fanciful devices: Tra-La-La

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.

6/16/13

Tra-La-La

It's been a week of family visits and out of town friends and I haven't had a minute to sit in the pit o' makies with my bed-head like I like to...

Made Patroness II these by tossing on some kuchi tassels. Why none for the shop you ask? Way heavy. She likes heavy! I need to start making earrings for people who want to stretch their lobes.

Was gonna name this post "Nothing's Ever Truly Fucked Up" and share the story of how I made this: RESERVED for Lori.

Then I packed it crappy and it broke en route. Patroness didn't want to send it back because she said it was shattered and irreparable but I insisted. Noticed these skull beads had a similar finish and had all kinds of ideas of how I was gonna fix it...

Then it turned into this mutant thing. Actually I forgot to photograph a whole other mutant step when the plumber's paste all over my fingers got all over this piece. So me with my brain, I'm all, lets get smudges aaalll over to even it out. Then there was a minor panic attack... Then there were alcohol inks. Then there was this hot mess. Then I was laughing at the thought that I was gonna name this post "nothing's ever truly fucked up."

Really should have shot this before the inks it was so insane... Especially since my idea of adding some raku-like glimmer was this crazy shiny foil leaf stuff... ... I can't even. Like a Halloween/ heavy metal backdrop or something.

Then there was lots of dremeling.

Then there was a stage between the dremeling and before the more alcohol inks which I also should have photoed...

Really the whole weird globular lower portion shoul dbe taken down in size even more. but I'm too antsy to make a whole other butt-ton of stuff so.... maybe if I'm feeling more chill some other day. Still! It's not too bad, considering how it was... Ugh, no. I got to sand it waaaay down.

Ok so Patroness told me she needed to stem the tide of jewelry coming her way so that she could financially focus elsewhere. And that was good since all these huge pieces had me developing tics. But little by little the itch builds in her and she starts buying necklaces intended for general consumption out of the shop. So I decided it was time to make her something again.

Pain-in-the-ass settings. Some on desert-found metal, some on brass blanks. Two-part epoxy and cheaty prongs with wax paste/dirt mixture to cover up the shiny and give that 'sealed-in' look of age.

Claudia, the etsybud I'm aaaalways mentioning because she's always sending me beads and gilder's paste and dangles and tin and stuff, asked for more close-ups is why you're getting these. Not cuz I'm full of myself. I mean, I am.

That's an aluminum dog tag under there, hammered and leafed.

I'm selling these as singlettes since all my necklaces are so expensive lately and these don't need much more than cords. The guilder's in the center of this one maybe wasn't the best idea. I thought to freshen this worn-out leafing that I must've never sealed...

Mirror compact and big-ass rainbow titanium quartz. Steel twirled and then sort of hammered straightish.

Here's a buncha rocks set in an archeological find. Cuz I'm cray-cray!

And a cuff with matchbox labels. Puppies!

(~~~Insert clever ~~seguey~~ ~~seg way~~ segue.~~~)

Here are some things from my sale section that I'm really wanting to get rid of. Rock bottom prices. In a Little World. Rustic tin box with landscape assemblage necklace.

In a Little World. Rustic tin box with landscape assemblage necklace.

When the Child was a Child. Frozen Charlotte Long White Victorian Assemblage necklace.

In a Little World. $45 When the Child was a Child. $64
I always feel sad for the poor little pieces that no one buys...

The Stars that Shudder. Rustic Tribal Gypsy Earrings with bone, mop, goldstone and gold leaf.

Dirty Pink. Rustic assemblage earrings with vintage antique found objects and lampwork art beads.

The Stars that Shudder. $35 Dirty Pink. $35

Things as they are. Rustic Gypsy Tribal Assemblage Earrings. dark brown green.

Secret Sky. Salvaged rusty tin bird hoop blade earrings with white flourish stamping.

Things as they are. $35 Secret Sky. $25

Evil Eye. Colorful Tribal Bollywood Choker.

A Lion, a Star. Cosmic Choker with Faux Raku.

Evil Eye. $69 A Lion, a Star. $35

Sophia. White Patina Cuff with stamping over cowhide, etched salvaged tin and mirror buttons.

Sophia. $69
Oh, I have a question for you guys. You may have noticed my changed avatar. Some people change their avatars and shop banners like they change their undies, but mine have been with me from the first, coming from these awesome ancient books I found in the depths of grandma's cupboards. However one day I had the brilliant idea to write SALE on my avatar since no one ever reads shop announcements and I wasn't about to add it to every listing. Did that once, never again. So. I THOUGHT I saved a clean copy, short story long, I lost my avatar.
Since I'd been recently told by one of you guys that they thought it was a picture of some hippie dude I was cool with the switch. I chose this lady who I created from that original.

However... I dunno, I don't know if she really represents me. She's so ... bejeweled. I know, I'm baneyneys. Why do I wanna be the tomboy seller of joolz? ANYWAYS... shipwreckdandy went to this magical place called the Wayback Machine and found my avatar! So now I have to decide if I should go back to the original fancifuldevices. And you all have to chime in, guys. No lurkage for this. Nope. Not allowed.

6 comments:

Jiorji said...: haha poll FAIL! as of right now, it's 50/50. derp!

i love that long necklace with the beach pottery bits.

i think the new avatar represents what you do better cos of the style of your work. hmm yes :)
and i agree on the closeups! there isn't enough of them. it makes me curious to see the details of your work. I wish you'd adopt me so i could watch you when you make stuff. that would be awesome. and creepy. but you'd get used to it :D; 6/16/13, 3:40 PM
neshuma said...: ...And I'm having multiple Claudiasms right now over all those pics. Bless you. As for your avatar, I'm partial to the bejeweled dancer because she seems to represent quite the Fanciful essence.; 6/16/13, 4:05 PM
Anonymous said...: I like the bejeweled lady, because you make bejewels! And I was one of the people who originally thought you were a man because of your avatar.; 6/16/13, 7:00 PM
Wildthorne said...: I actually vote for Chinese dude because it is what I have associated you with from the get go and I miss him. You and Sparrow are the only two who use guys as their avatars and I get a kick out of it. There is something very fresh, subversive, and original about having a male avatar for a shop that sells female adornment...or so I think.; 6/16/13, 9:50 PM
dgmidkiff said...: Great save on the collar necklace:); 6/17/13, 8:46 AM
Unknown said...: Definitely great save on the collar necklace. And I drool over wax and dirt....; 6/17/13, 7:24 PM