kymaera

I am a retired biologist and museum educator. I began doing ceramics at the excellent Rocky Mount (NC) Art Center in 2002. After a few months of mediocre wheel-thowing, I discovered my skill lay more in sculpture, particularly small pieces, than in traditional pottery. I especially enjoy sculpting small animals and plan to continue doing so. In 2008, I began looking for an additional creative outlet and became intrigued with atcs. As soon as I finish my first few, I will post them.

Animals ... I love 'em all, except cockroaches and camel crickets. Lord knows I've tried to love them too but just can't manage it. My favorites are dogs. I have 5 - 2 dobermans of my own and 2 fosters and 1 borzoi (Russian wolfhound, if that helps.) For fun and supplimentary income, I train dog owners to teach their dogs manners. I also volunteer with a couple of animal rescues and my local animal shelter aka pound.

Reading ... I read some of everything except politics and economics.

Art ... I have to make myself stick to a limited few media. Otherwise, I'd be all over the board. Current I'm doing clay sculptures, (mostly animals of course), ATCs (in watercolor, which I'm semi-new at) and I've just started in encaustic which I hope to combine with both the sculpture and the ATCs. Encaustic (painting with hot colored wax) produces lovely life-like textures, at least in hands of someone who knows how to use it. That currently is NOT me. So far I've just made a mess but, hey ho, there's bound to be that learning curve, right. If I worried about mess, I wouldn't do clay, or have 5 dogs for that matter.

Nature ... which luckily combines well with dogs, as in walks, and art, as in outdoor sketching and painting.

Oddities and surprises ... art, books, movies, etc. that produce rabbits out of hats so to speak. Or ones that take a common idea and give it an unexpected twist.

Besides roaches and camel crickets, politics and economics, I dislike

Pink ... especially baby pink. Also baby pink and lime green together give me the willies.

Pastel Colors ... Don't hate them but prefer bright.

Cute ... This is a PET PEEVE. Maybe Disneyfication is a better word. I like genuine (said gen-U-wine here in the south) cute such puppies and kittens. I don't even object to exaggeration of features that emphasize "creature-ness"; extra long legs and ears on a rabbit, for example. What I hate is the exaggeration of baby features - big eyes and big heads - with the object of making creature or person allegedly more appealing.

Lassification ... Related to a different form of Disneyfication. I guess this is really just the old enemy, anthropomorphism; assuming animals are slightly dumb people in fur suits. I see this as resulting in a lot of inadvertent cruelty toward animals who are just doing what animals do. ("Of course my dog knows what he did wrong. Don't you see how guilty he looks?" Aaaaargh!) Disney and Lassie have a lot to answer for IMO.

Winter ... I never can get warm. Not to say that I dislike pictures of winter. I'd just rather look at them in the summer and gloat.

Housework ... Not a good dislike for someone who has messy hobbies and 5 dogs, but that's life.