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.

2/6/10

vintage carnival

littleblackrabbit made this fabulous treasury.

so flattering to be included! these are some gorgeous things here. and i never thought this wacky piece was ever gonna get any love.

Self-Sensation. Fiber Necklace with Removable Focal.

It sometimes happens that my hands

grown conscious of each other, or else my weary face

takes refuge in them. that gives me a slight

self-sensation. Yet who, from something so unwarranted,

would dare conclude, "I am"?

From the Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke

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"