5/26/12

Soilent Green is Theengs!

Who gets the bracelet?
It's Beatnheart on account of effort alone.  As in, she was the only one who made any. (Though new commenter Donna's comment was adorable. And true- just fake like you're a badass and if you keep it up you will be.). But she did get one wrong. Y'all know you can google these, right? And that's how I even got the lines. But so there's a secondary giveaway if you know which was wrong on her list:
1. soylent green, 2. the graduate, 3. wizard of oz, 4. it’s a wonderful life, 5. the shining, 6. the dogfater, 7. forest gump, 8. she done him wrong, 9. jaws, 10. a few good men, 11. field of dreams, 12. scarface
And no it's not 'dogfather' though that had me lolling out loud. Convo me, beat.

Before I decide the secondary prize, here's more theengs. I'm thinking of turning that painted wooden keychain into a rustic pendant. Darkening it up 1st... The etched piece is a magnet that I'm thinking of cutting longways down the middle for earrings. These two aren't old but they are Uruguayan crafts which I find just glorious and inspiring. Oh and that's a little postcard made of gorgeous fragile paper, and tiny, faded photo, long and doubled for some reason...

 So here's some info on Uruguayan druzy: there's a town in the north where these rocks are EVERYWHERE. Barely even a real 'mine' as such, though I believe they have dug a cave. But you also just find them on the side of the road. My one cousin has a bunch just rolling around in his car. You hit them w/a hammer and get this. Many are less crystallized and cloudier. But all of them are full of water. It's the water that makes the crystals develop somehow over the eons. One woman was selling these very unassuming-looking round rocks and when she turned a flashlight on behind it... you could see the water moving around inside! OK, but they they were like $15 and too big for jewelry. But when she did that I about short circuited. 
ANYWAYS- those are key chains, $3 each. I will have to sand down the backs to flatten them so they'll stay face-up on some chestage. But- $3, come on.
On the very lower left there's 2 stick charms. They are alpaca, I believe. I thought alpaca was a type of llama but in the U it's a metal that looks just like silver but is crazy way cheaper. So that's weird. Anyways, the charms are filled with resin and I think gem powder. They were earrings I got at the one artisan crafts market. $7. (Plus I get to re-use the earwires which were extremely soothing to the pierce, whether silver or alpaca I know not.) The copper that's hammered was a piece of an earring, there's a souvenir from Ecuador, a bone bead from a cheapo bead store. Right under that is an inexplicable something from a hardware table which I'm gonna bend up the arms and it'll look like an anchor! Maybe. a coin on filigree broken brooch...

Ephemera by the bucketful. What you're looking at is a little art book opened over a big art book with little cards and things layered over.
  
So check it- Saints with their heads chopped off with the halos still on the chopped-off heads! WTF. Do you think their heaven-bound spirits get their own halos? How long do the halos stick to the decomposing bodies? If you dig up their bones would they still be wearing halos? I know, I know- halos are just a way of symbolizing the saint's grace. So... Lets move on, shall we?

 
OK, cheesy confirmation cards but they are of the softest, most delicate texture and printed in such gorgeous detail and style I couldn't resist. And look at the slides! I'll have to put these between glass and solder. Should I cut down the paper part? No, cuz then they'd look less like slides, but Yes, cuz all that simple black doesn't really add anything aesthetically... So you see my conundrum. Maybe just a tiny bit. So you see my compromise. 

Most of the slides were awful. So I had to find things that could reasonably go on a necklace. 

This one is a glass slide- much older than the whatever plastic film kind we see above. It's heavy and embedded in thick chipboard of some kind. I'm thinking of trimming it down and maybe soldering around the edge with some good ol' copper foil tape.
I have so many things and ideas I wonder if I shouldn't consider selling just pendants. What do you guys think?

Here you see the center piece from Hieronymus Bosch's famous triptych as seen in both my little and my big art book! How trippy is that? And dj'a know I saw the real one in Europe once? Yup. Summer after 5th grade. Italy? Think it was Italy.
Hey- found the husband! Also, Dad? Don't ever say you were 'bumming around in Germany' again. You're a scientist for crying out loud. *Hides face in embarrassment over dorky parent* And yes, I realize that in '61 you probably weren't there giving lectures but still.

