fanciful devices: Sale Y'all

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.

1/27/11

Sale Y'all

Raqs Sharqui. $20 SALE Raqs Sharqui. Hinged Bangle with Antique Cut Steel Buttons.

Sale. Prehistoric Buttons. Mixed Media Bracelet.

Prehistoric Buttons. $20
SALE Blue Blood. Glass and Millinery on Sterling Silver.

Blue Blood. $20
SALE Wyrm. Shoulder Length Earrings.

Wyrm. $20

SALE Night the Beloved. Long Assemblage Brooch.

Night the Beloved. $23
SALE Prize Law. Cobalt and Azure Victorian Tribal Neckpiece.

Prize Law. $40 SALE Protoplanetary. Antique Clay Pipe with Rifle Cartridge Stem.

Protoplanetary. $40
Gotta clear out some pieces. OK, I don't gotta, just wanna.
Guess what? I bought tickets to Uruguay!!! And this time Imna make sure to go twice to the street fare where I found so much stuff last time (here and here). I can't believe I've used almost all of it up! I'm going in April.
Mr. Husband's already memorized the entire Uruguayan soccer/futbol schedule for the week before, 2 weeks of and week after our trip. Now he's trying to drag me to some games. In fact, he's watching Uruguay vs. Peru downstairs as we speak. As I write? God I hate sports. They were specially engineered to annoy me as much as possible. All of them.

6 comments:

~Debi said...: Congrats on the trip! I know you will have fun!; 1/27/11, 9:12 PM
Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: WOOHOO!!!!
so glad you're going on the trip my dear...
and my sentiments exactly about sports....
Meh.; 1/28/11, 12:09 AM
stregata said...: I can't wait to see what you find on your trip.
As for sports - well, just imagine - if 2/3 of the world (do you think that is underestimated? maybe 3/4?) wasn't preoccupied watching sports or participating in sports all the time, they would expect us to be doing something other than following our bliss.; 1/28/11, 12:54 AM
Spirited Earth said...: have a great time on your trip..know you will bring back some wild and amazing bits and pieces.; 1/28/11, 8:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Hey fanci,
glad to hear of your trip! Whatever you see, if there's double, buy it! I would purchase some of your found objects just as is (pre-fanci devices transformation) because you pick the most interesting things!

Perhaps a found objects pack similar to your ephemera pack is in my future?!

Is forgotten myths your tentative supply shop?

P.S. I still get a kick out of my playing card with the naked girl and regret not buying myself a stash when I saw them at the 99 cent store....what a loss!!

(dherrera); 1/28/11, 8:16 PM
Ms. Herrera said...: we can't have two anonymous people posting, so I've cracked open my old blogging acct. I used many years ago for my class (blushing). Now, for that pic....; 1/29/11, 12:20 PM