Kanamichelle

I am a 60 year old mom of three and grammy of 5, married, and I live in Auburn Washington. My husband and I live on a five acre farm with a glorious view of Mt Rainier, when it's not cloudy. We used to breed paint horses, but now only have one mare left, who will be with me until one of us passes away. I also have a large golden retriever named Tucker, and a cat named Peanut, who is sitting on my mouse as I type. I also feed about 11 resident mallard ducks, who hang out in my pond. I am currently not working, except to maintain our property, which IS work, but I used to be a licensed massage therapist, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have been doing mixed media art journaling for about a year, and I have dabbled in mail art, but have yet to exchange any. I have sent several to a good friend, but she hasn't returned the favor, yet. My grown kids and grandkids all live in the area, and are a source of great joy and amusement for me. And sometimes worry too:) I don't think they really understand my mixed media art, and my husband for SURE doesn't get it, but I just love the free expression it provides, and the therapy inherent in just letting myself go creatively. I love that there are no rules!

I love most types of music, but am not crazy about jazz, or classical. I love celtic music, instrumental, soundtracks from musicals, some country, some Christian, and the "oldies" from the 60' and 70's. My favorties are:

James Taylor, Carole King, Paula Cole Shawn Colvin, Richard Harris (I know...sappy..lol), Audio Adrenaline, Kari Jobe, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Bread, Adele. Rod Stewart Coldplay There are many more, but those are the ones that spring to mind at the moment. While watching a mixed media art video recently, I discovered Caro Emerald, whom I had never heard of, but instantly LOVED. In fact I immediately ordered her CD on Amazon as soon as the video was over. Check her out! She is amazing!

I tend to read non-fiction books, and many of them are pretty serious, and to some, depressing topics. My favorite books are:

The Hiding Place, Wild Swans, Unbroken.

I will add more later.

Favorite movies are:

The Sound of Music, Dances With Wolves, Titanic, Ben Hur, Fried Green Tomatoes, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Benny & Joon, The Princess Bride, The Notebook, and Camelot

I haven't been OUT to a movie for a long time. I usually wait for them to arrive on my TV. I would rather spend that money on craft supplies.

I love the History Channel, Antiques Roadshow, Househunters, and HouseHunters INTL, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Survivor, and Survivorman. Mostly I love reality shows that aren't silly and trashy. I love history, so tend to watch a lot of history programs, because I love to learn.

I watch the news a lot, b/c so much is happening in our world today, and I like to stay informed.

My favorite medium is watercolor, but I have recently gotten into mixed media art journaling and mail art, in which I incorporate almost every media under the sun. I know how to sew, but am not actively sewing. I plan to incorporate sewing into mixed media soon though. I have tried many different crafts, but mixed media is my love. I love taking classes from other artists, and am currently involved in Lifebook 2014. I just started a Glue Journal, because it is less messy than regular mixed media. It is a journal where you simply glue interesting things in a book, without all of the messy paints and sprays etc. It is easy to take along somewhere, b/c all you need is a journal, a glue stick and a pen.

Things I love for mixed media and mail art are:

Old paper, Old Music, beautiful patterned tissue paper, Ephemora of all types, Textured and natural paper, Stamps, interesting postage stamps, especially foreign, Textures in general (ie, ribbons, jute, cheesecloth, textiles of all sorts, natural fibers), Stencils, watercolor ANYTHING.

If I can't find what I want at the craft store, I am not afraid to try to make it myself. I have made stencils, and have the materials to start making rubber stamps. I love making my own paper with the Geli plate.

I have a thing about paper! I adore paper of all kinds, but am most into onion skin, watercolor papers, handmade papers, textured papers, and of course patterened papers. I buy old books to cut up to use for my art. At first I had a very hard time cutting them up, until I reasoned that they are just sitting on a shelf or some dusty bin anyway, and at least parts of them would be seen if I used them in my art. It is a shame to see books unappreciated, so I give them reverence. Someone put a lot of themselves into each book.

