fanciful devices: Newly Discovered Shop Love

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.

12/30/09

Newly Discovered Shop Love

I've just discovered rubypearl. Here's some eye candy.

Not only that, she has this amazing blog. It has nothing at all to do w/her makings, it's just her writing. Two separate entries MADE ME CRY. It's been years since I cried, I think. But mostly, she's crazy funny. I've just been reading for the past couple hours. It's been so long since anyone spoke so engagingly to me and not about making.

Yeah, I think I'm going to just say making from now on. Art is too much, crafting too little, making jewelry is too little and too exclusionary. Arts-and-crafts sound like summer camp. When people ask me what I do and I have to say "art jewelry" I always let out an inner Ugh. What if I went with "recycled art jewelry?" Too much? "Wearable art" needs to be shot. "Recycled narrative jewelry" is fun in that it engages the idea of the story-mood a piece evokes, but it would only lead to the inevitable "What the hell is narrative jewelry, you pretentious ass?"

1 comment:

Penelope said...: Jesus you're right- that is a great blog! Wish I had an old tape of my Grandmother swearing.

Not wearable art! I used that once and I felt violated. I think found object jewelry is a little bit wanky but honest (that's the one I use) - 'assemblage jewelry' is a little bit wanky too... I think we're just going to have to deal with the fact that art sounds wanky, no matter how you spin it.; 12/31/09, 12:36 AM