EmmaPaperclip

My husband and I live in a remote mountain community in the Sierra Nevadas above California's San Joaquin Valley...there are perhaps 200 of us. Ranching & handling of livestock is a way of life in this area. I've taken pictures all my life and now have a renewed interest in photography with the advent of digital....thank goodness for Photoshop....I LOVE it! I use the computer to 'process' my photos, post pictures to my photostream on Flickr. I have a small line of photo greeting cards which I sell at several stores, one gallery & our local 'trading post'.....I also sell framed photos occasionally. If you have the time to check out my pics on Flickr you might get a bit of an idea as to how I see the world.

Antique things, ephemera and vintage paper make me happy. Ethnic art is too cool. Over the years I've traveled extensively & have shot zillions of 35mm slides which I'd be scanning right now instead of sitting on this computer; however they're lost out in the garage somewhere. ~sigh~ Woke up one morning & coffee didn't taste good to me anymore, I now love hot tea in the AM....with cream. My artwork is somewhat quirky---I definitely have my own style and subscribe to the minimalist theory that 'less is best'. I put a lot of thought, time & effort into the items that I create.

I make things all the time, I like & need to make things. I always have some type of project going.....paper projects in particular as well as handmade greeting cards & photo greeting cards. I have carved my own rubber stamps---had fun doing that, was also way into stenciling (overlay stencils, not country style). Stained glass & handmade paper was fun. I love papercraft but am not a scrapbooker. Recently, I love the work of Sally Jean Alexander (Pretty Little Things) & have just started working with soldered glass collage jewelry - industrial chic & steampunk. Over the years I've used various media but always seem to come back to paper (& photography). I'm generally well versed when it comes to crafting, if I have a picture of something that I like, I can usually approximate the item pretty closely.

I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. I love most anything vintage, birds are wonderful, fish are cool too. Handmade gifts are just the best.
Favorite Era: the 1930's-40's.
Favorite color: 40's green or a very pale "Martha Stewart" green, really like her lovely & interesting earthy shades.....and then there is red!...and pink...it goes on and on. Bright colors rock but pastels are neat too. I collect vintage & antique postcards, old standard size, 3.5 x 5", white borders, linens or 50's chromes. Favorites are: vintage western (cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, rodeo, chuck wagons, famous Western figures, anything from the old west; Arizona, Texas, New Mexico): exaggerated fruits: Mainzer cats: 30's-40's motels: roadside Americana: vintage Halloween. Favorite food: Chinese!....also pizza and raspberry Snapple! If my husband didn't do most of the cooking I'd probably live on olives & popcorn or Cheez-its.

Handcrafted items are always nice. Things I'd love are neat tiny salvage items....any vintage paper ephemera: papers of any kind: ribbons: brads: embellishments: velvet, transparent or grosgrain ribbon: rick-rack + other trims" velvet leaves are great---millinery flowers, esp. vintage: old buttons...LOVE clear glass buttons: vintage postcards, esp. white border & linen: any Martha Stewart craft item--- clear stamps and blocks (Martha Stewart only...not interested in other rubber stamps): pigment ink pads: gel pens: glitter!!!

I like all kinds of music except for Rap and Hip Hop (Rap rhymes with crap so I'll bet that's why the name was changed to Hip Hop...which is equally distasteful IMO). My musical tastes are old fashioned, I like old rock, some new rock, blues, classical in general & classical cello in particular (Jordi Savall, Yo-Yo Ma, Han-Na Chang).....favorite 'rock' artists are Dave Matthews Band, Counting Crows, Fine Young Cannibals, Annie Lennox, Neil Young, old Dylan, old Stones, U2, Bruce Hornsby, Bette Midler, Roy Orbison, Bobby Darin, The Everly Brothers. Also Robert Johnson, Etta James, Koko Taylor, Howling Wolf. I could go on & on....Lonestar, Garth Brooks, Lyle Lovett, Rascal Flatts, Dixie Chicks.

Favorite TV show was The Sopranos....screamin' black humor there, plus totally great characters & actors. Wish it was still on. The latest that I am liking is Breaking Bad & The Killing. Last season the Walking Dead was cool. Due to our location we only get bits and pieces of television. Thank heavens for Netflix.

Action movies, dramas & suspense are OK...and then there is always a good old scary movie. I love foreign films---interestingly my favorite French foreign film director, Jean Pierre Jeunet, co-directed one of the Alien sequels so you can't go wrong there. Chick flicks and romance films don't do it for me.

Cutesy and/or country, especially hearts, country bears, ducks. Excessively busy, flowery stuff makes me nutz....forget about Mary Engelbreit. Cartoon characters & clowns.....uugh! :((~