fanciful devices: Planet Earth.

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.

7/14/11

Planet Earth.

The Cyclist.

My nephew Carlos received the "Planet Earth" DVD set from my parents a while ago. He loves it and watches it whenever he can

Now that my sister's family is spending the summer in our lake house in Wisconsin, Carlos has gotten to know the flora and fauna of the area quite well.

Look at the Moon.

He loves watching the birds that come to the huge trees outside the floor to ceiling windows that wrap around the house. He was doing just that when he thoughtfully declared,

"Mommy, it's like we have our own 'Planet Earth' right outside our window!"

"Um, yes Carlos. It is like we have planet earth right outside our window!"

Onomatopoeia.

So I'm working on some stuff and I just got my monthly visitor so just be patient.

AND I'm offering a little sale to blog readers- just type FREESHIP in the coupon code and you get priority shipping for free. That is for domestic. I'll offer the same for overseas with simultaneous purchases of 2 or more items. This cannot be applied without coupon code or after purchase is completed!

5 comments:

Flotsam Tide said...: My kid loves the Planet Earth series too! Except she hides under the blanket whenever an animal is about to be eaten. I love the cool blues in these new pieces, combined with yellow... very lovely.; 7/14/11, 10:24 PM
Aqua Junko Artworks said...: I found your blog the other day and was blown away... I just love your work!!!. I love anthropology and your work feels so "meaningful". I can not wait to see what you come up with next. No comment on the Boobies issue...Lori B.; 7/14/11, 10:36 PM
stregata said...: Drooling over that first necklace...; 7/14/11, 11:41 PM
Anonymous said...: All I can say is WOW!! Those pieces are amazingly wonderful. I'm so inspired by your talent, now if I could just get my shit together...

...Jackie xo; 7/15/11, 8:33 AM
~Debi said...: The Cyclist necklace is awesome. Your work is always awesometastic!; 7/15/11, 11:44 AM