Day 20: Q&A! Part One

CULTURE

Q: Do you call yourself goth? What does gothic subculture mean to you personally? Is it more like a feeling or is it based on style?
I'm above all an individual, but I do call myself goth because it's an easy term to tell people about my tendencies and taste in things. It also makes it easier to find like-minded people. However I do not like strict labels. Clinging desperately on to some conception and a specific group creates needless stress to people, and often disables them from getting to know their true selves and other things they enjoy that are out of that particular subculture. Gothy and spooky things feel very homely to me and I enjoy them immensely, but I do not let them define me. Many goths take their appearances way too seriously and in the process get lost in the cobwebbed world. Strict lines can make the former joy turn into a cage, so let yourself roam free!

As for the term "goth", I see it mostly as a mental quality and a matter of both music and literature, and for most goths the subculture is also about the certain aesthetics. I enjoy all of these. But if you feel like you're a goth although your musical taste or wardrobe doesn't exactly match the subculture, then go ahead! Don't bother your mind with the genre police that patrols out there. :)


Q:What kind of bands/music do you listen to?
Many kinds! You can find some of them by clicking the "lullabies" tag, since it's too much work to list them all up here. To  name some of my favorite bands: the Cure, Jill Tracy, Killing Joke, Tori Amos, Opeth, Clan of Xymox, Covenant, Of the Wand and the Moon, Death in June, Depeche Mode, Skinny Puppy, Danny Elfman, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, NIN, the Cramps... the list is endless.

I never want to narrow down my musical taste just in goth bands, so favorites range from goth to metal and from female singers to classical,  whatever moves my soul.

Q:What kind of literature do you read, and what kind of authors do you prefer? Is there some book that you love, although you wouldn't believe it by looking at your appearance?
I prefer magical realism, fantasy, fairytales and books with surreal undertones, but I also enjoy reading psychology and history. As my favorite authors I could name Neil Gaiman, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, H.P.Lovecraft and Eckhart Tolle, as you have probably noticed, for I like their whole production and they've influenced me in a profound way. 

But there are MANY authors that have one or two good books that have effected on me! Such books as Harry Potter, the Secret History, the Mists of Avalon and Alice's adventures in Wonderland. I also enjoy Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, all that historical romance stuff. :> And I had a major phase of reading the history of women in China and tragic biographies. I have read many many books and the whole lifetime won't be able to give me enough time to read everything I want!


Q: What's your favourite poem?
 Like in all things, I don't have only one special favorite. But I could name a couple of them; Poe's Alone always speaks to me, and Sylvia Plath's Witch Burning. From Finnish poems I've always enjoyed Kaarlo Kramsu's Onneton, my mom read it to me ages ago when I was a kid.


Q: Favorite books, films, bands, and games?
Those are dusted all over this blog. :) 


Q: What's your job?
I'm a graphic design student! But I'm more inclined on the fine arts and illustrations, and I make commissions and prints as a side job.


Q: How did you end up studying graphic design? Have you always loved drawing and art? Could we see more of your work here? :)
I ended up studying this profession by mistake or intuition, I don't know. I thought about keeping a free year between high school and the next level, but ended up in a town I had never been before!
And yes, I've always loved art and drawing and it's felt like the most natural thing for me. Sadly I don't draw nearly as much as I should, I really really should get a grip on myself.

And for the third part of the question: I'd love to show more of my work here, but somehow I feel  self-conscious about my paintings and drawings. But I'll try to show more of my work here from now on. :)


Q: Do you know what kind of job you want to do after your studies?
Yes, I'm aiming to become a freelancer. There's nothing I love to do as much as painting and design, so I'm trying to walk that path in my life. It might take some time and a side job to maintain myself at first, but I'm pretty optimistic. :) I'm going to graduate as a graphic designer but luckily it's a vast area of expertise. I would probably die if I worked in a huge advertising agency or other greedy jobs for a long time, ugh.


Q: What is your favourite era (or eras) in history? 
Victorian era, Edwardian times, baroque, 20's-50's and also a pinch of batcave 80's. Those are favorites, but every era has it's own enchantment.

(artwork by Dan Hillier)

Q: Do you have a historical crush, and if so, who?
I've had loads of fictional crushes, but none from the historical side I'm afraid.