My favorite colors depend on the day. Some days I am drawn to natural earthy tones, and other days I am drawn to wild neon colors. I would say my favorite color combo is yellowish green and teal. YUMMY! I ALWAYS love the transparency of watercolor, and I especially love any art that has old papers combined with interesting craft papers with paint transparent enough to still see the background. It baffles me when artists use a bunch of gorgeous papers and then cover them up with paint. I love text on artwork, and beautiful handwritten ephemora in the form of old letters or historical pieces. I also am very drawn to foreign correspondence and handwriting (even if I can't read it), and I love Chinese writing for mixed media. I am just in love with ephemora in general. Old is wonderful, but I love new and interesting things as well. I love vintage photos of ladies, castles (real ones) botanicals, and animals. I am very fond of black and white, and also sepia.

I am NOT fond of cutesy little characters like cartoonish figures, or strange creatures that remind me of Timothy Burton, or made up monsters & weird animal combos. I definitely do not like cutesy, too sweet characters for children. Examples of things just not appealing to me are Kawaii, Hello Kitty, Rainbow Bright, Disney, or anything geared towards kids. I don't care for dark looking fantasy creatures or people. It's just not me. No dragons are gargoyles, or anything medieval, with the exception of the costumes/people of the time. Grunge and steampunk are fine, but in more of an aged way, not a teenage way. Does that make any sense? I now know what kawaii is, and I am not really interested in it. Nothing cutesy for this girl:). Feminine, yes...cutesy stuff, nope.

I probably will not be doing any food swaps, since it doesn't interest me. I like to eat, but just to stay alive. I drink coffee, not tea.

In the past I have collected pretty teapots and cups and saucers, which is silly, since I don't drink tea. I am planning on selling the cups, so if anyone is collecting let me know. I have also collected salt and pepper shakers, but am very particular about them. I am going to try to get rid of a lot of things this year, as I am finding my house to be getting too cluttered. The only clutter I want now is my art material clutter.

I am well known in my personal life for being on time, and often show up or get things done EARLY. So if I do not get something done on time, SOMETHING IS WRONG. Maybe a medical emergency or something, in which case, I would move Heaven and earth to let the person know if I am indisposed. I AM HARDWIRED TO BE PUNCTUAL AND RESPONSIBLE. I hate disappointing people! In fact, I get very frustrated with people who are NOT responsible.

There is a smoker in my home, but they are upstairs and I craft downstairs. They do smoke OUTSIDE, but sometimes leave the door cracked so some drifts in. A truly sensitive person might be able to still smell it. Still, if anyone can smell anything, I will make SURE I recompense them, if they can. I also have a cat in the area where I craft, and there is nothing I can do about that. I make SURE there is no dirt or cat hair on anything. I am a very fastidious person, and I won't send anything that I wouldn't want to get myself. No dirty or smelly things! I am the kind of person who will most likely give generously, and exceed what the swap actually calls for. I LOVE pleasing people and making them smile! I am a big people pleaser! I think I will make a WONDERFUL swap partner, and will go out of my way to make you happy. I would be devastated to receive a 1, so PLEASE give me a chance at redemption before you brand me with one:) I will do the same.

Things I love the most...

Writing, art, reading, sending and receiving letters, paper, the sea, mermaids, shells, shipwreck treasures, sea glass, floats, anything with barnacles, driftwood, bark, quaint lovely cottages, Irish and Celtic anything, castles, history, ephemera of all kinds, animals, art materials, vintage and antique, shabby chic, tapestries, handmade anything, gardening, seed packets (especially vintage), Advertising labels (especially vintage), found bird nests and eggs, botanicals, pretty bottles, mercury glass, rusty metal (and with green/turquoise patina), old lanterns, keys, miniatures (envelopes, figurines, boxes, etc), cross stitch embroidery, hand stitched items, sewing on paper, natural strings and burlap, old laces and ribbons, tassels, old buttons, mail art, cloches, anything with vintage campers (glamping), Laura Ashley, ancient culture ephemera, archaeology, antique and vintage paint boxes (especially German). I don't care for daisies or sunflowers, but adore hollyhocks, peonies, and climbing roses and most wild flowers. Not into lavender either.

Favorite flower: Gardenia,
Favorite colors: Aqua/teal, yellow green, mint green, violet, pink, periwinkle, coral.