teli

Firstly, thank you for reading my profile. This section is a general where everything is on the page guide.

1. Swap Progress: Tracking what I'm working on, what's in the mail, and what I should expect. (It will also let you know the status of your swap whether expecting or receiving.)

2. About Me, The Intro: The tl;dr version of getting to know me.

3. The Things I Listen To: My musical tastes.

4. The Things I Read: Books read and enjoyed.

5. The Things I Watch: Movies and TV I enjoy.

6. The Things I Collect: My shortlist of collectibles.

7. The Art I Like: Artists, styles, and themes I enjoy.

8. The Things I Make: My artistic style and leanings.

9. That Sounds Fun: Swaps to which I'd be open, and my "extras" policy.

Updated Sept. 5, 2014 @ 11:42AM EDT

In progress

• Nothing

In the mail

• Nothing

If an item is listed as sent on a Sunday or federal holiday, it means it has been placed in the postal box and will be picked up the following mail day.

If you are awaiting something from me and your name is not listed above, or if an inordinate amount of time has passed (~10 days within the USA; ~45 days internationally from the day I mail) and you still have not received an item, or if you receive an item with postage due, please let me know prior to rating.

Waiting for

• Nothing

I'll rate swaps as soon as I receive them. That means if you haven't been rated, I haven't yet received.

Writing about oneself is tricky--finding that balance between dispensing raw facts with a modicum of personality. But, I'll do my best.

I'm Teli...easy-going and open to (almost) anything at least once. But from previous life experience there is one thing that I don't tolerate well: child/animal abuse. Everything else is fair game, especially if you put your energy, thought, and care into it.

My religion is love. I'm an observer of life, nature, thoughts, just about everything. I believe movement and stillness are the breath of the soul. I'm open to all questions, though I often remind people "none of your business" is a valid answer. :)

My musical tastes are wide and varied, ranging from classical, opera, folk, to contemporary hip hop, R&B, and pop, and everything in between. On a day to day, I'm usually listening to Baroque/choral, alternative, dubstep, soundtracks, and R&B. Varies with mood, though.

Horror. Especially psychological horror. The kind that slides under your skin and squirms around until you're itching. The kind that locks the breath in your chest until it feels as though it will burst. I also enjoy quirk, drama, and things that make me ask "what is wrong with people?" And I can't forget to mention my soft spot for graphic novels and manga (English).

Some of my indelible reads include "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, "Nightmares & Dreamscapes" by Stephen King, "1984" by George Orwell, "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield, "Wuthering Heights" by Charlotte Bronte, "Dramacon" by Svetlana Chmakova, "Tarot Cafe" by Sang-Sun Park. There's more, but I'll spare you.

"Men In Black" is one of my all-time favourites--mostly because I love aliens and midst the comedy there are some profound moments about life and existence. The entire Alien franchise (although I'm still on the fence about 'Prometheus'). And just about anything by Pixar or Dreamworks animation.

As far as genres go, the majority of my admittedly large DVD collection are science fiction, horror, thriller, action/adventure, and animation.

There are a few things that I doubt I will ever get tired of collecting:

• Eeyore (something Eeyore related resides in every room of my home, yes, even my bathrooms--but don't worry, it hasn't yet reached bedlam proportions)
• Art books and magazines
• Journals (blank or narrow ruled)
• Cute picture frames
• Art supplies, pens of the ultra-fine nib Japanese/Korean variety, and stationery

(An aerial view of my Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens, and I have several more pen holders just like it.)

I am interested in many and varied artistic styles from minimalism to blaring bright colour blocks that might cause a seizure if you stare too long.

Some of my favourite artists include Audrey Kawasaki, Agnes-Cecile, Da Vinci, Donatello, Michelangelo, Klimt, Schiele, Bruegel the Elder, P. P. Rubens, and a virtually endless list of others.

If you're sending me art and are at an utter loss for what to send, here are a few themes that would likely go over well with me:

• Eeyore
• Horror (I'm especially fond of aliens, zombies, and the supernatural)
• Fantasy
• Dark fantasy (think original tooth fairy type of creepy)
• Cute creepy things
• Adorable baby animals doing adorable baby animal things
• Bizarre or surreal artwork (I'm a fan of Hi-Fructose/Juxtapoz/BeautifulBizarre/etc.)

I'm difficult to offend. Don't mind (tasteful) nudity. Avoid anything that's just hateful to be hateful and anything overly religious, unless it's Precious Moments. :)

I explore. Drawing, painting, sewing, collage, mixed media, it all interests me. Once upon a time I did cross-stitch, but that was in the dark ages ago. I also enjoy knitwear although I couldn't knit to save my life.

My own art is amorphous, and tends to be graphite, ink, colour pencil, and watercolour; the style changes with my mood, from super-cute/kawaii, to dark, strange, brooding, and, in some cases, downright disturbing.

And since joining Swap-bot, I've discovered the awesometasticness that are inchies and have been slightly addicted to making them.

And look! I made a zine (well, two now...and maybe one day I'll make a third, a fourth, a fifth...you get the idea, right?)

If I'm sending you some form of art, I'll note the media used and whether it's:

• Archival: comprised entirely of pH neutral/archival grade materials
• Acid-Free: comprised entirely of acid free materials, but is not otherwise archival grade
• Non-Archival: comprised of both acidic/acid-free materials and is not suitable for long-term archiving

In general I aim for Archival/Acid-Free, but sometimes acidic materials can't be helped when creating collage or mixed media pieces. In the latter case, I'll hit the finished work with an acid neutralizer and seal with ph neutral clear acrylic/varnish.

A Note About My Envelopes: Chances are the envelope in which you receive your swap from me will be unconventional--not always, but most of the time--and that's because I tend to make my own envelopes from my old sketchbook pages, test prints, junk mail/magazines, or sometimes out of the letter itself.

For the most part I'm looking to swap art--mainly ATCs or other small forms of artwork--and to meet potential penpals, but I'm also open to other things, to include private swaps both in the US and internationally. If you have a swap idea that you think would be cool, drop me a PM.

And regarding extras, I've "met" some very lovely, kind, wonderful people so far; the generosity displayed here is nothing short of staggering, however, extras aren't necessary for me.

In fact, unless it's something that pertains to me (i.e. profile specific) or the swap directly, please omit it.

Extras aren't the way to gaining hearts from me--putting thought and effort into the swap itself is. I'd much rather have a quality swap with a lovely letter or note than a stack of items I may never use.