stephh

i'm an artist [painting, printmaking, bookbinding/artists' books & odd object-making] and wordsmith [writing & editing] from the pacific northwest (usa) who's been living in the netherlands for 14 years or so.

printmaking, painting, assemblage, drawing, photography, fibers, words

nature, elements, music, poetry, rilke, andy goldsworthy, rumi, nick bantock, philosophy, five rhythm dance, anselm kiefer, alchemy, tarot, soul collage, meditation, alembics, mountains, fonts, patterns, rhythm, gods, dancing, goddesses, skeleton keys, yoga, peter doig, hundertwasser, borges, spinning, artemisia gentileschi, nigella lawson, peacocks, twins, mary oliver, dictionaries, pilates, mystics, fish, hieronymus bosch, velvet, bill reid, emily carr, trees, stoics, running.

some things i like: eco-friendly materials; recipes for simple and delicious food with fresh ingredients; good spelling and creative punctuation; shrines and other devotional art; work that reflects the keywords and themes in my random inspiration list above.

not wild about: pastel colors, manga, run-of-the-mill anything, obligatory use of capital letters, evangelical xian material, bento stuff, dollar store/discount items, cutesy, scrapbooking, 'country style', most foodstuffs, most scents, comic sans, confetti, and most cheapie plastic things.

rating, swapping, etc...

i always send out my swaps - if you haven't received something from me, please pm me! i try to be diligent about my rating, so if you haven't been rated for something you've sent me, let me know just in case there's been a mix-up.

i often reuse packaging for sending out my swap items.

angels

many thanks to these kind folks for angeling me:

• meggert for the 'recipes that start with B' postcard swap

• neopostretro for the 'wreck this journal' swap

other stuff/pending ratings...

• i've sent out a pc to gabs for the postcard swap | quick turn around #2 swap (20 oct), but haven't heard back from her about rating me (she's partially suspended now, so maybe she's having a bit of trouble? i hope that'll pass if it's the case) - gabs, if you want me to resend, just let me know, i'd be happy to!

• i'm still waiting to receive a fall cookie recipe postcard from raylyn - it's possible it got lost in the mail (i'm still waiting to hear a reply to my pm/comments)...

canopus in argos series (doris lessing); american gods (neil gaiman); prisons we choose to live inside (doris lessing); meditations (marcus aurelius); the passion (jeanette winterson); the alchemyst, the magician (michael scott); cryptonomicon (neal stephenson); vellum, ink (hal duncan); everything by william gibson; everything by ursula le guin; everything by haruki murakami; oryx and crake, handmaid's tale (margaret atwood); promethea series (alan moore); memoirs of hadrian (marguerite yourcenar); chicago manual of style - 15th edition.

aphex twin, chet baker, ginger baker, marco beasley, hildegard von bingen, blind faith, bløf, björk, kate bush, david byrne, neko case, elvis costello, crowded house, dead can dance, de dijk, depeche mode, steve earle, brian eno, montserrat figueras, ella fitzgerald, pink floyd, aretha franklin, frou frou, peter gabriel, lisa gerard, philip glass, etta james, kaiser chiefs, nusrat fateh ali khan, king crimson, kings of leon, the kooks, kronos quartet, kd lang, lyle lovett, sarah mclachlan, new order, nirvana, arvo pärt, steve reich, terry riley, gabrielle roth, jordi savall, sia, jane siberry, split enz, tiësto, kt tunstall, talking heads, the cure, the english beat, u2, ween, 10,000 maniacs...

wings of desire (wim wenders)

lost, firefly, fringe

this american life: www.thislife.org

• things that you've made that show your 'style' -- things you are proud to have made
• interesting or unusual images of: fish, trees, stones, fire, planets, leaves, anatomical illustrations
• boxes, especially when filled with mysterious, delightful contents
• music: (mixed) cds of great music for dancing, running, and working in the studio
• peculiar and unusual images i can use in my own collages
• interesting and warm socks (size 38-40) -- the kind you might wear in the winter while you're curled up on the couch and reading a great book
• really good chocolate (all kinds)
• recipes for food you would want to make and/or eat at a party or a holiday
• recipes for comfort food
• recipes for food your ancestors loved (an example i like to share is my grandmother's corn chowder recipe)
• line drawings, prints, collages
• specialty papers: beautiful japanese papers, paste paper, marbled paper, papers with special watermarks, parchment, vellum
• soft, luxurious fabrics like velvet
• ribbons and tassels
• beautiful beads (glass, paper, wooden, clay, anything...)
• velvet pouches, bags, boxes
• handmade postcards
• anything from the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/)
• skeleton keys (with or without their corresponding locks)