fanciful devices: Ohmygoshyouguys.

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.

2/23/15

Ohmygoshyouguys.

I just meant that I'd take a month off maybe! I didn't realize I was being elusive or making y'all worry. I was just going to take some time off so I didn't feel obligated to blog because recently I don't feel like I have much to say for myself. Also I didn't know if blogs were even still popular these days. But really I think I'll just blog a bit less.
Though while I'm here...

I made some stuff, surprise surprise.

More bracelets.

This abalone I flex-shafted the back of to give it a concavity so that it would sit nicely against a wrist.

Here's a necklace with byzantine chain mail or chainmaille or whatever you call it.

And carved French jet stone and a horn and an archeological dig find...

Some earrings which are just slightly asymmetrical, like I like to do.

But I have nothing to say about them. So like, you might as well see the pix on etsy or on Instagram or what have you.

Yah or nah?

The second and very last pair of these ever!

And these which I have nothing to say about except look! I made these! (via togifs:video)

I'm not going anywhere though guys.

I'll be chilling like this cool guy here.

6 comments:

RomAntiqueSoul said...: yay! you're still gonna blog! Thanks for clearing up the confusion...I love looking at your pictures, pure eye candy, listening to your stories is fun too, but I totally understand...I'm not a great blogger, so I tend to do it once or twice a month...so you not blogging as often will force me to get an Instagram account, which I've been lazy about, so thank you! See you on there ;-); 2/24/15, 2:21 PM
CraftyHope said...: I figured it was just a break, but am glad you clarified that. All the best!!; 2/24/15, 8:22 PM
Angi in hana said...: Awesome, beautiful jewelry, soooo happy u will be around, so u lIke Instagram, don't know if i said that right, I will see if I can sign up over there and try to find u! Aloha, angi in hana; 2/24/15, 11:23 PM
Cynthia and Co. said...: so happy to hear you're not going to stop blogging - I really enjoy stopping by - your latest creations are cool as always!; 2/25/15, 9:52 PM
Anonymous said...: You make such fascinating things! I love your blog. But who wrote the rules on how much talking a blog post had to have? I'm quite content to look at pictures w/ whatever commentary you have or don't have. FWIW on my end I'm just trying to keep my accounts minimal, rather than signing up at so many places to view different things. Do what makes you happy. Thank you for sharing your work and your process....so inspiring!; 2/26/15, 1:07 AM
Julie Wong Sontag said...: I love that you were featured on Polymer Clay… Daily? I've already forgotten the name and I looked at it like 2 seconds ago. Artist brain. But congratulations!!

I love your blog but I know how much work it is… so I admire your dedication to it. I sort of approach my blog with a sense of dread. I think Facebook sucks my soul out and after that there's nothing left. I do love Instagram though, I really really do. I hope you'll have fun with that.

Breaks are ok. We need them sometimes. Giving yourself permission to pay attention to what you're moved by, that's a good muscle to flex.

xo -- Julie; 2/28/15, 2:43 PM