fanciful devices: Ten Trillion Things

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.

9/10/14

Ten Trillion Things

I just listed ten trillion things. Must be all the exercise. So here's a quick recap.

Here's the stuff I listed in my new vintage curios section:
Dragon. Vintage Tibetan cast bronze pendant.

Dragon. Foldable Handheld Spectacles Vintage mini hand mirror.

Shell pendant ornament with solder in silver color.

Seascape large double sided copper locket.

Tibetan reliquary prayer box pendant. Shell pendant. Seascape.

I know I'm going full-on sellerofvintagestuff.

And here's what I've listed in my brand spankin' new makes-much-more-sense-as-a-section-name handmade elements section:

Cosmic beach glass charm pendant

Saintly.

Shimmer beach glass earring pair with solder and flash. Faux Roman glass. 15

Shimmer beach glass earring pair. Dark crackle dangles. Polymer art bead drops on spear pins with gold leaf, lilac iridescence and caps.

Dark crackle dangles. Purgatory. Art soldered glass pendant.Hieronymus Bosch.

Purgatory. Shimmer beach glass earring pair with solder and flash. Faux Roman glass.13

Beach glass earring pair 13

Shimmer beach glass earring pair with solder and flash. Faux Roman glass. 14

Beach glass earring pair 14.

Dark crackle trio.

Ethiopia beach glass charm

Vintage Indian currency soldered glass pendant. Peacock and fawn (2).

India beach glass charm.

Dark crackle polymer art bead links with gold leaf, lilac iridescence and dark brass caps. Earring pair.

Dark crackle earring pair.

Vintage Indian currency soldered glass pendant. Peacock. 1

Roses.

OK, but now I just realized there's a million things in that section- should I divide it into beads and pendant/charms? Anyone?

Here's some stuff I'll list later:

Couple more pairs of these guys. So I'm gearing up to sometime in the nearish future make a tute about these. What the hell should I call these damned things? Can anyone think of a concise descriptive name? Please?

I'm in love with these. Didn't think I could pull off the big buttons but they're just so friggin' SQUEEEE! It's the texture of the wood I think. Something about it, and the perfection of the handpainted cherries... They're too much... can't even...

Some simple cuties with garnet and lampwork.

I dig the design on these. Simple but each bit is sort of special- like how the lampworks are part of the ear wires or that the garnet are hung on thread instead of wire. So they're minimal but engaging, ya know?

OK, a while back I had these that I remade. They're celluloid buttons, very unusual.

I removed the labradorite and dangled a buncha stuff that reflected the colors of the buttons. Much better.

I had these gorgeous prayer cards from uruguay. These pendants are all cut from the same card.

The detail is amazing.

Originally the card was pristine but when I dunked these in water/baking soda to clean off the flux and then the oxidizer, of course this happened.

And being me, I was like yeah sure whatevs. Including when the high soldering heat cracked two of the little shrine-shaped glass pieces. I can't find it in me to be upset by that.

This is from a confirmation card. I used some of the faux-mercury-glass technique I told y'all about ages ago. Of course with the water damage deal, most of the southwest quadrant silver wandered off.

And again, cracked glass. And again, I don't care. Nanny nanny boo boo. Stick my head in doo doo.

I meant to share ages ago this finished piece by etsy's mamaanna1 using my large faux ancients:

Is that bad-ass or what? Man I go nuts seeing what people use my beads and bits on. It makes me SOOO stupid happy.

And finally, for those who were freaked out by last post's sponge-lady video, lets admire the most majestically backdrop-ed llama yawn in recorded history:

Das all. Feel free to go about your business.

6 comments:

Maggie Zee said...: I am truly speechless at the gorgeosity of it all! That must be why there are no other comments. Words fail.; 9/11/14, 9:51 PM
Vintajia Adornments said...: Breathless. . . utterly breathless! The variety, the scope the just breathless.
Tut name? as they are so mysterious and cosmic how abut Dark Matter; 9/11/14, 11:29 PM
betweenreader said...: Just gobsmacking. I love that Machu Pichu yawn, too. You do cosmic soul ethereal ancient dig better 'n anybody, dear heart!; 9/12/14, 10:35 AM
Cmmargaret said...: How about cosmic focals or cosmic charms? Whatever you call them they are gorgeous! So looking forward to a tutorial!; 9/16/14, 4:52 PM
Cindy L said...: I'd suggest calling the glass pendants "Soldered Shards". But whatever you finally decide upon as a name, they really speak for themselves. They are so evocative and precious, just as all of your uniquely-inspired work is. I thoroughly appreciate all that you do and share here.; 9/20/14, 4:01 PM
Robin said...: your reliquaries delight and to hell with the cracks! love you were brave enough to cut the prayer cards up! I cannot find the heart to do that so I copy them and make skele prayer cards… will put making these lovely vessels in line behind all of the other crazy stuff I'm making!
Thank you for your inspiration photographs--the yawning llama is my new sacred totem animal… yawning of course!; 9/21/14, 8:36 AM