Madmelvelous

Update 23 Jan/14: Finally finished the last of my outstanding swaps. The final two were so ridiculously overdue, the only way I could alleviate the crushing discomfort and guilt was to treat them as if I were angeling them, as opposed to being the person who made them need angeling. Very, very cautious about signing up for any swaps, as that whole process was just painful, for all involved I'm sure.

Hello! I'm Canadian, in my late thirties, and work in health care. Born and raised in northern British Columbia, but have lived a much more nomadic life than I ever expected! I've called several cities my home, including Kingston, ON; Edmonton, AB; Regina, SK; and, College Station, TX. Currently living the dream, so to speak, on the westermost coast on Vancouver Island.

Very passionate about art, and explore my creative side in playing instruments (guitar, trumpet, vocals), and creating two-dimensional works using paper, inks, and paints.

Am a lifetime cat person. I love 'em, get along with 'em, love watching 'em in their feline ways, and to anyone else who loves cats, you know where I'm coming from. To people who are not into cats, I sound insane. ^_^

My favourite colour is definitely blue. I have ridiculous amounts of blue patterned papers, paints, pens, and embellishments. I didn't accumulate them all with the intention of creating a stockpile of blue; it just kind of happened! Blues in combination with greens, yellows, and purple (like peacock colours) is awesome.

Pasting this helpful forum thread link here for my own reference: Thread

I love making art journal pages, ATCs, and inchies. I've got a lot of experience with more traditional approaches to card making and scrapbooking, but lately I have been focusing on a multimedia approach to even birthday cards. ^_^

I enjoy many different, wide-ranging genres of music, from baroque to madrigal to j-pop. Regular listens at the moment for me are

• The Arctic Monkeys
• Franz Ferdinand
• Jimi Hendrix
• David Bowie
• Lyle Lovett

I like shows that are well-crafted and make me think. Am currently watching

• Doctor Who (longtime fan! - Pertwee is my favourite Doctor)
• Archer
• Naked & Afraid
• The Walking Dead
• Californication
• Warehouse 13
• Orange is the New Black
• Celebrity Ghost Stories
• Game of Thrones

Past favourites include

• Oz
• The X Files
• Quantum Leap
• Survivorman
• The Haunted Collector
• Dexter

As with television, I like movies that are well-crafted and thought-provoking. I don't watch many these days, and could care less what is currently playing for the most part. Perhaps I've seen a few too many shows that have made me want those three hours of my life back to have much patience for the long format any more.

That said, recent watches (and I use the term loosely) I've quite enjoyed include:

• Django Unchained
• Prometheus
• Gran Torino
• The Watchmen

Enduring, life-long favourites centre around actors and directors with depth and subtlety.

• Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino, The Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Man With No Name movies)
• Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove, Paths of Glory, Spartacus, The Shining, Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket).

General fave movies include:

• Little Big Man
• Whale Rider
• Bladerunner

Things I tend to enjoy:

• CATS
• peacocks
• feathers
• leaves
• dry humour
• the combo of blues and greens
• the combo of oranges, reds, and pinks
• kawaii (esp. Chococat!)
• butterflies
• poppies

Things I tend to be averse to (in terms of arty stuff):

• Disney
• Americana
• Christian religious
• the combo of red, white, and blue
• most "cutesy" (outside of kawaii and Fluffles the Cat from Stampendous)
• farm animals

Since experiencing some extensive eye injuries, I have not read as often as I used to. However, with the advent of the e-reader, I am able to read more easily again. My most recent reads include

• Mile 81 by Stephen King
• Almost Dead by Assaf Gavron
• Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

On my to-read list are the final trilogy of the White Gold Wielder novels by Stephen R. Donaldson, and the next book in The Wheel of Time series started by Robert Jordan.

(Note: the eye injuries are not reflected in my artwork to any extent!)