studiomnivorous

5-25-2011: Hello all! Life is busy here, but I wanted to say hello and "Good Day, Sir!" to all of my fellow Swapbotters!

New things in the works: When I'm not on Swap-bot, I'm part of an artist collective here in Nashville, TN. We've recently gone through some changes for the better, and are in the process of looking for a new studio space! As we do, I'd like to hear from YOU! Share your thoughts about Nashville arts! is a brief 5 minute survey that will help us understand how the rest of the world sees our city, and how we can help improve the state of the arts in Nashville!

Also, a BIG THANK YOU! to everyone who sent in their mindscapes for my project and played a part in Phase 1 of The Inbound Lands! Phase 2 is currently on tour with The Fiction Project at Art House Co-op, thanks to all of your feedback! And if you'd like to be kept up to date when Phase 3 goes live online, please follow the link above!

Thank you all!

I'm a painter, designer, illustrator, dreamer, doer, maker, thinker, sender, giver, finder, builder, tinkerer, writer, drawer, laugher, happier living in Nashville and open to any conversation.

I work in oil paints, gouache, graphic novels, watercolors, the occasional acrylics, furniture, inks, digital, performance, conceptual, found objects, altered documents, poverty, paper, the psychology of spaces, and a constant push to challenge my preconceptions and techniques.

I'd like to go to grad school for architecture or to teach studio courses, but in the meantime I immerse myself in my studio community, writing old-fashioned letters, and in the fastidious observation and recording of life.

Oh, and I PLEDGE TO RATE. I'll rate something as soon as it arrives, so if you've sent it and am worried I may not have received it, please message me! If you're going to be late or there is something going on in your life, please message me! I am very flexible and accommodating if you let me know what's going on. I am also very dedicated to my swaps and PLEDGE TO SEND, so if you haven't received anything, please let me know if I don't message you first! Thanks, and I look forward to swapping with you!

I'm currently doing a project:

If your mind resembled a physical location, what would it look like?

And if your thinking processes/memories resembled a physical object, what would it be?

After you've considered these questions and think you have an answer, please let me know. I will respond in kind.

A big thank you to everyone who has already contributed! Phase 1 of the project is complete, and now you can view Phase 2, "The Inbound Lands," on tour or online with The Fiction Project at Art House Co-op ...and you can sign up to be notified of Phase 3 of The (Unabridged) Inbound Lands! Thank you for being a part of this!

**

I'm also trying to fill my profile out more, but I'm terrible at knowing what the small questions are. If you have any, please ask, and I'll shake a little bit like a magic eight-ball, and spit something up =)

1. I like spices, aloof cats, unexpected plot twists, tempting design, and gourmet stationary. I enjoy unusual items, the unexpected, your perspectives, and the clean smells of lemongrass and natural peppermint. I'm attracted to hues of greens, browns, neutral tones, jewel tones, and reds. My cat is particularly fond of yellow, and that's a point of minor contention between us.

2. I collect art postcards, ATCs, interesting people, vintage and interesting medical items and bottles, small memories, and random bits of information. Lately I've also been looking at newspaper photos of soldiers and the Middle East; not sure where that's going yet in terms of visual influence, but if you come across any, please clip them for me, especially if you're from another country.

3. I like learning about wines and alcohols, though I am liable to nurse a glass all night. I'm a sucker for interesting and/or beautiful labels or well-designed typography...which means when it comes to wine, I've picked some real "winners" just for the label art! Oh well. The best way to taste is to throw away the vintage chart and unroll your tongue instead. You can learn a lot about someone by what they order. Tell me what you've ordered. Better yet, send me a label of a wine you'd recommend.

4. I dislike casual small talk, dolls and overly cute items, inappropriate glitter, makeup, bad acting, and malicious acts. Well, okay, maybe inappropriate glitter is not all that bad.

5. Teach me something new! I'd love to hear what you've just learned, read, or thought of. Tell me one thing fascinating about you, and I'll never forget it. I penpal often, and if you intrigue me, don't be surprised to see a letter in return...but I do have a large network of people I respond to, so it may be even a bit before I write back...but I always do =)

6. I have a partner and a cat. After all this time, I think they finally have me housetrained.

7. Most days, I'm 24. Some days, I'm more like 8, and my partner and I giggle and make pillow forts and read comic books with flashlights under the covers, and I feel very light, like I might float away if I laugh too hard. Other days, I'm 52, and I feel a little weighted down by the things I still want to do, and by trying to make a difference in my part of the world...but also satisfied and accomplished with what I already have done to help out.

8. I am really bad about salvaging things that look useful. I hate perpetuating a throwaway culture and even though I give away/reuse/remake/recycle things, I tend to retain a lot. It is the collector/recorder/observer in me. At the same time, however, I have a certain sense of pride in knowing how many things I am wearing each day are something that I was given, or that I salvaged, or that has become a meaningful possession. I am proud of my frugality! ...I also recycle a lot of packaging - I love to send decorated parcels and envies just as much as I like to receive them - and I encourage you to recycle mine if possible! =)

9. I pretty much live off of my partner's turkish-brewed coffee mixed with a packet of hot cocoa mix. Our two tea collections have taken over a corner of the kitchen and continue to multiply and intermingle and develop language and the arts and other markers of long-term civilization, but I always run out of cocoa way faster than planned.

10. I like to give people something to think about.