fanciful devices: 5 Little Guys

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.

1/4/11

5 Little Guys

So. I went to school today. For a meeting. Make-up on and everything. Turns out my boss changed the meeting to tomorrow without telling anyone. Yup.
Mister. Icon on Wooden Ring.

Mister.
So check it out! I made rings.
The Magister. Grungy Wooden Icon Ring.

The Magister.
Not really, just put some images on ring bases, put some burnt-orangey embossing resin over top, grunged up the things and called 'em good.
The Magister. Grungy Wooden Icon Ring.

Look how chunky they are.
Black Ruthenia. Grungy Icon in Wooden Ring.

Black Ruthenia.
Black Ruthenia. Grungy Icon in Wooden Ring.

Also, and for no real reason, felt like looking up the world's smallest countries, and used their names for my earrings. Cuz I was thinking how Uruguay may be small, but there's lots of other even tiny-er ones out there. So, yeah.
Tuvalu. Soldered Daggers and Rhinestone Dangles.

Tuvalu. Soldered Daggers and Rhinestone Dangles.

Tuvalu.
So if you wanna learn about 2 tiny countries, go read the descriptions of the earrings.
Nauru. Soldered MOP and Czech Leaf Dangles.

Nauru.
Do you guys ever talk to your blog while you're going about your day? That is, talk to yourself ... as if you were writing your blog? But then when you go to write your post, not write any of the things that were going on in your head about because they weren't that interesting after all or you can't remember them?
Oh, you don't?
Yeah, me neither.
(Note: To answer your question Debi, I got the muskrat skull from my father-in-law who goes to trapper's and hunter's conventions. That's also where I got the zillion rifle bullet cartridges I have. I'm always obsessed over this or that little bit I want and hunting down where to get said bit. That's what I do while the rest of you clean your homes or have social lives.)

3 comments:

~Debi said...: Cleaning house? Social life? What are these things you speak of? I have a ton of brass as well. I don't hunt (hubby does) but I do have a concealed carry license and go shooting at a range. (and I must say, I am damn good at it- lol) Hubby even reloads our brass for us... but I do keep some it for crafting. My brother in Colorado is saving some Elk "Ivory" for me- those front teeth. Can't wait to make some cool things with those! :D

P.S. The new things are cool :); 1/4/11, 9:55 PM
stregata said...: The rings are gorgeous - but do you think the finish will stand up to the wear-and-tear?; 1/4/11, 11:43 PM
fanciful devices said...: why, sure. it's not a whole lot of it. do you mean is it safe for water? or to be banged against? Cuz i tell folks to remove it for bathing and not to gesticulate wildly through a crowd of knife wielding maniacs. other than that, youre golden.; 1/6/11, 8:14 AM