100+ Things

In lieu of the standard biographic blather, here's a list of 100+ oddball "About Me" factoids:

1. I grew up amongst the redwoods & along the sea in extreme Northern California (there is life above San Francisco, people!)  
2. Jobs I've have:  radio & television broadcaster, newspaper columnist, graphic designer at a horse racing track, speech & theater coach, day care owner, seal trainer/tour guide provider, housekeeper, art teacher, college tutor (English, biology, political science), middle school tutor for Native American students.
3. I was in the United States Air Force.
4. My broadcasting job with the Air Force landed me at Torrejon Air Base in Spain.
5. Torrejon is five minutes outside of Madrid.
6. I lived in Spain for nearly two years.
7. I know enough Spanish to travel around on my own without getting lost or starving to death.
8. I would go back again in a heartbeat.
9. I have a rare disease in both wrists called Kienbock's Disease.
10. After many surgeries, I ended up with titanium plates & screws in both wrists.
11. And three less bones.
12. My right wrist will never bend again.
13. My surgeon told me I might never do art again.
14. Surgeons don't know everything.
15. I have several other chronic health issues that create daily obstacles.
16. I'm learning all sorts of ways around, over, and/or through obstacles.
17. I was a child of the 80's.
18. I love 80's music & movie soundtracks.
19. When I write, I listen to soundtracks & match the tempo of the music to the writing.
20. I love movies & television.
21. I dislike comedies.
22. I love action, adventure, animation and better yet, science fiction.
23. In fact, I would consider myself a sci-fi nerd.
24. "Trekkie" would be an appropriate descriptor.
25. I like A LOT of sci-fi TV shows such as Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Lost in Space.
26. True Blood, Fringe, Supernatural, Grimm & Being Human are modern obsessions.
27. I own every episode of the X-Files.
28. I love the old Star Wars trilogy before George Lucas messed with them.
29. Tim Burton is my hero.
30. So is Johnny Depp.
31. I wish I could work for Pixar.
32. I also adore "classic Hollywood" movies and stars.
33. Like Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Judy Garland...
34. I am a huge fan of zombie movies.
35. I work best in my studio with sci-fi on the TV in the background.
36. I like to read but I'm really slow.
37. When I read for fun, I choose mysteries and fantasies.
38. Charles Dickens, George Orwell, & John Steinbeck are my favorite "classic" authors.
39. I love art technique books.
40. I've been published twice: here and here.
41. For years, I concentrated on the biological sciences while in school.
42. A week after I found out about my hands, I changed my major to art.
43. I graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in studio art and a minor in art history.
44. I began my studies in scientific illustration.
45. Then I moved into printmaking and bookmaking.
46. My first art show featured my polymer clay jewelry.
47. I call myself a mixed and multiple media artist.
48. I often mix it up but sometimes I like to narrow my focus & my tools.
49. I'm also a teacher.
50. I've taught art to little kids, middle schoolers, high school students, & adults.
51. I really, really like teaching art to adults!  It is the most rewarding (and challenging!)
52. My favorite artists are: Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Beardon, Goya, and a little known female Surrealist painter named Remedios Varo.
53. The first time I saw a Goya in person at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, I stumbled to a bench & cried.
54. Before that, I used to think sitting and just staring at a painting seemed a bit silly.
55. I used to be all about the pastels & neutrals.
56. Then I discovered Teesha Moore.
57. And my world exploded into color.
58. Kind of like when Dorothy opens the door of her sepia farmhouse into Oz.
59. Now my days are filled with magenta, sunshine yellow, pumpkin orange, turquoise, lime green, and purple.
60. Though sometimes I really love a black, white, and red color scheme.
61. After a few years of chasing all the latest products, I have circled back around to my roots.
62. I want to generate as much original content & product as possible.
63. I am trying to stay away from collage involving magazine pictures or vintage photos.
64. For me, drawing & painting is the path to the most authentic expression of self.
65. I think there is too much emphasis on product when we should be celebrating the process.
66. I sometimes search, shop, & stash more than do art.
67. I am working on that.
68. Self-confidence is often a issue for me.
69. Especially when it comes to drawing or painting people.
70. I like whimiscal illustration instead of realistic rendering.
71. I want to write and illustrate childrens' books someday.
72. I began art journaling in 2000.
73. I like to compartmentalize my journal content & style.
74. Currently, I have 19 art journals in progress.
75. And I have at least 16 sketchbooks/notebooks.
76. Each book has its own purpose, theme, technique focus and/or scheme.
77. I am an obsessive organizer.
78. And an obsessive cleaner (household chaos drives me nuts!)
79. Sometimes I do more organizing & cleaning than art-making.
80. I am learning to let things go.
81. I share my world with one son (in college but living at home) and two cats.
82. The boy cat is named Marley & the girl cat is named Tuscany Jane.
83. We also have a little grey & yellow cockatiel named Milo.
84. Tuscany & Marley wish they could know Milo better.
85. I love the sound of water: rain, waves, a rushing river, the shower.
86. I just learned to swim a few years ago.
87. Although I can see the Pacific from my apartment if I squint, I wish I lived closer to the ocean so I could listen to it every day.
88. The strangest thing I've ever eaten was pickled octopus (it was actually quite good.)
89. I never drink soda (except when I have the flu), tea & cocoa occasionally, and coffee all the time.
90. I like my coffee weak, mild, and sweet.
91. I am learning to love cooking but I'm not very adventurous.  I have a sensitive palate.
92. I am jealous of my mother's cooking.  Everything she makes is fantastic!
93. I am also learning to sew.
94. I want to learn to make my own clothes.
95. Right now, I am best when sewing a straight line.
96. I sew paper more often than fabric.
97. My youngest brother died of brain cancer when he was 18.
98. I made him a quilt before he died and I am really proud of that.
99. I hope that quilt reminded Sam every day that I loved him.
100. I believe in living and loving intensely.
101. I believe in karma.
102. I am a work-in-progress.