fanciful devices: Peeks

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.

7/6/11

Peeks

Big-ass mamba-jamba earrings. The faceted ceramics are from 2 different makers! The big one's from Spirited Earth, the slightly smaller's from Gaea.

A simple (for me) little choker with the roughest rawest watermelon tourmaline evaaa. And a tiny saint in a tiny case that used to carry watch parts. I mean, tiny watch parts.

Another simple (I should just stop using that term, hu?) little choker. The focal is a little silver bucket hanging by some elaborately hammered thick brass wire over which floats a silhouette cameo thang on knotted waxed hemp cord. I say elaborately hammered because it took forever to get into the right shape and size and the pieces are still not quite symmetrical, which this piece calls for. Also, the hoops are hammered perpendicularly from the curve swoop part. The clasp is sterling and it hooks into a flattened sterling ring! Ring, pot, cameo from Uruguay, everything else from etsy.

That's it for now!

4 comments:

Flotsam Tide said...: Big ass mamba jamba earrings rock!!! Always astounded by how inventive your combinations are for these chokers. Stone and fiber, texture and color in such synchronicity.... great job lady. That bucket is so sweet!!!!; 7/6/11, 6:41 PM
Jackie said...: What can I say, again you thrill and amaze me with your talent. I love the big ass mamba jamba earrings and the tiny saint in the tiny case that carried tiny watch parts is so awesome. I had one of those tiny watch part tin at one time, lost in my messy studio for now. I hope I find it soon, it's so sweet.
...Jackie xo; 7/6/11, 10:00 PM
Penelope said...: 'scuse me while I have a coronary over those first earrings!! The white! The rust! those amazing 'closed flowers' focals!!!!!!; 7/7/11, 2:18 AM
Unknown said...: They are divine.; 7/7/11, 6:27 AM