Masterbard

25 Random Facts about Bard Judith

1. Usually wears black or earthtones, but owns absolutely nothing in pink or yellow.
2. Loves shrimp and has been known to eat as many as eight different kinds in one evening at a Chinese restaurant or sushi bar.
3. Raison d'etre - her daughter: Spawn of Bard, the Kitkat, Little Joy, Kathabasca, or Punkydoodle, as she is variously known.
4. Secretly addicted to superhero movies (even owns a copy of the Fantastic Four, though she detests the robotic Alba).
5. Listens to weird and eclectic music, like Austrian yodel/rock, Bach cantatas, medieval pop, world folk, and Sting singing John Dowland.
6. Adores dark chocolate, abhors milk chocolate.
7. Thinks cloaks, pirate shirts, and sideburns are sexy (though not necessarily in combination)
8. Bites her nails and has never been able to break the habit for more than two or three months at a time.
9. Claims that she can't get through a day without learning something new (thank goodness for the internet!).
10. Literally can't get through a day without reading at least one book.
11. Thinks her large green eyes are her best facial feature and her weak chin/neckline her worst.
12. Is afraid to the point of phobia about needles (intravenous are worse than injections, making her want to rip her arm off and hit the nurse with it)
13. Loves having her hair brushed, cut, washed, or otherwise fussed over.
14. Is stubborn, hospitable, moody, energetic, impatient, creative, extroverted and introspective.
15. Would like to either kiss or be Indiana Jones.
16. In line with number 15, has been on an archaological dig, can read Latin, and knows how to use a bullwhip.
17. Does not have pierced ears.
18. Best fusion/comfort food she has ever invented: marble-size Korean dok (miniature pounded rice spheres) fried with chopped bacon, onions, mushrooms. No, really!
19. Dreams of designing eco-friendly, earth-sheltered, organic, personal housing.
20. No longer thinks labour is the most physically painful experience on the face of the planet.
21. Watches Youtube music videos at two in the morning.
22. Avows her passion for such overused themes/styles as vintage, retro, steampunk, victorian, distressed, antique, scrap, ephemera, and celtic.
23. Enjoys hats.
24. Addicted to typefaces, overloading her computer's font storage folder on a regular basis.
25. Obsessively makes lists for everything she has to accomplish and then blithely ignores them, having organized the data in her head through the listmaking process.

Oh, where to start? Mozart, Maddy Prior and/or Steeleye Span, Bach, Händel, King's Singers, Chieftains, Michael Card, Sting, Great Big Sea, Mark Knopfler, Andrea Bocelli, Enya, Gregorian, Paul Simon...

Hmmm...a few from among her top thirty or forty favorites authors would have to include Terry Pratchett, Guy Gavriel Kay, Tanith Lee, Brian Jacques, Sheri Tepper, Mercedes Lackey, St. Paul, David Gemmel, Ethel. M. Dell, Walter Wangerin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Philip Yancy, Charles Dickens, David Eddings, Rosemary Sutcliff...

Also addicted to the free online fin-de-siecle books on www.gutenberg.org, Victorian lit, 'The Message' version of the Bible, and anything by Gene Stratton-Porter.

She is a dross artist - which basically means that she incorporates recycled, discarded, used, pre-loved, repurposed, and other 'un-new' elements into her art as much as possible. Driftwood, postal stamps, rusted metal, labels, household items, paper ephemera, seaglass, fabric scraps, and the like will all find a new home in her artworks. Mostly she works on three-dimensional pieces such as art dolls, shrines, collages, jewelry, etcetera - but also enjoys ATCs, 'scrapbook' journal pages, and creating digital art.

Doesn't watch it. But she is, however, a hopeless 'mouse potato' and can surf for hours.

Some favorite sites:

Google (because you can find anything!) Facebook (guilty pleasure) Popular Science Instructables (PopSci meets Martha Stewart) Free Realms (fantasy-adventure quest game online) Santharian Dream (fantasy world-building site in the style of Tolkien, Jordan, Lackey, and other masters) Gutenberg (read old books! Online! Free!) Jango (music) Spoonflower (print your own fabric) Neopets (just because of her daughter) Oddee (really, really guilty pleasure) Swapbot (um, newest passion)

"Who'll buy trinkets?" said the Gypsy at the gate.

"What have you to sell?" asked Joscelyn.

