mothpuppies

Hello! My name is Kait. I'm 22 and live in the American south.

Art-wise, I primarily deal in paper collages, paintings, and ink drawings. I'm currently working on a messy art journal full of multimedia collages.

In life, I have two part-time jobs: I'm a cashier at a home improvement store, and I'm an assistant at a library. I also volunteer at a record store and contribute to/assist with a local music zine.

At the end of 2016 I hope to be moving to Chapel Hill, N.C. to pursue my master's degree in library science with a concentration in archiving. I'd like to one day work with rare books at a library or museum. I also want to live in the mountains with some kept bees, a vegetable garden, several dogs, and a wife.

Hiking, writing and reading poetry, gardening, eating at breakfast diners, making mail art, collecting vinyl records, collecting coffee mugs, and playing with my two dogs.

The X-Files, Star Wars, Star Trek (TOS), Hannibal (movies and books), House M.D., Adventure Time, Cardcaptor Sakura, Rick and Morty, the Legend of Korra, and anything directed by Jim Jarmusch.

As far as bands go, I've basically got The Goo Goo Dolls, Iron & Wine, Dry the River, Shearwater, Tom Waits, Jesca Hoop, Real Estate, and Wild Nothing playing on a constant loop.

Barn owls, goats, bearded vultures, moths, rabbits, and foxes.

(Addendum: I seriously love moths. Especially the hickory horned devil and the death's-head hawkmoth. Any moth-related mail will be met with a 5 rating+favorite.)

I majored in English as an undergrad, and it was the best 4 years of my life (thus far.)

I try to read a wide range of genres/authors/POVs, but my favorite genres overall are American poetry, Appalachian fiction/autobiography, wilderness/survival memoirs, cosmic horror, horror short stories, and metafiction (ESPECIALLY metadrama - Martin McDonagh is the man!)

Thomas Wolfe is the author who's most important to me in the world. I also love Walt Whitman, Jack Kerouac, Stephen King, Dorothy Allison, Flannery O'Connor, Italo Calvino, and Douglas Hofstadter.

I'm always open to book recommendations or letters/postcards containing your favorite quotes.

Feel free to send things with NSFW elements (nudity, curse words, whatever) AS LONG AS they're concealed within an envelope. I currently live with people who have delicate sensibilities.

For tea swaps, I especially enjoy chai teas, black teas, and anything flavored with honey.

For scented items, I like the smells of honeysuckle, coffee, lavender, and macadamia/hazelnut.

I collect business cards from local/independent/"mom and pop" chains of coffee shops, bookstores, vinyl stores, and breakfast diners.

I'm always down to get stickers--paper stickers for sure, but also stickers from small businesses, events, bumper stickers, LGBT+ pride stickers, handmade stickers, etc etc.

I use washi tape a lot--basically any kind, but especially "kawaii" designs, designs with animals or cartoons, tea/coffee themes, or flowers/herbs.

For flavored teas/candies, I don't like licorice, marshmallow, or artificial lemon/orange flavors.

For scented items, I don't like vanilla, lilac, "fresh cotton," or rose scents.

Not really into comic book superheroes, fairies/ogres/elves/"mythical" things, or anything that a suburban mom would deem "shabby chic."

I make my own zines and collect them from independent artists. I also make blackout poetry. PLEASE contact me via email or PM if you would like to trade.

I frickin' love postcards. The box I keep my collection in is best suited to 3x5" or 4x6" sized cards, so it's hard for me to keep anything bigger than that.

As far as location-themed cards go, I like cityscapes, old churches/ruins, mountains (!!!), and historical landmarks.

I also like handmade cards, but prefer those in an envelope unless swap rules dictate otherwise (they tend to get destroyed in the mail.)

By and far my favorite postcards, though, are those with art and animals. Van Gogh and Monet are excellent, but I also like Keith Haring, Joseph Leyenbecker, Frida Kahlo, Jenny Saville, Yuri Shwedoff, Satchin Teng, and Beth Cavener Stichter. Contemporary art magazines are my bread and butter these days.