fanciful devices: You 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.

6/21/11

You Guys!

I got this heart-in-hand pendant from the lovely and generous Sacred Cake- she got it from Spirited Earth right before my hand surgery:

(I think though the bead was just from Spirited Earth since I sent her a note saying how much I liked those faceted ceramic beads.)

Readbetween sent me some pitch for chasing and repousse and added a whole bunch of these lovelies.

Another etsian, Caroline, sent me a huge box. Here's some pix. Actually, tons of it is crochet. If anyone wants some crochet, I have more than I know what to do with. Maybe I'll use it to wrap packages.

These earrings have nice dangles to detach.

Big gorgeous and authentic vintage African glass.

There are some vintage-looking earrings here w/pretty arab-y dangles that are cuter than they look here. I might just wear those. They're darker than this.

If you like any of it, there's more beads than I could possibly use. Email me at marinrios@yahoo.com and tell me what you'd like. Click on pictures to make them big. I've numbered them to make it easier.

This says "rifle expert".

Thing is, I never use seed beads.

This rainbow one actually has a touch of milky translucency to it- it's really nice.

These red buttons are all crackled but still very strong. Also there's purple bling.

Sequined applique and an unusual something ethnic looking.

These strippedy silver glass ones back there are prettier and vintage-ier than this photo conveys.

Cubes of coral among other things.

Wood and coral. Lots of old mop buttons.

I'm digging this old fashioned glass.

Lots of turquoise nuggets in pale green and, well, turquoise.

Oh here's a close up of the stripys. Also some little African glass sand greens w/blue and yellow stripes.

Lizard pin, big green rose.

Hinge, flower bursts.

Lots of pretty and big-ish buttons.

This middle-eastern bell thing. Cherry quartz. New jade I think.

I'm really liking these raw ones- tourmaline?

And these - moss agate?

These peachies are more faceted than they look.

Pretty hanky, big oval quartz, more buttons.

Another pile of crochet, some hardware.

Big-hole smokey mops.

Vintage frit glass babies. I'm really into these. And some jasper or agate coins in the background. Any of you do beachy or deserty things could use these.

Giant white turquoise nugget on a fancy bail.

A buncha old postcards.

Oh- here's a better angle on the frit and coins. Also, a little opal angel or figure of some sort. I'm for sure keeping the frit, though.

10 comments:

Jackie said...: Hi, I'm Jackie. You don't know me, I just discovered you recently and so adore your work. I'm so inspired by your jewerly. Oh such lovely get well gifts from your lovely thoughtful friends. I do hope your recovery is going well.
...Jackie xo; 6/21/11, 11:15 PM
dd said...: Hope your recovery is going well. You need to get back to work, full speed ahead!

warmest,
Jordan; 6/21/11, 11:54 PM
steufel said...: Can't wait to see what you will do with all those pretties! Hopefully your recovery is going well!; 6/22/11, 3:14 AM
Penelope said...: Man you get some hauls!!; 6/22/11, 9:26 PM
Regina Moore said...: Love reading your blog and your jewelry pieces are WONDERFUL! Hope you are feeling better soon!; 6/23/11, 6:38 AM
~Debi said...: The heart in hand pendant is so fitting and the faceted ceramic bead is very cool!; 6/23/11, 11:10 AM
Jackie said...: I hope today was better than yesterday!
...Jackie xo; 6/23/11, 10:22 PM
owlparty said...: Looks like your fans are competing to see who can send you the best destash. Everybody wins!; 6/24/11, 5:20 PM
Spirited Earth said...: ;-) hehe; 6/24/11, 6:22 PM
richelle said...: So--are you selling or trading? I'll trade.; 6/25/11, 2:09 AM