fanciful devices

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.

5/9/14

Polyannas

Got some new polys photoed today.

How are all you ladies? Feel like I haven't been really in touch with you all in a while.

Oooh lookit these with the gold insides. They have a cool choppy quality.

Another pair of Gnome caps.

A set with a really big cap like for a pendant.

Cuz it's my hot body, I do what I want.

Here's some big hole rings- sliders? Lampwork folk call them sliders. Like they're some kinda White Castle burgers or something.

See? Holes. And a bit of iridescence that you can't see oh well.

Another set but I had to fix the top of the cap after I took this so can only show the pic w/o the cap top.

Glitz and Grime... hey! I think I just came up with a name for these.

Grit and Glitter. Gutter Glam. Grungy G... Greg.... (ran out of Gs).

Here's some earring pairs. As you can see, I worked in a mix of grits of gold glass glitter. Whoa- it's an alliteration situation all across the nation.

Some connectors.

Simple head pins cuz why not? You can't tell me what to do, you're not my real mom.

Speaking of which, the new member of the fam:

Dorian. Not a great picture but I'll probly be accosting you with more in the future. He's the sweetest most loving cat I've ever known. Why he gotta look so grumpy in the pikchur?

Chiquita reacted thusly:

Ha! I wish. Actually she hissed her face off. It was scary. We're keeping them separated for a while.

Now it's time for me eats.

5/3/14

Ohmaigosh you guise!

Yeah the polys for sure gave me a refresh to get all nuts for more joolz-making.

Now with these dark pikchurs I find I need more spaces to see this here text on this here blerg. What's up today with my silly writing?

Big ol' honkin' thing.

And a slightly smaller honkin' thing.

Yup, they both honk.

Don't be silly.

This next collection is called "Why does it always have to be earrings all the time?"

We hardly do brooches in our circle of makers for some reason.

Though just a big jump ring could turn these all into pendants.

Balanced the girly/victorian detail on the pin with the rustic/tribal danglies below.

Above a gorgeous porcelain piece by RaggedRobyn and below another by her aunt greybirdstudio. But did you know Robyn was the one who taught her aunt how to clay?

A 'Paris' pin from Kathyhaul.

And all the Roman glass and kuchi is still from Patroness.

Here it is pinned on a shirt. Coming up with little cluster dangles is so fun and easy! Not like with necklaces where it's all complicated and then you end up with something too expensive to sell. Well, at least if you're as impatient as I am. Not like I think anyone's gonna necessarily want brooches, but the muse don't pay me no nevermind. What people do seem ravenous for are those layered round earrings. Should make more.