fanciful devices: Stuuuuuuuf

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.

5/6/11

Stuuuuuuuf

It's 1:00 am and I am wiped out. Phew. I've been recycling some old listing 'narratives' instead of coming up with new ones because I can't think of any. Or I just don't wanna put in the time because I'm enjoying getting stuff done faster lately. Namely, taking and editing pictures, which used to take me forever. I guess practice works even for things you originally really sucked at!

Here's today's:
Gods Flying Machine. Coin Choker.

Gods Flying Machine.

Gods Flying Machine. Coin Choker.

One of many cool 'face' coins I got from U this time. I'm liking the dusty lilac lately.

Gods Flying Machine. Coin Choker.

I had all these fancy ideas about hammering and soldering a mounting for coins... and then I just cut some filigree in half and glued that sucker on.

Darling Desperate Daughter. Victorian Tribal Double Wrap.

Darling Desperate Daughter. Victorian Tribal Double Wrap.

Darling Desperate Daughter.

Sparrow and I were chatting about how having great supplies gives you this I-can-do-no-wrong feeling. It's all about getting the choice bits, that's half the work right there.

Darling Desperate Daughter. Victorian Tribal Double Wrap.

Here's a new kick I'm on: double-wrapped necklaces. The trick (I've decided) is to have a second focal to act as a counterbalance to the weight of the primary one. Elsewise, the second wrap would strangle you at your windpipe and then you wouldn't look as good.

Darling Desperate Daughter. Victorian Tribal Double Wrap.

Here's another face coin I slapped on a heavy metal tag SacredCake sent me. (She sent the filigree I used above, too. I know!) And that's a raw leather woven cord from U and a hippy 'bone' ear plugs. It may be plastic, but we'll keep that between us. In a moment of inspiration/delusion, I bought some cheap ear pieces like that for closures.

Dark My Light and Darker My Desire. Tribal Vintagerie.

Dark My Light and Darker My Desrire.

Here's another example of the double wrap. I'm not sure what I think of it. Hmmm...

Just now looking at the pictures I realize what's bugging me- the cord loop and the big black closure are on the same side, competing for attention instead of flattering each other. Which means I'll have to re configure every thing and take new pictures and blah blah blah. Crap. Just when my left hand has started to hurt like the dickens again. The Charles Dickens.

The Wind of the Wing of Madness. Brooch.

The Wind of the Wing of Madness.

Isn't this a super Sparrow-esque piece? The fabric, if not the shape anyways. I got all these amazing brooches and I just thought- why take them apart? Why not use them as brooches in brooches? I hate the word 'brooch' because its pronounced 'broach' but every time I write or read it I think 'bruuuuch' which makes me feel like I'm going to mispronounce it when I say it.
Not that I should worry since my ego is bursting with this post CorvidDelights wrote about yours truly. I'm gonna make my parents read it!
Oh I almost forgot to list this:

I also made a new lot, but gave Debbi dibs since she convoed me about it. And I no longer feel overmuch-supply-panic! Ah the wonders of de-stash.
Imna go find some hand-heater pads....

5 comments:

Penelope said...: Maybe when your hand hurts now you could say 'oh crickey this is giving me the Charlies' and then you can look all cool and cockney and worldly. Although I'm pretty sure cockney's the only accent that won't make you look worldly...

But Man oh MAN I love these double-wrap necklaces you've got here.

When I can't think of anything for a listing I usually plunge into my deactivated listings. They're there because I lost the piece or it broke or whatever and I just didn't delete it. Handy.; 5/6/11, 1:58 AM
~Debi said...: I love the Darling Desperate Daughter one. Too cool.

Also, I was more than happy to help with your de-stashing ;) If you need help again, just let me know. We wouldn't want you feeling overwhelmed. lol

The plastic ear thingy as a clasp is an awesome idea. Very cool.; 5/6/11, 11:15 AM
Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: ooooohhhhhh myyyyyy....LOVE the double wraps....
and thanks for the mention...I don't think I've had time to make anything out of anything lately, much less all of the goodies you've sent me....
I've gotta get to work!
Just love your work, my dear....LOVE.; 5/6/11, 9:05 PM
Barbara Lewis said...: This is my first visit to your blog and I'm so glad I came. I'm a recent follower of Sparrow. Your jewelry is gorgeous. It's amazing how we grow and we become dissatisfied with things we made in the past. But doesn't it make you feel rich when you revamp something and you put it for sale, leaving room for new ideas?!!!; 5/10/11, 4:29 PM
fanciful devices said...: Thank you girls! Welcome Barbara.
Dissatisfaction soon enough leads to breakthroughs and awesomeness....; 5/11/11, 10:45 PM