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.

10/16/11

The WIP stuff from last post is up. Out of Babylon. Gemstone Assemblage Gypsy Dangles with Labradorite.

Out of Babylon.

Zanzibar. Gemstone Assemblage Gypsy Dangles with Labradorite.

Zanzibar.

I know I should be writing something between the pictures but I haven't slept and my brain is stuffed with dryer lint.

Sky All in Rags. Rustic Gypsy Vintage Assemblage Necklace.

Sky All in Rags.

I did reach my 1000th sale. (Meek voice:) yay...

When my father-in-law leaves and my husband goes back to the guest bedroom. I can't sleep with him in here! Ugh. When I'm sleep deprived I hate everything. (Note: upon proofreading, I realized I never completed the first sentence in this paragraph.)

Flesh and Brain.

What else? Did I mention I'm exhausted?
I know. I have to announce who won the ring. I have another necklace to giveaway. fuuuuuuuuuck..........

Bangle Stack CUSTOM for ShesSoWeird.

Here's a thing. Oh, yeah. It's the pile of bangles... Now a buncha peeps are asking for their own pile. I have to do allis stuff... I'm so sleepy...

Oh! Also- sure it's international, why not?
And, if you don't know what to Hokey Pokey is...

6 comments:

E Makes Art said...: Your "sky all in rags" necklace is so beautiful that it actually makes my fingers ache. No kidding. I'm so bummed that it sold already because I was looking around trying to figure out what, or who, I could sell so I could buy it. Sigh... But about those bangles...yeah...make more!! But get tons of rest first.

xoEsther; 10/16/11, 11:44 PM
Flotsam Tide said...: Sky all in rags is so lovely, congratulations on reaching 1000! You inspire all of us. Those African box charms in Zanzibar are intriguing to me... they look like odd metal monoliths. Very cool!!!; 10/17/11, 12:29 AM
Penelope said...: I got a boner on sky in rags too! And those Babylon earrings!!! FUCk!! They are so good. SOGOOD.

Make more bangle stacks. Maybe you should have a go at memory wire, I'm experimenting with that next week.; 10/17/11, 3:32 AM
lucia said...: I thought I'd leave you an excerpt from a poem called "Macavity - The Mystery Cat" by T. S. Eliot:

"...Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly doomed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake..."

Other than that, I am quite speechless at the lovely quality of your work. :); 10/17/11, 5:37 AM
~Debi said...: Lovin' all the new stuffs. The bangle stack is awesome. :)Can't wait to see what the next giveaway is. I neeeed another Fanci necklace!; 10/17/11, 2:10 PM
Jackie said...: Congrats on your 1000th sale...so many happy people wearing your gems!!

I have to agree, Sky All in Rags is so WOW!! Loving the earrings too. You rock girl!!!

...Jackie xo; 10/17/11, 3:21 PM