Here's some bona-fide theeng porn ladies. Aaaand now I'm all skeeved out from using the word 'porn' immediately after addressing my dad. Fan-friggin-tastic. Yes that's a little slipper middle left. 

The silver box in the upper middle has an engraving. I think it reads: "Handmade in Salto - Argentina."     Squeeeeeee
The compact has this pillowy shape, very organic actually.
So there's room for something dimensional in there. *Cringes as everyone howls in jealous rage.*
  
Sometimes it's baffling what's expensive and not. Well, of course material matters. The aluminum ones (light colored metal) are super cheap- but I got me some black alcohol ink and black gilder's wax for them because I have issues. The heart in the middle I think is real gold. The boxy flower thing over it is part of a gaucho belt. The rhinestone circle pin was just thrown in the growing pile by the seller for free. And what in the world are those weird crosses at the bottom? You see them all the time in religious junk.

(Oh, the tiny round one is gold. The T is silver and cost me more than ... I don't know but it was one of those randomly expensive things that I still up and bought for no reason.)
I know some people don't work with religious iconography so I've given it a think-through. For one, I usually use crosses as just a part of a pendant, more often than not ending up with some kind of composite woman symbol. Like so -->
Soul Anchor.  Religious Antique, Coyote Tooth, Labradorite and Textile. And in our mostly non-Catholic country the Virgin Mary ends up seeming more a symbol of maternal love and the female goddess archetype than a symbol of the traditional church... Though interestingly while perusing old medals, one cousin said to me "Virgin's creep me out." Funny because she was of course talking about images of Mary, but it sounded... ok, over-explaining again. But yeah, to her, having grown up in a Catholic country, they evoke a whole other set of beliefs and superstitious behavior.
But that's not why I use these things. 1st they're just soooo pretty. And, if I'm going to use objects from the past, I have to accept what the past was made up of. Or, I don't really have to, but... I do. It has to do  with how I'm all about bringing together disparate things. 

(Paid, like, $10 for this medal, on right.)
You know, how I like to synthesize opposites- east/west, primitive/contemporary, masculine/feminine, occidental/tribal, rustic/refined, spontaneous/controlled...
Blah, blah blah. Anyways, what I don't believe in (ie, Catholic medals) is one of the many aspects of my synthesis. I guess it's my way of reconciling, as everyone must with so many incomprehensibles in life. I'm trying to reconcile with a past full of ideas I don't agree with.

Hey, I got it. If you can tell me which of Beatnheart's answers is incorrect (and what the correct answer should be) you get these crane scissors. (Sorry for the dizzyingly sudden topic changes.)

 Jayzus wouldja look at this stuff?
 Do you like how, in the discussion above, I just assumed you'd all realize I'm in no way christian?

Here are just a few of a MASS of tiny celluloid toys I scored. And an old lighter w/o cap, which I really liked. Managed to get a few lighters and pocket knives past security no problem. Imagine trying to hijack a plane with theeengs!

Smellafant.

Breathe. The petit point upper left is a portable ashtray. Redonk!

These both were my splurge, at about $14-$15 each. I know! *dodges flying tomatoes of envy*

See? $250 pesos. That's about $13.89 in real money.

Stop throwing tomatoes of envy, y'all!

There's lots more but I have to go wash envy tomatoes out of my hair. (Yeah, right. Like I wash.) But no really, this is the last time I down half an energy drink then get on line. Shoulda been making not explaining every damned little ...aaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!
But to sum up-
1. Correct Beatnheart's wrong answer and win these little crane scissors.
2. Should I make and sell pendants? Obviously it would be more than a simple theeng with a jump ring. I'd still have to art it up. But it would lower the price...
3. I use Catholic imagery in an attempt to reconcile with a past full of ideas I don't agree with. Yup.
4. I way use ellipsees ellipsises eelipsese ellipses. Phew. I use the crap out of them...
(Don't tell me you forgot what an ellipsis is: "...")
(And I'm not shy with the parentheses either.)

17 comments:

Unknown said...

she got the 'Now Voyager' quote wrong,(great movie, btw)

Flotsam Tide said...

They are called the Cross of Lorraine see wiki here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Lorraine

also an auld Alchemy symbol that Aliester used to implement

Yes on the pendants I would get a kick seeing what you would do with them, and it would make your fancifuldevices more accessible to a wider range of people. Art for the people = good.