Q: If you could invite any ten people - living, dead or fictional - to a dinner party, who would they be?
This was such a tricky question, it's been rolling in my head all these months! Could I invite 100 people? :') 

It's a vague list, but I think I'd go with Leonardo da Vinci (intelligence and pure awesomeness), Oscar Wilde (wit and humor), Gandalf (badass!), Tim Burton (I'd have some questions, hmm!) Edgar Allan Poe (a pinch of healthy melancholy), Death from the Sandman series (she's a lot of fun! *PEACHY KEEN*), her brother Dream and Neil Gaiman because it would be so much fun to see how he'd react seeing his characters come to life, Batman (well hello Captain Obvious) and Alice, cause it looks sad if there's just one woman there in addition to me and you'd never know what she could come up with. I really can't come up with a good list, it changes all the time!

Q: What was your first touch with horror culture?
Books, I think! I loved my Little Vampire's Diary/Handbook a little too much, my sister still remembers how I screeched like a banshee if anyone dared to approach it!

BLOGS

Q: Have you ever regretted starting a blog? What's the best/the worst thing?
Not really, although there are some not-so-nice sides to it. I love blogging and it has brought so many positive things into my life, but the negativity of some people is just plain weird. I know that every bridge of life has it's own trolls, blogs too, but why waste your life in so much negative energy? You'll only end up poisoning your own psyche. It's also been  pretty disturbing to see my layouts and even posts copied almost entirely, can't really see the point in that. It is completely another thing to get inspired, we all do that, but downright following every step isn't very nice.

I also know that a blog personality can give people some prejudices about me, which is sad. But that depends on the person, and I guess that's not my problem. This blog is just a scratch on the surface, there's always more to the person behind the blog and it would be good to keep that in mind. :)


The best thing is my lovely readers! It always brightens up the day to read such nice comments, I deeply thank you all for them! It's also nice that I can express my creativity this way and possibly inspire people at the same time. Not to mention that blogging is fun! :>



Q: How would you sum up your conclusions about having a well-known blog over these three years? What do you think it makes a successful one? What would you change from it?
It has it's pros and cons, like I mentioned above. But I enjoy it immensely, don't know what else to say!

And about the "success", you'd have to tell me for I do not know. I've never advertised myself or done anything to make this blog grow in popularity. I've just done what I like and I've been myself, so it's nice that people have just found their way here. I'm grateful for every reader and very surprised to have so many too! ♥


Q: I'd like to know about the history of your blog! When did you start? What tips would you give to a starting blogger?
I started over three years ago. I can't give any tips because everyone's blog is unique and people do things very differently, just blog in the way that feels natural to you. :)


Q: Do you read a lot of blogs? What kind of blogs do you prefer?
Yes of course, but I usually just browse through different blogs. It might be surprising that my favourite blogs aren't all regarded as gothic, I like to look at the life and styles of different looking people. Some of my favorites are The Dainty Squid, Nelliinan Vaatehuone, Esme and the laneway, Cosette Munch, Circus Girl, The Freelancer's Fashionblog, Murderotic and Converting Vegetarians. Plus some inspirational darker sites like Haute Macabre and Bloodmilk Jewelry, they're are a must-read for me. 

There's a lot of blogs that I read but it would take me the whole evening to list those so here's just a couple of examples. And sadly, many of my all-time favourite blogs don't exist anymore. 


Q: How do you feel about people nicking your pictures (tumblr, weheartit.com) and often without any credits? Is it flattering or annoying?
Mostly it's ok when there's proper credits, but finding your pics without any credits, used as a profile pic or even completely photoshopped (really, what's up with that people?) is so annoying that "fucking annoying" wouldn't be able to cover it. It's a theft like any other, most people just don't know that or worse, they don't even care. So it's both flattering and annoying! Kudos to all the lovely people who have asked my permission. :)


Q: Where does your nickname "Mothmouth" come from? What's the story behind it...?
You're probably not going to believe this, but I just liked the sound of that word and it stuck on my mind! As far as I know, it doesn't mean anything, but I think I might have spotted it in some distant dream. I do love moths, though.

Q: Would you consider making a video in the future (make up tutorials, vlogs?) 
Consider, yes, but I can't make any promises! I don't usually watch any vlogs since I find them quite boring and the thought of making one feels needlessly stressing. And there's so many tutorials already that I don't feel like I could give anything new to that. 

Yup, I feel like I've been born in the wrong century.

Q: Do you make money with your blog in some way? What do you think of earning by blogging, is writing about your individual tastes and passions to reconcile with making money?

