fanciful devices

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.

10/4/11

Grace in Their Hearts.

Hello ladies. How's y'all's week going? Here it's been all lilacs and pinks. These mookaite jasper focal reads "gentle whispers, grace in their hearts" reverse: "the three sisters." The drop on the chain reads "arms entwined around each other"on one side and "full of sisterly kindness" on the other. Any of you have sisters, you know 'sisterly kindness' is, like, not getting them in trouble when given the opportunity, not smacking them even though they're totally asking for it. But it looked nice on the necklace.

I Myself Have Gone Blind. Rustic Gypsy Assemblage Hoops with Ceramic Beads.

What Are You Looking For. ...

Every Tree Hundred Nights. Rustic Gypsy Assemblage Hammered Copper Choker.

Every Three Hundred Nights.
This choker is the piece I'm most excited about in this batch. Simple but very bold. I wonder if it will sell. We'll see.

Work is Love. Ceramic rounds and bone saw rustic gypsy assemblage necklace.

Work is Love.Finally found a use for this saw.

I'm really liking this one too.I Myself Have Gone Blind. I Myself Have Gone Blind. Ceramic rounds and shell buckle rustic assemblage necklace.

Phantom Limb.

The rusty cuffs are selling, yay. So I made one more, this one is the widest... tallest?

Masks of Divinity.

Lots of teal going on. I seem to collect iridescent teal without being fully aware of it.

The Alchemy of Happiness.

5 comments:

Penelope said...: It's funny to look at the little pile of finished things on my desk here and to then look at this blog post and see almost exactly the same colours!

I love the open wire work on the big hoops and the saw necklace. It has that willowy, sketchy look I'm fixated on right now.; 10/4/11, 11:32 PM
Jackie said...: Oh darn, my comment went away. :o(

Okay, let me start over. I'm loving all of these gorgeous pieces. If I had to pick just one, it would be the Hundred Nights.

Always a treat to check on your blog and see new yummy pieces.

...Jackie; 10/5/11, 11:37 PM
Anonymous said...: More wonderful pieces! Loving the "Lot B"!
Thanks!
Regina Moore; 10/6/11, 6:31 AM
Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: love them all...inspiring me to reach further....
xoxox; 10/7/11, 7:23 AM
Lost in Paris said...: fabulous work and highly entertaining commentary. good monday morning stuff.; 10/10/11, 12:32 PM