BonsaiMechaGirl

I'm an illustrator/graphic designer living down by the Jersey Shore (....not like the TV show T_T ). I'm kind of shy but I love to get mail and I want to expand my horizons and meet new people.

Also I might possibly be a hipster. I'm not actually sure.....

I enjoy a broad range of music, but I have a particular affinity for epic and evocative soundtracks, Bollywood music, rockabilly/pyschobilly, and eighties pop.

Some of my favorite music groups and artists are The Cramps, The Decemberists, Nick Cave, Billy Joel, Gorillaz, Goldfrapp, Andrea Bocelli, Bond, Dead can Dance/Lisa Gerrard, Devotchka, Garbage, Enigma, Moby, Sarah Brightman.

One of my favorite books ever is The Neverending Story (the actual novel. Love the movie too). Though I don't read as much as I used to, I've read a ton of Anne McCaffrey, many of Terry Brook's Shannara books, classic fantasy like Lord of the Rings, all of Harry Potter, the classic Oz books, and Lovecraft. I also like urban fantasy and horror. The most recent book I've read is The Relic ( another one where I enjoyed the movie too).

I also read a lot of graphic novels, mostly Japanese manga, and comics, mostly Marvel, though I also enjoy a lot of independent titles like The Tick and Scott Pilgrim.

Currently I'm enjoying 20th Century Boys and Kamen Rider.

Jaws, Akira, Evil Dead II, Rocky Horror Picture show, just about every Godzilla movie, though Return of Godzilla holds a special place in my heart :)

I love old B-movies, monster movies, popcorn flicks, animated movies (mostly Pixar and Disney).

Project Runway, Chuck, Fringe, Lost, The Venture Bros., Adult Swim, various anime and cartoons, MST3k, Futurama, Kamen Rider V3 (Kamen Rider in general)

I'm a self taught knitter. I hope to knit a sweater eventually, mostly I do hats and scarves. I'm constantly trying to learn crochet, but I find it much harder compared to knitting. I also like sewing. I like trying a range of things, though mostly I want to learn how to efficiently make my own clothing. I don't find the clothing industry to be kind to women who are curvy but not necessarily "woman" or plus sized.

I'm a professional artist by trade, but it's also my hobby. I work in traditional, but mainly digital mediums (Photoshop, Illustrator, Painter). I enjoy various art styles and modern illustration, especially art geared towards sci-fi and fantasy. I also love conceptual art (for movies and animation). I have a large collection of Japanese artbooks from various games and anime. Some of my favorite artists are the Hildebrandt brothers, Yoshitako Amano, Mucha, James Jean, Shepard Fairey,

My favorite color is hot pink. I love bright fun colors in general, but I also like retro inspired colors, blues, and earthy tones. I also love stripes, paisleys, flowery prints, argyles, animal prints.

I enjoy gardening. I have a small garden that I work on every year, with a small patch for veggies and herbs. I love to try new things, but am unfortunately limited by the amount of space I have and the shadiness of the area (full sun plants are do-able but partial sun and shade tolerant are better ). I like flowers but also like leafy plants like aroids (elephant ears), vines, and banana plants. I like unusual colors and plants that are not that common to grow. This year I'm growing cannas, blue potatoes, cukes, morning glories and moonflowers, sunflowers, and tomatoes.

I love Indian food! (and Indian desserts!) I enjoy all sorts of cultural foods, as well as good old American comfort food, especially stuff that is spicy. However, I am some what of a picky eater, especially when it comes to veggies. I also love to bake and cook, especially during the holidays.

• Things related to Asian culture. It doesn't have to be Japanese. I also love Chinese and Indian culture.
• Kawaii type stuff, like flake stickers
• Animal Prints, stripes, paisley, flowery prints, argyles.
• Fun colors, esp. hot pink
• Also retro colors and earthy colors
• Gardening
• Nautical things and themes
• Chocolate
• Fruity and fresh smells
• Plants and flowers
• Tiki,Surf culture
• Retro and Americana
• Rockabilly culture
• Vintage labels, matchboxes art, letter press images, vintage advertising.
• Small odd kitschy things
• Sea Creatures, especially sharks and octopi
• Kaiju and tokusatsu (Godzilla, Ultraman, Kamen Rider)
• Gashapon and trading figures
• Small collectible vinyl figures, like stuff by Kid Robot
• Crafty things, like knitting, sewing
• Sci-fi and fantasy
• Lucha Libre
• Cake, OMG, love cake
• Video game related things. I love Portal, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Phoenix Wright. I collect everything from books to figures, to prints, stickers, pins, keychains.
• Art Deco, Art Nouveau
• International Chocolate. If you are from outside the U.S. or have access to foreign chocolate, it would make me really happy if you sent some my way. My English relatives used to bring stuff that are hard to find in the U.S like Aero and Flake bars.
• My dad collects English stamps (he's from England himself) so if you have spare stamps, used or new, old or recent, that you can send, it would make him happy :)
• Things that are unique to other cultures, countries. Souvenir type things, cultural things. I'd be happy to see interesting items from your country :)
• Maneki Neko figures (the beckoning cat commonly associated with japanese and chinese culture)
• Phone charms (I like to collect them despite the fact I haven't figured out the best way to attach them to my iphone).

I don't have many. I like to think I'm a pretty broad and open minded person, but there's a few things I can list if it'll help people:

• The smell of vanilla. (Just the smell. I like the taste)
• Tea. Have tried to like it, but never really got into it.
• Twilight. Not for me
• Fruits and/or raisins baked or mixed into food