No, I don't make any money from this since I'm not blogging for a site and I don't have adds on my page, but I don't know about the future. I think earning your livelihood through blogging is more than ok, doing something you love for a job sounds great! Keeping a blog, writing it and seeing a lot of trouble to take the pics IS work and it takes a lot of time, but I don't earn money from it. Clothes, sometimes, when I make collaboration posts. I don't see anything bad about that some people do make their living out of this. :)

MISC

Q: Which celebrity female is the most beutiful in your opinion?
Audrey Hepburn & Winona Ryder were the first ones to pop into my mind. They both have a very special, exquisitely beautiful and fairylike face!

Q: Who or what inspires you the most right now?
Vintage photos + spiritism + the Japanese language + snow + the woods

(images fished from google)

Q: Three of my favorite things in the world:

• My loved ones, as in close friends, my wonderful family and of course my spouse. Their support holds me together when I feel like falling apart.
• Animals! I can't even begin to say how much I love them! Owlings, kittens, pugs, wolves, baby belugas, elephants, seals, mouse lemurs, baby sloths... and actually baby everything, except for humans. (Pardon me, but I'm just not very fond of kids.) I adore animals, and they always cheer me up in the darkest hours. I'm officially a junkie for animal youtube videos, and I never want to go to rehab!
• Art, including all of it's fields. When misanthropy is at it's severest, art always makes you feel like that there's still some hope for mankind, that people can create beautiful things.

Q: Your lovestory?
I met my man for the first time under the bridge in Kuopio city, dressed up in pirate costumes. (I'm not kidding!) It was my brother's surprise birthday party (pirate themed, as you already figured out), and I saw this slender, gorgeous guy sliding down the hill and under the bridge. I was seventeen at the time and he was 25, and he went mute when he heard my age later that night, so no budding romance there. But I caught him two years later in another party, in the middle of falling snow and there it begun. < 3


Q: Favorite stores in Helsinki?
All the second hand shops (especially Valtteri, but it's history now :() and vintage shops, Back Street, the Ounce, Academic bookstore, Alko. :D But this is the best sight:

Q: Your summer job in the boneyard. How easy was getting that job? What's the pay like and what exactly do you do there? I'd love to get a job in my local cemetary.
This is a tough one, since I can't really help you with getting the job or the pay. I knew the people working there and got the job very easily through an application, the pay pretty much suckssss here in Finland (but it depend A LOT on your city), and I had various things to attend to at work. Mainly tending the graves, watering the flowers, dusting the church and keeping the cemetery neat, but I also helped the grave digger in his job. So I've had my share of having one foot in the grave. ;) But all I can say is that you'll have to apply to that job and preferably visit the office in person. I hope you get the job! 


Q: What are your hobbies? 
Roller Derby, comics, films, learning things by heart, crafts, dreams, art history, games, music,  vintage, gathering knowledge of the unknown, collecting curiosities.. And of course making art, but that's more like a profession.


Q: What is your favorite fabric? 
Black lace.


Q: What is your favorite season?
Autumn, hands down. I love it from the bottom of the chambers of my heart, which was born in the autumn along with the rest of my body.


Q: I'd like to ask you if you are using social media sites other than blogspot (tumblr, facebook, deviant art etc.) If so, would you mind giving them to us? (I know facebook might be too private, so I 'd expect you not revealing it xD)
Nope, I'm a granny! I just think people consume way too much time in the social media. I don't have the urge of revealing everything, so I don't have all possible accounts. I do have a Deviant art site though, haven't uploaded anything or visited that page for years. I keep my facebook just for people I've met in person and people that I know well, so I won't link it here, sorry. :)


Q: Are you content about your present city, or would you like to move elsewhere?
It's a small but good town and I lead a good life here (thanks to art, friends and roller derby), but my heart does yearn to go elsewhere. I feel like this town will drag me down, like Morrissey would say. My spouse has his dream job here for a while so we aren't able to move away yet, but we will move next year I hope. I'd love to live abroad for a while, I'm dreaming of Scotland.


Q: Why do you prefer to write in English than in Finnish?
I enjoy writing in English more than I do in Finnish. I don't have time or energy to write in both languages anymore, and it's always good to exercise your linguistic skills. :) Finnish is a beautiful language but I don't want to handle it at the moment, I feel like it's lost to me in written form.


Q: Which year were you born in?
188..1989

Q: What's your shoe size? 
UK 4,5 /  EU 37,5 

Q: How tall are you?
I don't know for sure! I tried measuring it, and I'm about 167 cm tall. Not a garden gnome, but that's what I look like when I'm next to my almost gigantically tall boyfriend.. Except when I'm wearing killer heels.

