Some pointless information regarding myself and the site.
General
Some may know me as "library girl", "that British woman with the hair", and here I'm referring to myself as "Catrantula", but you can call me Jodie.
I grew up in England, but moved to NY state to live with my husband, who I met online. Overall, people have been very accepting and welcoming, so thank you.
As you probably noticed, I partake in various hobbies, which essentially all have their basis in nature. The bulk of my work is ceramics and photos, though I like to partake in various creative projects. It is my preference to create unique, one-of-a-kind hand-made arts and crafts, so I generally try to avoid using premade elements, moulds, and photo editing.
Although I enjoy creating, I struggle with enthusiasm. I put a lot of thought and effort into my work, but am often slow and relatively unproductive, much to my own frustration. Therefore, I do not reguarly offer commissions.
What is a Catrantula
Catrantula (cat + tarantula: Cat-ran-tyu-la) is a childish drawing that I made years ago, of a spider-cat riding a bicycle. I kept the name because it was fairly distinctive. There's no significant depth or meaning, besides me being fond of cats.
Early Years
I enjoyed art from an early age. Drawing animals and creating characters was always a favourite hobby as a child. Drawing was my main artistic interest. Painting didn't come so naturally, as it seemed to limit the precision I could obtain with pencils, but over time I have come to appreciate the freedom of blending colours and forms. For paint, I mostly prefer "open" acrylics, due to their slower drying time.
My mother, friend, and myself sculpted creatures with papier mache or polymer clay (dragons were especially popular). I had occasional experience with clay, and found it preferable to work with. It wasn't until my 30s that I started taking sculpting more seriously and finally invested in a kiln and other ceramics equipment.
Besides nature, an additonal inspiration for me was computer games. I got my start with the PC, Commodore64, and Sega Mega-Drive (Genesis). I was always keen to make my own game, and used to draw characters and levels. My interest in gaming hasn't continued, but I am still interested in creating. I started creating my first playable computer game in 2004, which has undergone numerous rediesgns. It is currently named "Gravel Quest", and as yet has still not been finished. It is however being freshly re-coded, and I hope to eventually create a fully playable game/app, along with some additional projects.
Other Interests
A few other subjects of interest for me are stained glass, digital art (2D & 3D), woodwork, and writing (plus illustration). Which I may come to add to this website in the future. I have also tried candle making (which I may do more of in the future), shampoo making (which I probably won't do commercially), and gardening (only as a personal hobby at home).
Contact
Although possible to send a message over Facebook or Instagram, I don't offer commissions and am not looking to chat.
If you do contact me, please ensure your message is appropriate and has relevant content, and bear in mind that I am under no obligation to respond. Please don't take it personally if I do no respond; I may not see your message, be busy, cannot figure out a response, or various other reasons. Please note that I only speak English, and am not interested in small talk, memes, text chats, voice chats, video chats, flirting, roleplay, comments regarding my appearance, advertising, or being a brand ambassador.
(I am not particular about what pronouns are used for me; they or she would be the most common).
Tools
Some links to help you research equipment, including some of the things I use.
