fanciful devices: 3 Theeeengs!

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.

1/8/11

3 Theeeengs!

The Romanian Witch Tax.

Help, y'all. I don't know which of these 2 should be my 1st image.

Almacantar.

Exogenesis.

I should be communicating linguistically- that is, writing something deep and witty here instead of just putting up pictures, hu? I got nothin'. I'm dizzy and cloudy from napping and... that's all. I did like my title for the necklace above. It's an absolutely true news story. What else? The girly bracelet, Mr. Husband said it didn't look like something I'd make. When I said, 'yeah but the bits demanded to be put together' he had a good laugh. Have I told y'all that my husband is basically like an awkward adolescent? Cuz when I hear 'husband' I think of, you know, a MAN- but he so isn't. He's the human equivalent of a Labrador Retriever. Just sayin'.

Oh, I got masses of goodies in the mail from jansjewels.com. Because it's not a very visually inviting home page, you might not have ever poked around in there. But it's one of my favorite places to get supplies. For example, lots of the same stuff you can find at BENMICHELVINTAGE for a tenth the price. Tomorrow, I'll take some pix to entice you. Unless I'm lazy and don't.

4 comments:

Beadbug said...: I just love the bracelet with the rose colored stones, it's amazing. Your prices are so reasonable!; 1/8/11, 7:29 PM
Unknown said...: hey that link has a 2nd saturday warehouse sale & OKC is only an hour & a 1/2 drive for me! I missed today's sale, but there is always next month.love the new work; 1/8/11, 7:34 PM
Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: I love the rosey bracelet! OMG!
and did you seriously DIS benmichelvintage on yer blag?! lol; 1/8/11, 9:52 PM
Anonymous said...: I like the second photo for the Romanian Witch Tax. The new pieces are beautiful! I love the Afghan focals you've been using. I also love the loopy clasp on the bracelet.; 1/8/11, 10:16 PM