fanciful devices: Fina-friggin'-ly!

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.

4/30/11

Fina-friggin'-ly!

The Secret of God and Gods Mother. Victorian Tribal Assemblage.

The Secret of God and Gods Mother.
All I've been doing all day is taking these pictures, editing and posting them. I have a throbbing headache.

Blazing Unnatural Light.
It feels like a caffeine headache, but I have my joe. I think it's withdrawal from the sugarfest that was Virginia. Donuts for breakfast, cake and ice cream for dinner. Can you get a sugar-withdrawal headache?

Calcinatio.
Anyshmaze, here's some stuff. There's lots more almost ready. I'm, like, manic right now, making stuff like a mad person. Also I couldn't sleep all last night. My head was racing with projects to be made. Why am I insane?

If the World Goes On. Earrings

If the World Goes On.
Why can't I just be chill about it? The more stuff I have, the more frantic I get. Someone give me some advice here. Also- what the hell kinda teeth are those in the picture above? They have these knobs on top, so they don't look like alligator's or coyote's.

The Million-Crested Sun.

Oh I'm crazy about this one. It's one of my leather-cord series. Manly-leather-cord-paired-with-something-girly series. That really rolls off the tongue, hu? So yeah, this ammonite fossil is filled with glorious, pyrite-colored hematite. It friggin' glows.

The Million-Crested Sun.

Huh. I notice it's most certainly not glowing in these pictures. Can you tell it's more than just a fossil?

The Tarim Mummies. White Religious Medal Earrings.

The Tarim Mummies.Here we have some very unusual enameled religious medals- they're teeny!

Behind the Veil of All.Here's an eye-themed grungy choker. I tried a special photo effect- can you tell?

Rapunzel.Clearly, I'm on a choker kick right now. I think it's my own backlash from realizing all my necklaces are just a smidge too long. Or too long on my boney neck anyways.

Those Who Came from Heaven to Earth.This cuff I've shown you already. See my effects? Get yours here.

La Pule Noir.I showed you guys this one already but I changed the cord. This one is chunkier and stronger.

Monomania.And this guy who I made the subtlest of changes to which only my obsessive self would notice...

How did our people come to exist. White Dangles.

How did our people come to exist.And these guys who already sold!Oh, also, the giveaway is still open, y'all. I'll probably close it tomorrow or Monday.

4 comments:

stregata said...: You are not insane - you are an artist. You get excited about the possibilities.
Take a deep breath - you have time, your stuff is not going to vanish in a puff of smoke (unless I learn how to time-/space-travel in a puff of smoke...) But if you were insane - then I would have to learn how to be insane - because I want to be as creative as you...
These pieces are all gorgeous!!!!!!!!!; 5/1/11, 12:10 AM
Penelope said...: You're insane because you're a genius, and there's no real difference between them except genius's tend to have output, and your output is shiny! You consistently blow me away.

And you can absolutely get a sugar withdrawal headache- your body's been running itself on the calories it got from sugar, now it has to go back to it's old way. I was reading not long ago that if you give up sugar it makes losing weight easier, because the body uses the energy from sugar and saves your fat instead, which means it won't burn. Not that you need that kind of info cause I've seen your non-fatness.; 5/1/11, 3:32 AM
Spirited Earth said...: gorgeous..love your leather works.; 5/1/11, 10:26 AM
Diana said...: Stunning pieces and wonderful creative energy!!!; 5/3/11, 3:44 AM