fanciful devices: Gratitude

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.

1/25/14

Gratitude

The Sky Full of Signs.

Thank you guys for all your lovely comments. I really appreciate the time you take out to leave them. Every single one of them is a little treasure to my heart.
Mr. Devices said reading the Gordita post over and over again has made him feel better and he's apparently sent the link to every person he works with. My mom was also comforted by it and that made me so happy.

The Desire to Weep.

I've been making away, inspired by the simple act of putting a ton of things on the floor from my formidable stash and diving in.
Here, bits of antique bookplate moon shots under, like, an inch of resin. I used the backs of these octagonal bezels and they almost look like little old fashioned TVs. (And it came out a perfect 7.5 inches- woo-hoo!)

The Curse.
This was a celluloid container lid from Kathystash I leafed and resined. Smokey quartz cluster in archeological find metal...
The Curse. Rustic Victorian tribal dark assemblage statement art necklace.

The Curse. Rustic Victorian tribal dark assemblage statement art necklace.

Do you see that long peach bead? It was made by 4ophelia who is taking her first steps into lampwork and sent me a bunch of gorgeous wonky bits. Hats off to her bravery. Hats off to all the ladies who make magic with fire. (I'm looking at you Numinosity.)

The following piece creeps Mr. Devices out but I frackin' love it. Singing Praise adn Jubilation. Rustic Victorian tribal assemblage necklace in peach pink tan.

Singing Praise adn Jubilation. Rustic Victorian tribal assemblage necklace in peach pink tan.

Singing Praise and Jubilation.
And I put a shit ton of work into it. I put a shit ton of work into all of these. I have so much amazing stuff, I have to do it justice. And yeah that means higher prices and necklaces that will never sell oh well.

This little face was given to me ages ago by SacredCake and I adore him. Delight in Solitude. Rustic boho tribal assemblage necklace with amethyst and buddhist talisman.

Delight in Solitude. Rustic boho tribal assemblage necklace with amethyst and buddhist talisman.

Delight in Solitude.
Here we have a teacup from Kathystash and an antique amulet from Patroness. It's a show stopper.

Well, I think so but what do I know? I don't go around stopping shows as a general rule. I don't even wear this stuff. (I'm working on a choppy, layered mohawk and lobe-stretching coil plugs. Because I'm a 20 year old boy, apparently.)

Also I really love the quotes I found for this batch. Go look if you like deep dark words and their etherial evocations. If not just go here for redonk tumblr goofiness.
(P.S. I'll do the giveaway winners next, I promise! You can still comment here to enter.)

11 comments:

Jiorji said...: awww poor Mr Devices :( it breaks my heart that he's so sad about the kitty. the fat ones are the most evil little fluff bums cos they steal hearts the fastest and boys are very sensitive(even if they won't admit). it's ok Mr Devices it'll be ok. Chica Gordita had a good second life :)

oohh my bead looks so lovely there with the awesomeness. see i was right to send you all that stuff cos it fits right in with your style

...so are you making plugs?!! or are you wearing plugs?? ...i totally think you should make plugs. TOTALLY! :D; 1/25/14, 6:34 PM
Lela said...: So sorry to read about the loss of a family pet...they really are family members.; 1/25/14, 6:41 PM
Beatnheart said...: Just read about beautiful Gordita... I am so sorry for your loss... I love mr devices and his tender heart....

New woek especially beautiful and detailed.. Love the actual stitching on the one piece and the iredescent beads...; 1/25/14, 7:11 PM
dawn said...: That braided leather cord is fantastic....and the face ...I could never part with that face...thanks for sharing. Love all the color....always brightens my day.; 1/25/14, 8:06 PM
gretchen said...: that face necklace !!!; 1/25/14, 11:20 PM
stregata said...: So sorry to hear about Gordita. Sending big big hugs from me and my cat clowder.; 1/26/14, 12:31 AM
the old white house said...: Your beautiful work and equally amazing writing is what brought me over from etsy. I thought, 'oh, she has a blog... I must visit!' I woke up early to get some work done and have been reading past posts and admiring your work for quite some time now. You are as entertaining as you are artistically talented! Thanks for filling my morning with inspiration!; 1/26/14, 6:49 AM
Numinosity said...: Those top earrings are so exciting...stuff going every which way, really original but I don't know if I've seen anything of yours that wasn't entirely original. The necklace with the face. Crazy cool! I love coming to visit this blog to marvel at your creations.
Sorry about the cat, we just went to an old bar in our town that houses a 30 year old cat named Munchie. Truly amazing.
I just got back to blogging a bit this year so stop on by for a visit. Trying to get more in the groove of participation again.; 1/26/14, 9:51 AM
Wildthorne said...: You never cease to amaze with your work. Truly it is like you have a magical font of inspiration that you dip into that is endless. So sorry to hear about poor little Gordita, I hope you and your family find comfort in knowing how good you were to her and how much you loved here while she was here. Hugs to all. <3; 1/27/14, 11:34 AM
Anvil Artifacts said...: That SacredCake face!!! And The Curse necklace! Yowza! Wonderful! So sorry to hear about you losing your sweet Gordita.; 1/28/14, 11:04 AM
Anonymous said...: love the leather braided cord. You make or you buy? pray tell! If you make, may be one day a tutorial?!; 1/28/14, 5:11 PM