Laurel22

I am a bit behind on my swaps, I will not be joining any new ones until I get caught up. I always ALWAYS always try to rate, even if it takes me a few days longer than it probably should. If anything (a package or a rating) is late, please bring it to my attention and I'll fix it ASAP.

I'm an artist, letter writer, collector, wanderer, and crazy loyal friend. I love the idea of swap-bot and am looking forward to participating in the community and discovering the possibilities.

When I say I'm an artist, i mean it. I have a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the focus of my study was in Fiber Arts and Material Studies. I'm a full time artist trying to make it professionally, and killing another year before I go to grad school. I work mostly in Fiber and with installations. I LOVE craft-style media and have recently fallen totally in love with quilting. I am also an avid hand sewer and embroiderer. I'm just beginning to get into more traditional styles of sculpture.

I love to save, to share, to try, and to do.

anything fabric related/needle arts/fiber arts and material studies sort of stuff. SUCH AS:.
Sewing.
Embroidery (hand).
Free Embroidery with machine.
Quilting.
Knitting.
Crochet.
Photography. ATC.
Collage.
Screenprinting.
Papermaking.
Anything involving power tools.
Anything with Glue.

I almost always have TV or a movie going while I work, so I watch more TV than seems reasonable to most people... I'm learning to be unapologetic about it.

Fave Shows (on tv or dvd):.
MAS*H.
24 (on DVD).
Weeds.
The Simpsons (earlier seasons mostly).
The West Wing.
Friends.
Dead Like Me.
Heroes.
The Big Bang Theory.
Lie To me (Current Fave of the Faves).
The Mentalist.
Chuck.
The Muppet Show.
Dr Who (the new series).
NCIS.

any of a dozen random craft shows.
Cooking Shows (Esp Ina Garten, Jamie Oliver, and Nigella Lawson).
Anything Martha Stewart .

I'm not big on the whole "reality" thing but I do occassionally go on binges of the show "America's Next Top Model" (I cannot explain it, it's addictive), Project Runway, and the new one -- The Fashion Show.

I read a LOT. My favorites lately tend to be to the not-terribly-challenging to read fiction. I've read the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympian's Series. I reread the Harry Potter Series at least once a year. Usually around summer time. I read a lot of Women's Fiction (AKA chick-lit. not romance, chick lit), such as Confessions of a Shopaholic, anything by Lauren Weisenberg, etc.
also:.
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning.
the "heart" books by Chelsea Caine.
The Women's Murder Club Books and pretty much anything else by James Patterson.

also on my list go "BIG FAT ARTIST BOOKS" monographs, things with lots of pics.
and a wide range of craft books that talk about theory and much more so technique.

i also collect old science and medical text books, and any old/vintage books that I can use pics out of an "Coloring" books for embroidery reference...

I started my art career as a painter, so color is sort of a big deal to me. I currently love hot pink, chartruse/lime green, tiffany blue/teal blue/turquoise, black and white. I use red in my own work quite a bit, but for personal items, things i'm decorating with, i prefer happier lighter colors OR black and white (i'm currently redecorating a room in black and white).

All that said, surprise me. I can use anything.

fabric: 1" squares, 2" squares ANY COLOR (every color really).
small fabric scraps down to 1/2".
Beads.
patches.
Embroidery Floss.
sequins (any size from 3mm to as big as they come).
Yarn.
ugly or tacky fabric. Seriously.
dia de los muertos style skulls on anything.
Frida Kahlo anything.
art postcards, esp featuring women artists.
Saint Prayer Cards (I'm not catholic, i just love the cards).
small cheap saint medals (Nothing expensive, the tiny little nickle ones you get for 50cents).
Anything Handmade with heart.
any little scraps of junk like old chess pieces, rusty bottle caps, old checkers, pieces of broken china/crockery, small pieces of broken glass or mirror, little woodsies, useless coins, wooden nickels, old keys, poker chips, dominos, etc, also broken doll parts, old little toys that are dirty broken or don't work anymore. Seriously, I use this stuff in my work (I know it seems weird).
Stickers.
anything funny or odd. fabric, labels, or paper scraps that can only be found in your state or country.

Art Postcards (pictures of art and artists).
bags (mostly the shopping tote type).
Dia De Los Muertos folk art stuff.
Anything with Frida Kahlo on it.
fabric.
knitting needles.
touristy collectables.
small scale handmade prints (mostly lino or screenprint, but etchings too).

weird religious ephemera - prayer cards, plastic saint statues, cheap saint medals, mini buddhas, small crucifixes, small crosses. also kitchy religious ephemera. There's no disrespect here, it just entertains me. I'm a Christian, I went to a Catholic High School, and through art have developed a facination with the lives and stories of the saints as represented visually.

magnets, I have more than 150, and in my new place I'm installing a magnet panel (A large piece of metal flashing or a square of magnetic paint) behind the door in my studio.

craft books, especially techniques i've never tried, and fiber related craft books.

Vintage Craft, Sewing, or Etiquette books from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

I've become a bit of an anglophile, so i collect a lot of UK and specifically British ephemera and do-dads.

Old Medical Textbooks and color atlases of different diseases and medical conditions (for the pictures). Seriously, the grosser the pics, the better!

Art Books with lots of pictures.
vintage embroidery.
Clip Art, copyright free art, and "coloring books" (the kid kind and the not so kid kind) for the line art.
photocopies of great examples of line art out of old books.
ideas.
old Cameras (working or not).
odd little do-dads and things that make me laugh. Black and White Photographs, especially old ones. Mostly, my collection consists of really old portraits.

Yayoi Kusama.
Robert Rauschenberg.
Tracey Emin.
Catherine Opie.
Chris Ofili.
Jasper Johns.
Martin Creed.
Andy Warhol.
Joan Mitchell.
Willem DeKooning.
Jackson Pollock.
Marcel Duchamp.
Vincent Van Gogh.
Toulouse Latrek.
Feminist Artists of the 60s and 70s. Cindy Sherman.
Turner.
Mel Ramos.
Joseph Bueys.
Louise Bourgeouis.
Indie Craft Artists like Jenny Hart and Whitney Lee.
Rosa Bonheur.
Jaques Louis David.
Elizabeth Vigee-Le Brun.
Damien Hirst.
Chuck Close.
Kiki Smith.
Claus Oldenberg.
Christo.
Janine Antoni.
Kara Walker. Orly Cogan.

A variety of Friends and former teachers.