fanciful devices: I'm back.

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.

8/7/11

I'm back.

I have a ton of things to package up tomorrow, and right now I can barely keep my eyelids up. But I did want to say that what I used to sand the shine off the beads was sandpaper. When I got sick of that, the sanding bit on the dremel. Nothing magical or mysterious.

And, no, I have no trouble choosing between the matte/etched and the shiny/normal finishes- it's the matte every time. No shiny for me. (You must be new to this blog, it's a prevailing theme.)

OK, so here's another one I reworked. I sanded all the shine off these, too. see the before----
<<-------------------------------------------
Oh, wait. I just remembered that I cheated by taking all the shine waaaay down in Photoshop. Crap. Well, believe me it looks better. And I went with wire links instead of cord knots because of the very important reason that at the time, cord wasn't within immediate reach.
Is this just me? If you have to break out of your zone by getting up an inch and reaching for something, do you find reasons not to? It's kinda like when I'm stuck on the computer and can't snap out of the hypnotic state even though I'm not looking at anything special.

Another after shot:

I was so pleased with the bead sanding I did this before and after situation too:

That's all for now. Tomorrow packs and I guess the day after a couple new listings. And a month after that maybe I'll shave my legs.

7 comments:

Jennifer Valentine said...: glad yer back at ye ol' blaaaag my dear...
like the matte beads a lot...might even give it a go meself methinks.
(gears turning)
xoxox; 8/7/11, 11:21 PM
stregata said...: ...stop, baby, what's that sound? everybody look what's going down...
Thanks, no I can't get it out of my head!
Of course you go for matte - but sanding down those beads - wow.; 8/7/11, 11:46 PM
Michelle York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/8/11, 8:37 AM
Michelle York said...: Can I count on you to give me my morning giggle which leaves a great grin? This piece is wonderful. So many elements in play. My brain does not work that way but not to say that I can't appreciate your way of seeing.; 8/8/11, 8:38 AM
Michelle York said...: I think there should be a law passed that you should not have such a fascinating blog. It's been an hour now and I'm still clicking on links..urghh! How am I going to pull myself away. One link to another..I feel as if I've gone to a different world..well, I have haven't I..your world. Thank you so much.; 8/8/11, 9:09 AM
Penelope said...: Shave your legs?!? Is someone gettin' married?

Are those last beads plastic? They would have to be wouldn't they, cause that wouldn't work on glass. That means you've made plastic look good! Now I can't totally rule it out of my work!!! DAMMIT!; 8/9/11, 7:37 PM
Michelle York said...: Again, I come to visit..Shipwrecks and antiquities are the two words that come to mind when I look at your jewelry creations (art pieces)..You are such a funny woman..If you hadn't said 'teenage daughter' I wold have thought you were in your 20s'! Just goes to show that Art is the best rejuvenator..I understand the 'shave the legs' comment. That got a giggle out of me..at 7:20 Sunday morning.; 8/14/11, 9:24 AM