fanciful devices: LOOKWHATIGOTINTHEMAIL

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.

1/19/12

LOOKWHATIGOTINTHEMAIL

Ok, by now I hope you all realized that black background was to support the action all the big on-line sites were taking to oppose the horrible SOPA bill our government is trying to pass that would kill the internet. Because they're idiots and they don't understand how the internet works.

Yeah, shipwreck, I agree, I was just tired. Although at the same time... no yeah. I was just lazy.

In case you don't re-read the comments here- why would you- I started to address some questions:

"ok you crazies-

Boot ~C still probs w/pix? i reloaded them all.

NuminosityBeads INDIA? !!!!!!!!! Oh and also- !!!!!!!

yes, owl, all of those.

la file- me too! giant boobs!

Sandra- just dont use that!!! no flux core, no rosin core. just lead-free solder. here in hardware stores its called 'specialty and hobby'. and lots of flux- paste flux i think is best. i have gel flux which is a little bit messy. I tried 'handy flux' and it did NOT work. and a block of sal ammoniac to clean the iron on."

And there, I added 3 links to the 3 different places I get supplies: etsy, ebay and amazon.

Lela Bouse-McCracken I think the Handy Flux is for super high-heat soldering or silver soldering with a torch or something. I mean, it's not all an elaborate conspiracy.

Anyways, look at these wacky fishing things I got in the mail the other day.

I also got these in the shop: Tribal Dangles with Ceramic Art Beads. Rustic gypsy asymmetrical assemblage.

Muliebrity.

Tribal Dangles with Ceramic Art Beads. Rustic gypsy asymmetrical assemblage.

10 comments:

alek said...: funny that friend of mine just gave me a bunch of stuff like that after a clean out she had,

speaking of not minding being copied, its one thing copying technique, that amounts to a 'craft generosity' - but very few people can imitate the compositional balance you hit on almost all the time, and the "b...s" you have to take it apart and do it again, if it dosn't work.
whats also interesting is seeing that evolve from the beginning of your etsy shop.
yea a bit late with my tuppence worth on this probably long past subject - the pig was always late going to buddhas tea party cos he was making sure everybody got there first
:P

hello; 1/19/12, 10:50 AM
Lela said...: Re: Handy Flux.
Are you quite sure it's not a conspiracy? Conspiracies are sneaky sometimes!

And HOLY MOTHER OF FISHING stuff. My Dad was an avid fisherman...and there are tons of that stuff at my Mom's house. Spoons. Yep, that's what they're called. But watch out for that triple hook..those hooks'll getcha! I love that tiny little fish shaped spoon. Cool!; 1/19/12, 11:38 AM
fanciful devices said...: ALEK- no, not late, its totally an ongoing thing. i am still talking about it in several convos to ppl who are sending me pix of their inspiredbyme stuff. and YES! i totally did learn it as i made stuff from the beginning of my shop. just from making hundreds and hundreds of items... what does "b...s" mean? bullshit?
lebou- but WHY is it called a spoon? what the hell is it for?
"For Soldering Gold, Silver, Brass, Copper & other Non-Ferrous Metals * Contains Fluorides * Temp Range: 1100F-1700F" See, it's for HARD SOLDER. soft solder, the kind we do, is for lower temps, below 700. see? i went and figured it out for you.; 1/19/12, 1:13 PM
alek said...: balls (?) :); 1/19/12, 2:13 PM
Lela said...: Spoon lure: A spoon lure, in sport fishing, is an oblong, concave lure, usually of metal or shell, shaped like the bowl of a spoon. The spoon lure is mainly used to attract fish by reflecting light and moving randomly.

See?see? i went and figured it out for you. :)

And...I ordered that Handy Flux because the description I read somewhere said it was for 600degrees and up. Maybe I'll give mine in a 'giveaway.' :D; 1/19/12, 2:23 PM
Lela said...: And because the internet isn't dead yet...here's more than you ever wanted to read about spoon lures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_lure; 1/19/12, 2:25 PM
Jennifer Valentine said...: I can hardly wait to see what you make with those lovely lures!
sooooo nifty!; 1/19/12, 9:41 PM
Vintajia Adornments said...: Well with the contents of the newly received package I can only assume that you will shortly be 'fishing for compliments"
:P; 1/20/12, 1:17 AM
Anonymous said...: This is the one thing my little town was famous for manufacturing fishing hooks and needles. My mum spent years of her life working on a big press producing everything from sewing needles to surgical ones. Then it was the usual story of cheaper production abroad and all of the factories closing.; 1/20/12, 1:51 AM
Beatnheart said...: Nothing hotter than chicks talkin' bout fishin and soldering.; 1/20/12, 7:45 AM