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.

2/9/13

To clarify; only the circled bit in the photo was that polymer clay foil. The rest is regular Mona Lisa brand leaf. And the stuff actually on the rock is a pen. It's called 'pale gold' but it looks like pale copper to me.

Jiorji wrote, "I'd ox one of the rings. I think the purple and black and gold would look fantastic. Too much gold. Hmm worth experimenting with at least one i think." And it made something click in my head. Oh yeah! Rustic/cosmic, tribal/victorian, yin/yang. I'd forgotten the grunge half. I think I was overwhelmed by the ten ton boxes my fancy new patroness sent and when I get overwhelmed I sometimes forget my 'formula' in the rush to just use everything. Like a while ago with all those crappy earrings? But its a good thing, because once the formula becomes too, uh, formulaic, that's when you get the crappy second album from that super promising new band, the follow-up book that was so like the 1st yet somehow so 'meh', the phoned-in sequel. You know? "No I don't know what you're talking about Marina. Shaddap and tell me who gets the earrings already." Sheesh you're pushy. Look at this recombinant make:

It hangs weird on my Mannequin's gravity-defying superboobs, but oh well. It's a crazy raku breastplate by wonderousstrange sent to me by my benefactress.

"Get to the giveaway!" OK, first, props to new commenter Margot Guerrera for trying to bribe me with "a pair of hmong hilltribe perfectly rusted by life, other worldly buttons and a few other goodies you might just love."I can't very well announce a giveaway then say sorry, I'd rather not! Can I Margot? (Here I'd have to explain to Mom that in English it's pronounced Mar-gou and not Mar-GOT) Hmmm? I'll trade with you if you like for something else. Etsy convo me you temptress.
Second, the winner is ..... gretchen! Congrats. Etsy convo me.
And third, lookit:

8 comments:

darlene said...: adorable!; 2/9/13, 3:22 PM
gretchen said...: I had to go look and see if there is another gretchen.... :)
YEAH, nope. Too odd a name. Thanks to mom for the name and big thanks to you for the fab-o-lush, I will be smiling all day, earrings!

xoxo; 2/9/13, 4:27 PM
Unknown said...: Like the breast plate - nice beads on there and like the connections to the plate. Congrats to Gretchen -; 2/9/13, 4:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Ahhh hah hah ha ha ha hah ha! Really you have a great sense of humor. You are absolutely right, a give is a give away. My congrats to Gretchen too!
The Temptress : D; 2/9/13, 11:26 PM
Jiorji said...: i give advice. i'm a GENIUS!! :D

those earwires are delicious. Did i mention this before? they look like insect antennas and i love them!

i wonder if you can dip the geode in the pink ink too?? not saying you should, but i've always wondered how they get those dyed agates.late night thinking... hmm...uhhh waiting for my neighbours to finish their karaoke session so i can go sleep..; 2/9/13, 11:56 PM
StaroftheEast said...: Awww, those cute animals at the end of your posts are so distracting :))
What is it ?; 2/10/13, 2:54 AM
Tribalis said...: Congrats the winner!Luck girl!
Marina, beautiful earrings!hugs!; 2/10/13, 2:58 AM
martinisfor2 said...: congrats to Gretchen!!!

The breastplate necklace is scrumptUous.....; 2/10/13, 10:35 AM