Artist taps the Kender's plunder

I am an artist. I take everything that my inner Kender lifts from various sources and use it in my artwork. Like Weiss and Hickman's creation, my fingers are in everything: books, music, religion, philosophy and the list goes on and on.

I intend to make my living as an artist. Since 2000, I have been setting my sites to own my own rubber stamp business. Various family emergencies have made for frustrating detours on that path. I am ever determined as I have designed for some companies, been published in Somerset Studio and I know the manufacturing process.

Kender or Geek? Both. One of my lines is focused on regional designs for use in scrapbooks. I found in my geeky Kender plundering lots of information that helped me develop that line. I do find historic dates and the characters that settled MI to be fascinating and I am betting that others will too when they make heritage scrapbook pages.

Introducing the Academic Kender

It started in 1975. I was minding my own business, happily coloring in my grandparents kitchen when the mail arrived. Grampa sat down with his tea and a stack of officious looking poop. Grampa attended each piece one by one, unearthing a magnificent find. the '75 Tut exhibit was in Chicago and Modern Maturity had a huge article. I could not quit staring at the golden King's face. Grampa and I went through the pages at a painstakingly slow pace. We had a discussion. And the next time I visited there were stacks of material. I remember squealing with the same delight that a fresh box of crayons elicited. And that launched me into a lifetime of devouring information.

I call myself a Kender because I will cross the arbitrary lines of demarcation between archaeology and religion, snatching information that isn't nailed down (some that is), knowing that it will be useful later. I will joyfully trot down any path that promises more information even if I have been warned that there are dragons, ogres, draconians, demented elves and disheveled monks guarding said information.

Introducing 6 degrees of Geekdom

Geekdom is the realm in which those with singular pursuits congregate, oft times in separate worlds of their own creation. It is a realm that rests between the Now and Then of the world in which regular people live and do commerce. Geekdom extends from the archaic models of our historic past to the shining (one hopes) streamlined technological future. The real world portal into Geekdom oft times is the front row of any classroom or the registration table at any (insert subject of fanaticism) convention.
Geekdom is arranged by Orders under the discipline's Master, ascending by degree. The Realm's Sovereign is the Grand Master Geek of the Highest Order. In the multi verse that is Geekdom, in the Universe which I inhabit,the Grand Master Geek of the Highest Order is Wil Wheaton.

I am a 6th degree Geek, unordered as yet. That means that I connect dots. Everything is a dot and within six connections I can make myself and others nuts. In the realm of Academia, I am a Kender. This is great for Art but not so great for staying out of trouble.