I have no idea what is wrong with Beatnheart's answer, but I am so glad that she won! She's one cool lady.

Still in awe over the theengs, I have a weakness for sacred hearts and lorraine crosses
xo!

Tanya said...

Yep .. the "Now Voyager: quote is "Don't lets ask for the moon ..." I think you should sell pendants. Lots of jewelry makers like to buy beautiful components. I'm sorry I missed the contest to begin with. it was fun going through the quotes. :)

Anonymous said...

Sorry the very pink baby theeeng made me feel ill. You could set up a supply shop,lots of collage bits, medals...Fancy Theeengs. You could have a fugly section for pink babies, bones, and eyes.

Numinosity said...

Beatnheart truly deserved to win, yay!
I don't know whether I ought to be glad that the pictures won't load for me fully, Maybe my satellite internet isn't the bomb I made it out to be but at least I'm saving on tomatoes. Must go back and revisit when I'm in town with my ipad.
You could call your shop TheengsRUs.
What's most amazing though beyond your amazing stashes is how you alchemize them into such amazonk jewels. I'm pretty good at building up stashes but the real magic is transforming them.

Alice said...

OK I'm done with the fainting spell after seeing all the fabulous goodies here. And I'm not ashamed to admit I'm jealous.

Congrats to Beatnheart--you deserve the win!

Rosie Moceri said...

Great stash... and yes, you should do some just as pendants.

Beatnheart said...

finally my endless hours of watching movies sometimes over and over again have paid off and perhaps if it wasn’t midnight and I was just about to shut everything down I would of gotten 100% but how cool is it that someone else gets a chance at a fanci full device.

Pendants sound cool...you could do doo doo on a stick and it would be cool...so yeah put out as much stuff as you can.

thanks so much Marina...I am thrilled over the moon.

betweenreader said...

Would a tomato catapulted from Seattle go bad in before it hit you in Chi Town? If so, I will contain my burning jealousy. You deserve fresh tomatoes!

stregata said...

Alpaca - actually alpacca; also known as nickel silver,German silver, nickel brass or Argentan is an alloy containing copper, zinc and - yes, you got it - nickel. It looks much like silver and tarnishes in much the same way, which makes it look even more like silver.

Jackie said...

What a fun trip that must have been, love the theeengs you scored!

Pendants, oh yes, I'd love to see them.

Congrats to Beatnheart, enjoy the leeetle bracelet, it's so cute.

Su said...

Indeed I was "bumming around in Germany". I was 14, sent by my parents to get myself some culture. But to tell the truth, I enjoyed bumming around in Andalusia much more than in Germany. Did I tell you of that time when I... Just kidding!
BTW, It's "Hecho a mano en SALTA, Argentina". Salto is in Uruguay, a town of orange fields, thermal spas and very good food, by the Uruguay river.

Subconscious Dad said...

"Su", of the previous comment, was really Subconscious Dad

IsAug said...

Wow! Amazing. I have been in Portugal for almost a year and I think you would love the antique/flea markets I've been to. Totally like this!
Btw, really like what you wrote about using Catholic imagery in an attempt to reconcile ideas...Greetings from sunny Portugal

Freedom & Fairness said...

First off, so sorry I missed the contest! I sure would have given it a shot. Congrats to beatnheart! As for the secondary giveaway, I'll give it a shot, even though I see a couple others have beaten me to it: (Soylent Green wasn't actually #1 - that was a given, so...) 1. The Graduate, 2. Wizard of Oz, 3. Now, Voyager, 4. The Godfather, Part II [to be more specific], 5. The Shining, 6. It's a Wonderful Life, 7. Jaws, 8. Forrest Gump, 9. A Few Good Men, 10. Field of Dreams, 11. Scarface.

Nicola said...

Would love to see you do a range of pendants - you are talented!

donna said...

Congratulations to Beatnheart! I could not ever wrap my head all the way around that. Way to go!

What can I say? Always a bridesmaid, never a bride...

(sniffle ;)

PS Fanci-I am not a new commenter. I have been following for about 2-3 years from back in the soldering of crystal days. Just kinda shy is all. ;) So...I make believe I am brave...