fanciful devices: previews

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.

8/20/11

previews

My father in law's up for the weekend, so I couldn't work too much. Oh, and he brought me buffalo teeth- squeeee!

All the beads in this piece were just sent to me for my birthday by CorvidDelights. (I mention my b-day so as not to feel guilty telling folks about the awesome things people send me.)
<-- Coin from TeapotsandTelephones (previously fancylinda).

Actually, the wingish drop was sent to me by SacredCake ages ago and even ageser ago, Sparrow sent me the military Vs (official term).
So the only things I got myself are the chain and clasp from etsy and the little brown guy from Uruguay. Wow. That's kind of awesome.

Here's a piece starring a coin from Uruguay glued on to one of those faux Chinese coin charms that Sparrow sent. And the filigree I cut down/ reshaped /sanded /oxidized is from Teapots. The white drop in the focal and the gorgeous stick bead, as well as the black and white bone beads and the white tulip in the end dangle are from Corvid. Man, nothing like new beads to give you a rush of inspiration.
Under this woman's portrait it says Sara S.... something. Should proly find out who she is. She looks grandmotherly and benevolent.

So, here I mounted an Argentinian bill behind a grungy plastic watch lens. The chunky beads, SpiritedEarth, the glass drop, Corvid, the flower drop Opulen tOddities, the pearlized drops from etsy (here, she has these for $6 for 40! But you gotta convo her.) The white cord readbetween, the red cord Sparrow. And the tribal hook, etsy. Phew! That was a lotta links.
Hmmm... y'all noticing a theme here?
Focal = Uruguay.
Everything else = gifts.

Plastic doily (from Urg.) hoop/blade earrings. I'm actually using memory wire for the hooks b/c it's the only stuff hard enough to keep its shape in such a large arc.

Now this was actually a small picture frame from Opulen t. How neat is that. As you can see in the smaller picture, it has a good amount of width and some holes in there already. So the question is- should I dangle things from them? And if so, what things? Clearly these are blingy/girly as is, so it would have to be something crusty/tribal. Dark or light? I guess light, since the rhinestones look light. But then wouldn't it be too much? But isn't it too simple as is? Or not? What does the jewelry committee think?

Oh, here's a piece from a noisemaker from Urg. I hammered it into wrist shape and added a ring of beads above, reminiscent of juggling balls. Now, the red beaded bead and big blue bead were also uruguay, but the rose yellows and Egyptian revival button were gifts. Everything else I actually purchased. It's gonna be a bitch to photograph, of course.

So yeah. That's me w/o getting too much time in the studio. !?!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: I think the earrings (both pairs) are beautifully simple. I would leave them just as they are. I am a little bit scared of the clown. I see you're doing the layers of backgrounds a la Sparrow Salvage. They look good!; 8/21/11, 1:10 AM
Louise said...: I love the faded red piece, so exquisite!! :D; 8/21/11, 2:11 AM
Flotsam Tide said...: What a surprise and treat to see how you used those beads in these new necklaces. I am flushed and smiling over here, just showed them to the kid and she says: "I like the one with the more seashells" (she is referring to those pearly glass drops.. of course the supply that I didn't send) :) Those plastic doily hoop blades are so pretty and unexpected.; 8/21/11, 10:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Memory wire that's an evil barsteward to cut flicks me in the face everytime. I'm seeing grungy tassels...fine chain and torn ribbon with those rhinestones.; 8/22/11, 12:58 AM
Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: I agree...fine chain tassles definitely with the rhinestone hoops...
Love all of these! Imma try that wire and cloth thing soon...
I think I've got a few more things to send you. It is just so fun to see the amazing creations you comeup with that incorporate things peeps send....
love you fanci!; 8/22/11, 1:04 AM
Regina Moore said...: The rhinestone hoops have a simple quality and are lovely as is, but they would also be quite nice with dangles of some sort. Rusty wire wrapped around frayed fabric. Neutral colors...beige, tans, cream.? I'm sure whatever you decide will be great! Love your reading your blog and looking at all the lovely pieces you create!; 8/22/11, 6:26 AM
Penelope said...: look at you with your fancy layered backgrounds!! I feel so proud. Those doily blades really shine out on the red book cover.

I like the whole method that so many elements in one piece were gifts n trades. It makes these things even more special- or maybe it's just me catching a bit of your stardust cause I can look at a necklace and say 'lookit that! I sent her that! She has that cause a me!!' Which is most edifying.; 8/22/11, 11:14 AM