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.

6/11/13

So remember this lady who sent me beads to make her something a la patroness? I've been working on two more pieces for her, trying every combination of absolutely everything in my pit o' bitses. RESERVED for lunamdocs.

First I made her a relatively straight forward one with these gorgeous stones she sent.

True, I did have to make each link as tribal stones are always too thick-holed to use eyepins.

Also those three super iridescent ones were sent by an etsybud inspired by my these made with utee over fusible film.

For each of the first two necklaces I made her I tried to add a bunch of little dangles and things and it didn't work at all. So I think I was trying to incorporate all those failed danglies into the third piece when my tired brain came up with the following hot mess...

She very nicely suggested I remove all the crap hanging off it and after a good night's sleep I arrived at a much improved this:

It is not easy to photograph enormous pieces. You wanna go close for the details but then you loose the overall effect. Please forgive me if I indulge in some multiple images of the same damned thing.

Hmm, which one should I pin now? Maybe this one directly above? Whatchu think?

Kuchi from actual patroness, tassel from TeapotsandTelephones. Pod from stillpointworks, rough amethyst set in plumbing putty with gold leaf.

Some of the failed bits ended up here:

This one's just for the shop.

Witness.
...

So you know how people are always blogging about critters that visit them? Well some people on my blog list do anyways. I finally have a critter to share about! I looked out my window this morning... first Mr. Devices woke me up for it and I was very unhappy with him until I saw...

This little guy taking a nap in our tree while the crows yelled at him! Here he was starting to wake up. I should proly share some of the bun-festation that's been happening for the last couple years around here. Buns everywhere. And when they're little and their ears haven't started to sprout it's nutballs. But the crows killed one and left it in our patio which was traumatic for me. Mom thought our Bingo did it and Mr. Devices was very offended. After a neighbor said she witnessed the crows get one in front of her, he texted Mom to say, "Bingo has been found innocent of all charges."

7 comments:

darlene said...: eeee. i thought proly was only here in nm. but now from your corner of the earth too! guess we not be original here after all. lol; 6/11/13, 6:56 PM
Unknown said...: OMG! Holy amazing necklaces! Those are just eye poppingly great.; 6/11/13, 7:08 PM
Jiorji said...: woah! those necklaces are amazing! love the druzy bits. i'm a sucker for druzys; 6/11/13, 8:59 PM
Numinosity said...: I agree that the necklace is way better without all the dangly bits which is usually the conclusion I come to when I add to many dangly bits myself.
Every one of your pieces is a veritable treasure trove and I'm afraid my stash would dwindle remarkably if I included as many treasures as you do after just a couple of necklaces. That's why I'm always so wowed by any one of your blog posts. It's like inspiration heaven and awe. You're still my hero with the way you make your magic.; 6/12/13, 1:09 PM
neshuma said...: Wow, I'm heartbroken for the buns and understand how it painful it would be to have Bingo be a party of interest for the offense. I'm glad that he has been cleared. I'm also totally stoked that you used the multi-resin/film beads in those two pieces. They are magnificent. And multiple shots? Girl, do MORE. Love'em.; 6/12/13, 1:22 PM
Lynn said...: Speaking of the wee bunnehs ... from 8 yrs. w wildlife rescue i know that they are on their own and perfectly, err, independent at 16 days old, as crazy as that sounds. BUT if you don't know how old they are, here's how you can tell: their ears are "open" and responding to sound by pivoting in various directions. So your wee ones may (I REPEAT MAY) have an ill or dead mom. They shouldn't be roaming about w/o their ears fully formed. Mom does have to go find chow several times a day but usually leaves them in a comfy grass-lined depression in the ground surrounded by tall, in bunny terms, grasses to camouflage them until they're old enough to be on their own. She doesn't completely abandon them even then but, for sev days, hangs around nearby to make sure they're o.k. Then she skeedaddles -- places to go, things to do, so on. So, Fanciful couple, keep an eye on them. Look out regularly to see if she's coming and going, even tho bunni-mums are stealthy gals. If, in a 36 hr. period, you don't see her and the wee ones are wandering, please call your local wildlife rescue or wildlife rehab or mammal care center, for further instruction. Sad that a pushy, noisome, no-good crow killed one. That's where survival of the fittest rears it's evil head. It's a bitter pill to swallow. But if all the tiny bunnehs grew to adulthood and reproduced, we would be overrun by bunnehs and there would likely not be enough to go around and that minibun might have been the first to starve. Try as i will not to assign value to critters as they are what they are & only do what they know to do, i think a bunny-life is of more value than a crow's. :: i will be duly ashamed eventually :: keep us posted. NOTE: Raccoons are cute as all gitout, esp. the small size, but often carry rabies. Or is it hep? Be careful out there. Best not to feed them. -- Your Friend-Admirer, Lynn (aka Artemisia); 6/12/13, 9:37 PM
PipnMolly said...: More gorgeous necklaces. Love the double drape less the extra dangles. Hard to know when to quit sometimes. A step back or fresh eye often helps.
Beautiful colors and combinations.
Nice new neighbor too. City coons can be devilishly clever.; 6/13/13, 5:39 PM