fanciful devices: You Guys!

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.

12/13/11

You Guys!

I forgot to bluuug!!! These!!! Cuz I'm duuuuummb! Tribal semi-circle hoops with labradorite gemstones and polymer art beads.

Numinosity! You're awesomesauce extract!!!
Exclamation Mark.
Yeah, Ok, so you liked the narratives. But of the things I listed yesterday, for example, 4 have already sold. So there's 3 hours of my life that would've been down the the toilet. Or something. I'M EXHAUSTED PEOPLE!!! THERE ARE JUST NOT THAT MANY INTERESTING THINGS THAT COME IN APPROXIMATELY ONE PARAGRAPH FORMAT! AND LISTING SHIT TAKES FOREVER! I WANNA DO ANYTHING ELSE!
CAPITAL LETTER, EXCLAMATION POINT!!!!
Pant. pant. Even when people give me tidbits, I still have to edit it into presentable shape and blah blah blah....
I'm a drewely maker, not a plagiarist/writer/editor!
(p.s.- I wore real pants today- jeans. not pjays. like a person.)

6 comments:

Numinosity said...: I've never been called awesomesauce extract before. I think I like it! I spent an entire afternoon trying to make some earrings yesterday just working out the wire connections, oh sheesh. My admiration for has raised another level now.
Packy is on its way.
xoxo Kim; 12/13/11, 7:08 AM
Janet said...: What that shows is that your incredible jewelry is going to sell really fast whether you blog about it, write narratives about it or not. Cuz everybody wants some great fanci stuff to wear. As long as you keep making your jewels, your adoring fans will be happy.

Real pants. Woohoo. What's going on here?! :); 12/13/11, 10:51 AM
happyfallout said...: I totally understand that it may become tiring after several years! Just now, I still like them, because it helps to convey the source of inspiration.
Of course your things will sell anyway -- they're too beautiful not to.; 12/13/11, 12:59 PM
Pretty Things said...: I absolutely LOVE those. Would look good against my pink hair!; 12/13/11, 6:40 PM
~Debi said...: Ok, first you exercise, then you do laundry, then you go and wear pants. I don't even know you anymore!; 12/14/11, 7:41 PM
Petra Carpreau said...: Yeah, Debi's right - what's going on?? Washing, zumba-ing and now pants! - What's next?? Make-up and pretty pink shiny things??? Scary stuff.
Those earrings are shit-blasted gorgeous, by the way.; 12/15/11, 6:55 AM