"Knick-knacks and gew-gaws of all sorts. Rings and ribbons, mirrors and beads, silken shoe-strings and colored lacings, sweetmeats and scents and gilded pins; silver buckles, belts and bracelets, gay kerchiefs, spotted ones, striped ones; ivory bobbins, sprigs of coral, and sea-shells from far places, they'll murmur you secrets o' nights if you put em under your pillow; here are patterns for patchwork, and here's a sheet of ballads, and here's a pack of cards for telling fortunes. What will ye buy? A dream-book, a crystal, a charmed powder that shall make you see your sweetheart in the dark?"

“Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard”, by Eleanor Farjeon

(Judith has just figured out that her profile should not only be artsily eclectic but actually include useful information about her crafting preferences, should someone want to send her stuff or customize a swap for her. D'oh! Well, if you've gotten this far, and read the quote, you probably have a good idea already about her likes and dislikes. She thinks it sounds a bit self-centred to rattle off a list, rather as if she wouldn't appreciate other artists' tastes and styles and the surprise of a new artwork arriving...)

However, just for the record and to make it easy on you, here's a few ideas (yup, I just edited this into sections to make it even easier on you!)

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE ARTSY THINGS

Eras: Renaissance, Medieval, Arthurian, Celtic, Victorian, Gothic, Antique, Vintage, Retro (30s-50s)

Themes & Motifs: Words/text/writing/languages/fonts, women's issues/liberation/freedom from abuse, art/crafts/creativity, fantasy/science fiction, simple living/ecology/spiritual housecleaning, décor & interior design, flowers/plants/herbs/nature, trash/junk/garbage/recycling/dross art, birds/dragonflies/angels/fay, travel/postcards/stamps/visas...

Colours: Warm colours - amber, bronzes, sepia, gold, tea, barn red, old rose, chocolate, cranberry - but also jewel-tones - turquoise, emerald, crimson – and faded or muted hues – cream, aqua, olive, sage, rust, parchment, dove-grey, prussian blue, cafe-au-lait, tarnished silver...

Materials: Printed/textured/metallic/coloured papers, thin leather, metallic foils/faux 'leaf', laces/ribbons/fibers, thin fabrics (small-scale prints), rubber stamps, cardstock, stationery...

Realia: Dragonfly/butterfly/bird wings, little boxes in any material, little glass bottles, decorative brads (any metal or shape, favor bronze), rusty gears and bits of metal, broken jewelry, old keys, wine and other labels, shrines/icons/devotos/milagros, recipe cards/vintage kitchen items/labels, 1-12 scale miniatures (Victorian or Asian), sheet music, old book pages, word cards, lenses/slides...

Ephemera: Stickers (particularly gem/frame/lens/word/floral/vintage or other motifs as above), playing cards of any size and sort, old postage, faux postage and related products (rubber stamps, stickers, scissors) die-cut/punched/molded paper/cloth flower shapes, old advertising (kitchen/bath/apothecary), engravings/woodcuts/prints, travel items...

Styles: Distressed, Bohemian, Gypsy, Grunge, Asian, Victorian, Iconography, Shabby Chic, Arts & Crafts, William Morris, Klimt, da Vinci, Carnival, Steampunk...

Things to Make: ATCs, Postcards, Collages, Shrines, Altered Things, Recycled Anythings, Tags, Bottles...

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY NOT-SO-FAVORITE THINGS:

(stuff that would be wasted on her; 'pearls before swine', and all that... if your favorites are in this list, please don't take offense, just smile and show off what YOU can do with them!)

retro (60s - 80's), kawaii, anime, florals (mostly), polka dots, candy colours or neons, shiny surfaces, white and yellow, cutesy rubber stamps, photorealistic images/colour photos, animal themes, plastics, country-style, most scents or scented things (perfume allergies), cigarette smoke, cat hair (but don't stress if you are a smoker or ailurophile!) fridge magnets, cartoon characters, souvenir and labeled items, candies, teas & coffees (except for herbal infusions) electronic bits, salsa & corn chips (er, never mind), goth/devil/horror, plaid, cumin, …

I pledge to other swap-bot members to:

1.

  Rate for every swap I take part in.

2.

  Rate as soon as I am able to get on line after swap is received.

3.

  Rate Fairly: I will only give a 1 rating if a swap hasn't been received and no contact has been made from the sender. I promise to pm that member first to give them the chance to resolve the situation.

4.

  I will only give a 3 if I feel that the swap didn't meet the requirements and the partner chooses not to correct the swap.

5.

  I will leave a message on all ratings to state what I received and what I was happy with, even if it's just a thankyou.

6.

  I will not slander or badmouth anyone when given a rating; facts are all that is needed when rating a 1.