fanciful devices: Color Overdose.

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.

2/21/11

Color Overdose.

I swear to Gah, any more color and I'll stab someone.

The Caravan. Antique Soldered Label.

The Caravan.
Cuz as you can see, all I really know how to do with color is put like colors together.

The Caravan. Antique Soldered Label.

I'm soooo much more confident in black and white.

Equestrianism. Label and Iolite.

Equestrianism.
Oh, but check it- bitsy iolite gems in the wrappedy-dangle style.

Equestrianism. Label and Iolite.

Which not only matched the label unexpectedly, but also turned out to be worth the bother. So maybe I'll do more of such.

Cobalt and the Miners. Choker.

Cobalt and the Miners.
I found this guy in a ceramic pitcher- I had it up ages ago and it never sold. So I oxidized, re-arranged some bits- notice that it's all blue on blue, what a surprise.

Snow White. Tin Bezel and Matchbox Label.

Snow White. Tin Bezel and Matchbox Label.

Snow White.
Cute? That crazy Turkish looking bauble was from SacredCake and I'm nutballs over it. With a birdy:

Snow White. Tin Bezel and Matchbox Label.

Less work to make than this guy, but priced rather higher--> The Brethren of Purity.

Cuz girls love the pretty girl pictures. It's like we wanna be a pretty girl so we put pictures of pretty girls around our necks to absorb the pretty girl vibes and thus feel more like pretty girls. Or something.
Pricing is still a random mystery to me...

3 comments:

Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: All so gorgeous...I get a huge kick out of seeing what you so with things I send...makes me smile really big.
and I'm having a crap day, so I appreciate it.
xox; 2/21/11, 7:28 PM
stregata said...: You know you like colour - and there is nothing wrong with monochromatic colour schemes.; 2/21/11, 11:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, as for me I like your color very much. I think these are great!; 2/27/11, 10:36 AM