fanciful devices: My Anaconda Don't!

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.

10/2/14

My Anaconda Don't!

I got that song stuck in my head y'all. But actually the bluegrass version.

Escape.
While busy writing my tute, I found myself sneaking in some making time.
Escape. Victorian tribal double lariat assemblage necklace in shades of amber gold yellow orange brown.

Escape. Victorian tribal double lariat assemblage necklace in shades of amber gold yellow orange brown.

In fact, these three lariats here all include sea glass charms I made as samples of the decoupage variation in the tute.

Wild Once.

I'm really loving the idea of lariats lately. They come together so effortlessly while evading the sort of pitfalls of regular ol' necklace shapes.

Maybe not pitfalls, I just bore easily. Why I'm always having to come up with something different- short attention span.

Latibule.
So I took a break from tooting and listed these today. Wait. That's my idea of a break? What's wrong with me?
Latibule. Victorian tribal rustic assemblage lariat in ivory and orange amber.

Latibule. Victorian tribal rustic assemblage lariat in ivory and orange amber.

Little Uruguayan charms and bits. Even the macrame cord was from a street artisan I met in Tacuarembo, the town my dad's family lives in. People there have a very well-deserved reputation for thinking their little village is the center of the universe. Suton. Long rustic salvaged tin earrings with crackle art beads.

Suton. Long rustic salvaged tin earrings with crackle art beads.

Suton.
The tin above I got in Montevideo, but it's from a box of Chinese tea so it's traveled the world. Isn't that amazing though?
I cut out these teeny bits of old Meyercord waterslide decals I got from TeapotsandTelephones. Thing is when I sealed it with Varathane, the pattern of the tin sort of revived and became much more visible. So Imna have to experiment more with that stuff on old tin, on chain, on everything.
Order and Harmony. Rustic assemblage art earrings with enameled plaques biwa pearls and rutilated quartz

Order and Harmony. Rustic assemblage art earrings with enameled plaques biwa pearls and rutilated quartz

Order and Harmony.
As you can see I got a zillion of these little plaques so I'm keeping on making these earrings as long as they keep on selling. In fact I've been enjoying very steady sales lately, for which I'm so appreciative. Humbled. Between that and the exercise I can almost convince myself I'm a normal, functional human being. I went to a cycling class on Monday!!! My poor butt.

Now lookit:

Happy pumpkin month everybody.

5 comments:

Wildthorne said...: So pretty fanci! I love the delicacy of these lariats and that little pretty purple horn <3, you always conjure magic my friend.; 10/3/14, 12:01 PM
Juliette said...: LOVE your lariats. Some designs I see just don't work, but yours do.

OMG, the ginger cat just bitch slaps the other cat instead of getting mad at the squirrel. crazy!!

I got dive-bombed by a woodpecker yesterday. Wish I had a picture of it!; 10/3/14, 1:41 PM
Louise said...: This is some of the most beautiful work I have seen of yours Marina. You must be in a good place in your life, all things aligned. Just love the necklaces!; 10/5/14, 4:55 AM
Anonymous said...: Those lariats are a wonder, loving the juicy pile up of beads in them. My cats just bitch slap everytime they meet!; 10/5/14, 12:03 PM
TesoriTrovati said...: Oh my WORD! Miss Fanci, these are AWE-to the double-SOME! I have been playing around with faux opal and all manner of glitter-mess-making and I am so crushing on these. I have been on self-imposed blog hiatus and haven't been up to speed on all my favorites, so I had to go back and read a few of your more recent entries. All great work! Love the amber-ish poly nuggets. Love the lariat style. Love these Starry Shards! You always intrigue, inspire and amaze me. Enjoy the day. Erin; 10/6/14, 1:34 PM