fanciful devices: Recently, on the Blags

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.

10/3/11

Recently, on the Blags

From wurzeltod:

Which lead me to discover my new favorite tattoo artist:

From Morbid Anatomy which I hadn't checked in ages:

Creepy things in beautiful bottles.

Sculpture/toys and glass feet.

Check out the dude getting either baptized or drowned. He's all, "What up?"

And horse teeth and a mummified child found in Korea.

And fairies, sorta.

And to counteract all the dark imagery, from Aimar ilustrado :

Also, bunneh:

Trying to eat a nutty buddy, it seems. There is a drop if ice cream right at the tip on his shnozzle. Had to point it out.

And then this happened:

4 comments:

In the Light of the Moon said...: Those fairies are Creepy.Might need to keep my night light on..heehee.; 10/3/11, 9:39 PM
Penelope said...: SUDDENLY--- corpse. That reminds me of a mummy pic I saw the other day, it was an ancient person frozen on a mountain, she looked like a wax dummy cause she was so well preserved. Can't find it right now but I shall convo when I do.; 10/4/11, 8:11 PM
Michelle York said...: I keep thinking I've seen all your creations..not! You are continually amazing my mind. Your jewelry is from such a primitive place..then tattoos and gorillas! What a treat.; 10/5/11, 9:22 AM
Jennifer Valentine Morford said...: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah....................; 10/7/11, 7:22 AM