Meet the CC Artist

While Colour Collective has been on a holiday break, it was suggested that everyone do a Meet the CC Artist submission - and here is mine:

I decided to do two versions of myself - one for summer and one for winter, because in summer I am almost always to be found in huge 50s skirts and in winter I am 100% guaranteed to be in a chunky winter knit, probably from a vintage pattern, because my mother is a fabulous and generous knitter. 

That quilt over my chair (a high drafting chair because I am short in the body and need the extra height) was also made by my mother. In theory it is to wrap over my legs when I'm cold, but as it is made up of squares of leftover 100% wool fabric, it is also fabulous for eliminating the static shocks you get from sliding off a foam-filled, polyester-covered, plastic chair. And it's bright and cheery too, I love it. 

Yes, I am deaf in one ear. Not totally deaf, but the hearing quality is reduced drastically as well. I was born deaf, and have worn a hearing aid when out and about since I was 15. But it accounts for my general what on earth is going on? default state. (No, I can't 'just listen harder'.) Wearing a hearing aid also means I am paranoid about it raining on me when I haven't got a hat or umbrella, and can't bring myself to lean out over bodies of water in case it leaps out, like a contact lens magnetically attracted to soup. It does mean I have a legitimate reason to collect pretty hats, though, so I suppose it's a win overall.... 

I love to have my nails painted - it's my Wednesday downtime, while watching comedy on tv. A legitimate reason to do nothing at all with my hands while the polish dries, and for someone who spends all day drawing/felting/playing piano/typing a bit of downtime for the hands is nice! A lot of people use the fact that I have nailart as a reason to tell me to 'get a job' - clearly I have too much time on my hands... but in reality, an hour a week for a hobby I enjoy is not excessive! 

I do play the piano, and have done so since I was eight. I'm not particularly musical, I never did exams and I'll never rise to concert-pianist heights - but I don't want to, so that's just fine! Piano has always been a nice hobby for me, without the stress of exams. I learn whatever pieces I feel like, and often play quite complex music, often from the 30s. Currently I am playing The Merry-Go-Round of Life from Howl's Moving Castle, Daddy-O (I'm Going to Teach You Some Blues), Remember My Forgotten Man, My Foolish Heart and It Could Happen To You, which is a nice mix of various styles. I often decide I want to play a particular piece that I've heard in a movie, and have to track it down through old sheet music sellers, like a particularly persevering sniffer-dog. I did that with Daddy-O and also with another favourite, Shanghai Lil. In general I take a bit of time out of every day to practice, although I don't always manage it. 

I'm pleased to see that my 'Loves' list is much bigger than my 'Hates'. Technically I have a number of hates (such as people who don't indicate and nearly run me over while I'm walking the dog. And people who drive up behind me while I'm walking on the footpath. And people who yell abuse at me for no reason other than that I'm walking past), but they pretty much all come under the umbrella category of 'Nastiness'. It's not the individual things I hate so much as the overarching lack of kindness and respect. I could have included a lot more 'Loves', but I thought it might be getting a bit excessive....