CURRENT MISSION

just say KNOW

ABOUT ME

I am a Morriss Better kinda guy. Pack rat artist. Cosmic voyageur. Armchair Traveler (working on that). Punster and poet. Erratic but enthusiastic dancer. Long haired (oops, make that Ex -long haired; travel does that) hippy artist and "swave and debonner" urban creative entrepreneur. I am a designer and a maker of beautiful things; a supporter of the Arts through promotion of other craftspeople as a show organizer, writer, buyer, and past gallery owner (which I hope to do again). In the meantime I work for a two family run businesses - a dairy in Fergus where I make SHEEPS MILK CHEESE, yoghurt, and ice cream, and a gourmet preserves factory in Aberfoyle, making fabulous jams and chutneys and sauces. From mixed media artisan to artisan foods... it works for me.

Originally from Ontario (St Catharines & Toronto), home for 16 years was British Columbia, from Hornby Island to Vancouver to the Sunshine Coast but I relocated to SW Ontario once again in July of 2007 after most of a year traveling through the US, Canada, and parts of Europe; Arrived first in Elora, now in Guelph. Guelph is a great little city; big enough for city perks like ethnic food and dance bars, small enough for community and comfort.

As a guest I feel that I'm a gentleman; pretty quiet and easy going - I can sit quietly and read or write for hours or converse the night away; am not a partyer (although I do like a night out dancing); don't do tobacco; do do dishes, as well as cook and clean up after myself. Of course at home Mr Hyde takes over and the place is a disaster, but I'm still pretty quiet and polite about it.

PHILOSOPHY

"Nimis cerebrosus eis qui rite vivunt;
Nimis solitus eis qui insolite vivunt."

"Too Weird for the Straight;
Too Straight for the Weird."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

This is a bloody brilliant idea and I hope everyone on here is racking up HUGE Karma Points for making the world a little more friendly for everyone.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

From Dec 06 to March 07 I traveled the UK and Europe, with 4 awesome CS experiences along the way. Prior to that my experiences were mostly in my mis-spent youth. Fall of 1981 I visited the West Coast for the first time and spent three months on a floor in Victoria while working in a fish packers before spending a few weeks couch surfing in California; Capitola then San Francisco. Introduced me to the possibilities and I've always offered couches in return since.
In '95 I toured SE Asia, Aus, & NZ with my brother and that included a week on a glassblowers couch in Adelaide. My brother continued on for a year, and for a couple of years after I kept getting calls in Vancouver from Surfers he'd met in his travels and had directed my way.
Through four years on the Sunshine Coast I put up many folk, especially artists coming to do the various craft fairs.
Since arriving in Guelph have only put up Friends & Family... but YOU could change that!
What goes around; comes around. This CouchSurfing is a GOOD thing.

Interests

Fine Craft, alternative art, functional design.
Exploring flea markets and junk shops for STUFF for my Memory Box sculptures.
Dancing, especially trance and 80's alternative;
Writing; especially meeting and profiling other artists.
Artisanal Foods - cheese or jams or breads or whatever; 100 Mile Diet, etc. I am a vendor at our local farmers market and LOVE it.
Kink; there's more to the world than Vanilla.

• fish
• arts
• writing
• design
• glastonbury
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• cheese
• dieting
• running
• traveling
• magic
• fishing
• surfing
• boxing
• communications
• entrepreneurship

Music, Movies, and Books

Waaay too many to list. Okay...5 of each?
Amelie. MirrorMask. Matrix (first one). Waking Life. Withnail & I.
Bowie. Jethro Tull. Banco de Gaia. Joni Mitchell. Chemical Brothers
William Gibson - Count Zero (well; all his stuff)
Mark Helprin - A Winters Tale (as above)
Nick Bantock - Griffin & Sabine (ditto)
Tom Robbins - Jitterbug Perfume (ditto again)
John Crowley - Little, Big; Engine Summer (yup, all of it)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 1991 I took a year off from city life in Toronto to live in a school bus on Hornby Island BC and ended that year with busing across North America to spend a month selling xmess trees on the streets of New York City.

Winter Solstice 2006 I toured Stonehenge, Glastonbury, and Avebury in fog thick enough to erase the 21st Century; magick indeed.

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach workshops in making Memory Boxes. Telling 3 dimensional stories from the STUFF we collect and surround ourselves with; our magic trinkets, our trip souvenirs, our family heirlooms, our
"precious to no-one but me" talismans. Everything has an energy, a story. I help people to tell THEIR stories.

I am also a writer specializing in profiling other artists and craftspeople and am hoping to cross paths with as many as possible in my journeys to share our experiences making beautiful things for people.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, China, France, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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