with each decade, with each day. Looking over this post, I realize it looks like each picture was taken by a different old-time-y camera. Maybe I should stick with just one style? I love the first one with the grid.

I have some soldering experiments coming up. For now these pieces aren't revolutionary, but this is my first day of vacation!Imna make a bezel for the yellow tin tag.
So my 3 year-old nephew, David, is visiting. I was playing w/him when my sister came down the stairs. David points her out to me and says, "There's my friend Mommy."
Is that the cutest thing ever?

7 comments:

Spirited Earth said...: i love these new pieces..and your photos are fabulous.
i want to experiment with these adjusted edged photos..
thanks for sharing the technique in the other post.; 12/19/10, 7:10 AM
stregata said...: You think you are excited that you have 3 weeks to make jewelry? I! am excited just thinking of all the gorgeous creations I am going to get to see. LOL And it looks like you are already in the vortex. Wonderful earrings.; 12/19/10, 7:54 AM
Anonymous said...: I like the one with the grid too. I think these frames really suit your style of jewelry. Love all the new pieces!; 12/19/10, 12:46 PM
~Debi said...: The grid is cool. I see that your stitching the filigree thingy worked out great. Love it.; 12/19/10, 4:08 PM
Pretty Things said...: Oh look at all that gloriousness. I particularly want/desire/covet that last necklace! And the photography is awesome!; 12/19/10, 4:11 PM
jamberry_song said...: Fanciful and fantastic stuff! Every one of these tells a story. It's wonderful when that happens. :); 12/19/10, 9:53 PM
Diamond VA said...: Great stuff!! Its a nice piece of jewelry. Thanks for sharing with us.; 12/21/10, 8:27 AM