fanciful devices: 01/2010

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.

1/31/10

Sold

Nothing gives me a bigger buzz than selling something w/in a day or 2 of posting it! I'm like, yay, I rock! Then some family member has to poop my party all "that just means you didn't charge enough for it." And then they go tell some young children that there's no Santa Claus.

Where was I?

Oh, I sold this crazy thing! Yahoooo! and I thought I charged a good amount for it. Not tons, but not nothing. Not like it took a superhuman effort. It has an appeal to a different buyer, I think- more rocker?

It's a regular ol' leather glove, but turned inside out, cut up, etc. And I still have it's pair. I'll have to look out for more on my upcoming Uruguay trip.

1/30/10

New New New

Here's a bib I've been planning forever.

Here's this crazy thing.

And this rather accidental creation.

Upon making my post descriptions, I learned bib comes from the Latin for to drink.

I learned that "throw down the gauntlet" comes from when knights would throw down their armor-gloves, gauntlets, to issue a challenge. And that the snow white fairy tale comes from Norse mythology, as shown the brothers Grimm. Well, one of them, I don't know who. And that their story collections were quite secondary to their linguist work.

1/27/10

Michael Thompson

Found at Red Pagoda, a lovely Kite Study by Michael Thompson.

"Text and Fire"

"In this artist's study, Michael Thompson uses antique Chinese papers and split bamboo to create a "kite" that does not fly but takes off as an abstract collage. $980. Chicago. Bamboo, Paper. 13.5" wide, 28.0" high"

"A Day Breaking" Kite by Michael Thompson

"Textural Landscape" Kite by Michael Thompson

Even More Before and Afters

Previous before and afters here and here.
Now, I simplified these 2 pieces, which are weird enough w/o all the extra embellishment.

Before:

I wanted to remove the spool. I really like the spool, but on this it's too much, I think.

After:

Stolen from Tooth Fairy

Before:

Here the key is distracting, I think, from the much more interesting focal.

After:

Celestial Verses

♥s 4 Haiti Item Sold

Yay! I felt so proud, I can't tell you. Really, really proud. I realize that it sold faster than it otherwise would have, too.

1/26/10

rattle his bones

Another lovely by sparrowsalvage, my best etsy buddy!

Featuring my necklace Stormy Moon.

Her treasuries are just superior, is all.

Sparrow, by the way, made this amazing thing I can't get out of my mind:

With that easy, thrown-together look that's so hard to get right. Now I'm frantically searching my mind for which elements in my stash I might "throw" together... How much do I love the plastic sword toothpick!

1/23/10

New in Shop

Etymology of Blue. Found Object Bib.

These crochet necklaces were experiments in spontaneity. I tried to make pieces having no plan at all, just led by whatever supplies I felt needed to be destashed.

The Development of Crochet. Assemblage Bib.

Now, this cuff was made from all kinds of fabric bits and 2 buttons that Sparrow sent me! To be honest, one big hurtle was trying not to make something that looked just like her! Because upon seeing all the lovely bits, I could only think of her cuffs- like her style was made for her bits. (Well, duh, it's the stuff she collects for a reason.) Just the fact that I made a cuff from them. I avoided one big focal piece and grunged mine up with wax medium and soil, that sorta helped. But then, I had to try to make something that I also really liked, so it took a bit of finagling.

Escapism. Textile Cuff.

My next use of her fabrics will be for another necklace. Oh- so many good bits! I can't keep up. And yet, all I do is prowl etsy for more...

1/22/10

Hearts for Haiti

Sometimes, I hear about these celebrities dropping $1 million on Haiti at one go and I feel disheartened. Will my small amount make any impact at all, considering those donations, considering that just to fly the teams in, just to put a bandage on it must be super expensive.... Maybe at this time I should be donating to help free Malaysian child prostitutes?

Well, despite these questions, the least I can do is donate a necklace:

Go to etsy's Hearts for Haiti page to see all the items for sale.

To learn more about how to stop child trafficking, go here:

To read "Youth in lawless Haiti at risk for sex trade, slavery, murder", a double whammy of my worst horrors, go here.

1/21/10

Matchbox Labels

Designer, collector and typography enthusiast James Williams keeps the lovely amass blog, full of images of collections, letterhead, and other things which strike me as very male. Cool.

Leopard Seal Mothers Photographer

Amazing video, via the endangered species print project blog.

Hands

I should mention, after all my complaining, that I got my injections. I was a mess, but I'm all better! Well, I have a bad cold/flu and can't work today, my throats a mess... but who cares. My hands work, no more crap-for-brains on the pain meds, and all is well with the world.

1/19/10

Bombay Dreams

This glorious treasury is by elsilee of Namaste Designs.

It features this cuff.

1/18/10

Fly Ladies

So weird! Another treasury in which one of my necklaces is pictured alongside the 1/2 Ration Noir Dress created by artlab.

This treasury by Raggamuffin Design lives here. It features my Neolithic sofa necklace, which lives here.

Dickens and Dust

I'm weird. I never posted this amazing treasury made by sparrow, which is now obsolete. But, who cares- this is definitely something I want to keep on my blog!
This treasury features my tooth reliquary with tart tin and opticians lens.