Stegotastic

Howdy, y'all! My name is Mel. I'm a cuban/american woman, born and mostly raised in Miami, Fl. I've lived in California and Georgia as well and at the very end of winter I'll be moving to Baton Rouge, LA. [Very excited about that] I'm an artist by nature and trade and I'm pretty sure I would spontaneously combust if I couldn't tinker with, make, craft, or paint anything for more than 2 days.

I ingest and output a great deal of art rather constantly. I love to be around other artists and to talk shop is a rare and fantastic pleasure for me. My absolute favorite artists include [but are not limited to]: Frida Kahlo, Jean Michel Basquiat, Anselm Keifer, Kehinde Wiley, Bridget Conn, Taiyo La Paix, Samantha Bonnell, Odilon Redon, and many many many more. I'm inspired by everything and I love to learn about culture, religion, history, iconography, and any and everything else that catches my attention.

The Creme De La Creme: My Absolute favorite things!

Dinosaurs, especially Stego's, anything flamboyantly Mexican, skulls, skeletons, the Day of the Dead, images of large clipper ships- the more sails the better, images of the virgin mary, religious statues, religious paraphernalia and accessories [-but please no crosses], voodoo and houdoo, cacti and succulents, Art journals, hamsas, miniature books, Monsters- cute and/or gorey, I love super cutesy japanese stuff, especially if its on the verge of non-sensical, high end japanese origami paper [its like art all by itself], rusty things, antique medical texts, old photographs, halloween, spin art, religious icons from all religions, especially Catholicism, Gypsies, fairy tales, folklore, ghost stories, secrets, altars and shrines, all dieties and demi-gods, snakes, kokeshi dolls, owls [cute or realistic], interesting and ornate wooden boxes, teeny tiny things, cactus and succulents, stuffies, felt critters, underground british street rap, prayer beads, giant mexican jewelry, retablos, unicorns, 50's and 60's kitch, tattoos, foreign languages, cheeses from around the world, foxes, deer, stags, jewel beetles, and of course, original artwork. :)

Things worth noting:

I don't wear earrings or bracelets, but I do love to make them [and all kinds of jewelry] for others! I love necklaces and pendants- that's all I wear- the bigger and stranger the better. I like them 'round 22 inches and longer.

Disney or Winnie the Pooh stuff is not for me.

Things I collect:

-Stegosauruses -Viewmaster reels- vintage ones. I simply can't get enough of these; they're so gorgeous! I will trade you pretty much anything for these- just pm me. -Stamps [the old and quirkier, the better] -Strange and/or rusty trinkets of all kinds [usually i'll end up putting them all on a very big necklace]

I love to read and I love comic books as well; My favorite book is Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger, favorite comic series of all time is The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman.

Favorite poets are ee cummings, Saul Williams, Langston hughes, Charles Bukowski, and Walt Whitman.

Moives I love: Frida, V for Vendetta, Fur, Whale Rider, Amelie, Coraline, Shaun of the Dead, White Oleander, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Under the Tuscan Sun, and all those darn harry potter flicks.

Fave T.V. Shows in order of awesomeness: Doctor Who, 30 Rock, Futurama, Black Books, Community, The Simpsons, and Frasier.

Cartoons: I am still totally in love with cartoons! And comic books. And plastic dinosaurs. But I disgress.

I make miniature books, art journals of every size, jointed paper dolls, real and imaginary portraits, blank books, earrings, pendants, necklaces, ATC's, bookmarks, incense holders, altars, shrines, scarves [knitted and really really really long], illustrations in ink/watercolor/acrylic/ colored pencil/crayon/pastels, brooches, and tons more things I dont remember at the moment. I am always looking to learn about new mediums and project types- so I've become a jack of all trades. I'm content with being a work in progress, though.

Cheers to you and see you in the swappings!

Kala

for each in cut, the roots grow ten

electric koolaid toucan

two days after Margot quit smoking