Q: I've always wondered what your first name is :>? 
I thought about not revealing this, but in real life you can call me Maija or Maya. I use both names. :)

Q: Are you still going to do the photo post that you promised a long time ago? I've been waiting for it ever since :'3
The most part of it has already been published inside different posts. :) Some of the requests were too hard to fulfill and I'm still thinking about how to do them because I don't want to let you guys down. But I'll try!

Q: What kind of childhood did you have?
Happy, surrounded with a loving family and books and drawings. Sometimes very lonely too, since girls of my age used to discriminate me for being different and then I rocked shut like shell and played with boys. But generally my childhood was very happy, in the end I just felt loved and secured and I'm forever grateful for that!


Q: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I don't plan my life that far, you never know when you're kicking the bucket so I try to live in the moment as much as I can. But I'm probably travelling in different places,  getting more tattoos and painting, that would be dreamy life. But you can't plan your life beforehand so we'll see how my paths entwine!

Q: Do you have an Instagram account?
Nope, my current phone is from the stone age. :-)

Q: Where have you traveled, and where would you like to go?
France, Scotland, USA, Belgium and Estonia popped in my mind, so I've travelled way too little for my own liking! I'd love to go everywhere, even in North-Korea. I think the next stops will be Germany, England, Japan and some wild card. 

Q: If you'd get a free trip to anywhere right now, where would you go and why?
Kyoto, Japan. My soul yearns to go there right now and always, there's something magical and soothing about those temples and gardens.


Q: What are your pet hates?
I really can't stand extremely stupid and ignorant people, I just can't. Especially when they are aggressive. Even zombies know that brains are a good thing. ;) And some other pet hates: parasites, pollution, poachers, clowns, blue cheese, Tuesdays, Blutengel, Big Brother, people who trash bottles to the ground (these go to the first section I mentioned), junkies, Windom Earle, modern architecture, paperwork, sunburns..


Q: What are some of the things on your bucket list?
Travelling through Japan with a back bag, holding an art exhibition of my own, paint a self-portrait, get a shitload of tattoos, learn to play cello, speak japanese more fluently, move to Madagaskar for a while to help animal conservation (mouse lemurs, here I come!) or some other nature preservation program as a field work, and some other things I don't feel like sharing yet. I have a lot of dreams, or more realistically thinking, goals.

Q: What colours do you use in paintings,and do you use turpentine?
I prefer oil paints, but nowadays I do use acrylics too. And I do use turpentine sometimes, but also flax oil. 


Q: How did you find roller derby? 
From the internet a long time ago, and I founded the team in our town because it didn't exist in here.

Q: Do you have any other sports hobbies than roller derby?
Not really, but occasionally I do enjoy jogging, especially if I'm pissed off. :D

Q: You have photographed your shoes on piano keys. Do you play it, or have you played it?
No, sadly I don't. My brother is an amazingly talented concert pianist so I'll leave that art to him. 

Q: How old are you and what's your dream home like?
I'm 23 years old, and I'd love to live in an old villa, church or mansion, surrounded with a pumpkin patch and crooked apple trees. I'd love to have a lot of light space and dark antique furniture, and cats. And preferably a few secret doors and hidden passages, and perhaps a ghost. Well, a girl can dream!

Q: Do you smoke?
NO.

Q: What are your weaknesses that you'd like to get rid off, and what can't/won't you let go?
I guess I pretty much suck at keeping my timetables in order (you see how long it took to publish these posts? ;)), but that's as much as I want  to reveal. My weaknesses are my own secret and I don't like to distribute them since people always cling on to those. And I think weaknesses can always be beaten!

Q: Do you regard yourself as a morbid person?
I guess you could say that. I enjoy the darker side of life as well as the light side.

Q: What kind of humor do you enjoy?
Black, inappropriate and British. :D I also love peg leg jokes and nerdy puns. You can see me giggling on things most people wouldn't see as funny. Laughter is the salt of life!


Q: Have you ever had pets? What pet would you like to have the most?
We had a cat called Indiana Jones when I was young, may he rest in peace. I'd love to have cats in the house but I just can't. :( And bunnies and pugs would be great, too. ♥ And owls and ravens and black panthers and unicorns and I think this list is starting to get out of hand..

Q: How come you don't own any cats?
I'm allergic, and it's tearing me apart. :'( I'd give anything if only I could take care of a little bundle of fur, it's a great privilege you know.


And the last question!

If you had to marry someone from the following, who would it be?

a) Beetlejuice (In the snake form :D)
b) The small-headed guy from the waiting room from the same film or
c) the tobacco dude from the same waiting room and the same film :D

b) I think! :-D He still has his body left, haha.  I couldn't stand Beetlejuice for long and the tobacco guy isn't really my type either.