fanciful devices: Greetings from Sofaland.

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.

5/8/15

Greetings from Sofaland.

Sofaland is as much a place as a state of mind. Weeks pass, years pass, and I still find my flat ass trapped in Sofaland.... Anthroposophy. Rustic assemblage bracelet in salmon.

Anthroposophy. Rustic assemblage bracelet in salmon.

Anthroposophy.
OK, check out this pretty thing. Muthafucka's purdy as fuck. (Why am I so sincere in my making but so 'tarded in my verbalizing?)

So see how there's the heart on one side and the fighters on the other and, you know, duality, human nature blah blah?
Klaxos. Rustic assemblage bracelet in dusty blue.

Klaxos. Rustic assemblage bracelet in dusty blue.

Klaxos.
No such symbolism here but, um, it's blue. So there's that.

I made three of the beads here, can you guess which?
Waldeinsamkeit. Rustic assemblage choker necklace in grey and purple.

Waldeinsamkeit.
OK, so I'm in love with this stupid thing so just shut up.

Also cuz I made a ton of the beads in it as well and I'm all proud 'n' shit. Some were made in conjunction with shipwreckdandy (and here she's having a $25 sale) who sent me these wonderful beads but one time when I was in a panic over my inactivity I happened to have her beads in front of me and my tissue blade so I found myself faceting and embellishing beads that were gorgeous as they were.

But knowing how cool she is, it won't even occur to her to be offended.

Also I made that ring out of a bangle from Teapotsandtelephones.

Komorebi. Long rustic assemblage earrings in purple.

Komorebi.
A study in violet with a stick from 4Ophelia.
Aware. Long rustic assemblage earrings in white and pink with biwa pearls.

Aware.
Here's a simple pair with more of my own polies. Cute, eh?
The Truth We All Know. Rustic assemblage earrings, Virgin Mary, blue titanium druzy.

The Truth We All Know.
My polies with huge titanium druzies. Striation, crackle, decals, all set in a little brass cup finding. Actually the teeny bottom blues are mine too.
Ya’aburnee. Rustic assemblage earrings, Virgin Mary, cream and amber.

Ya’aburnee. Rustic assemblage earrings, Virgin Mary, cream and amber.

Ya’aburnee.
Yup.
Hiraeth. Long rustic assemblage earrings in salmon peach.

Hiraeth.
Five of my own polies here, very different effects too. Very unusual, these, very 'statement.'

Very very.
History's Rubbish. Vintage wire work and Kuchi earrings with lemon citrine rustic assemblage Victorian tribal.

History's Rubbish.
Hey, ho, it's a re-make of these from before. But that's all of this bit there was in the broken necklace so no more of that.
Djenné. Ancient beads in caged earrings with cultured pearls.

Djenné. Ancient beads in caged earrings with cultured pearls.

Djenné.
And another re-make of these which people keep buying so I suppose I should keep making... Don't I sound enthused? No, I love all my makies, don't get me wrong. I wish I just had more umph, more impetus... what happened to that supply-panic that used to spur me ever onward? Ah well, such is life. I've got so much to be happy about.
Y'all, thank you so much for your lovely, encouraging comments. I know I don't answer them individually like some people do... just cuz I suck.... but I appreciate every single one like you don't know.

Today is my Dad's b-day y'all. He's like a thousand years old. Kidding, he's like a hundred.

9 comments:

Beatnheart said...: happy hundredth birthday to grandpaw devices...

where's the kittens ?
love all you do but you already know that...; 5/8/15, 5:22 PM
Unknown said...: love the purties - - but you know what an earring freak I am!; 5/9/15, 8:47 AM
Unknown said...: Just one image after another, after another...gasp. not a bad one in the bunch, of course, by bad I mean not"my"style...cuz we all know there's NEVER an actual "bad"one in your bunches. Loveliness.; 5/12/15, 10:24 PM
richelle said...: Oh, wow--'offended.' Hee hee. I love the crackle with the images. That's like a winning combo, I think. Crackle+image of some sort.

I got to play with a raccoon once when I was a kid. There was a lumber supply type place that had a pet raccoon and even though they kept him away from people, I somehow got lucky and got to play with him. SUPER, joyful unrelenting playfulness mixed with ferociousness. The nails were ridiculous. I think it was a baby, too, because it seemed about as big as a giant rabbit. Was wonderful.; 5/16/15, 4:06 AM
Unknown said...: Marina, can you ditch the comment about my granddaughter's age and blog? Probably not a good idea to broadcast to the world. Thanks! Norma; 5/16/15, 6:36 PM
Angi in hana said...: As always, u r amazing, u may sit on your but, but u always turn out these truly gorgeous pieces of art, u even get invited to be in gallery art shows, saw u on seth apters blog! So keep on sittin on your akole(Hawaiian for but)! Aloha, angi in hana; 5/17/15, 5:40 PM
fanciful devices said...: Norma- I wou byou're I h no idea what you're referring to! Are you sure it wasn't a comment you made on a different blog?; 5/17/15, 7:26 PM
Unknown said...: Know what, serendipity to the rescue. I did a long post all flowery and genuine but mentioned something I regretted and then wouldn't you know it, the post I didn't want posted, didn't post all on its' own. At least I think that is what happened. The universe is unfolding as it should. I am so inspired by your work Marina!! Norma; 5/23/15, 10:30 PM
http://letterlove101-17.blogspot.com said...: I love your aesthetic AND your colorful language. I am so happy that I pinterested upon you today. Do you offer online classes? I would love to learn how to assemble the pieces the way that you do and then add my own stink to it! Thank you for being you.; 12/7/22, 7:22 AM