CURRENT MISSION

I have traveled thousands of miles through North America as an itinerant artist (see website for details: www.jimmott.com). I may try venturing into Europe, especially places with a seacoast (e.g., Ireland, the Mediterranean, etc). I usually arrange my "stops" far in advance, but sometimes I would like to find a friendly place to stay more spontaneously.

ABOUT ME

I usually like to stay at home in a familiar setting, but occasionally I hit the road for the sake of making a journey -- to see some special place or just to see what happens. Usually this is through my Itinerant Artist Project, which is described at www.jimmott.com (and which I was using to trade art for hospitality with strangers before Couch Surfing started!).

PHILOSOPHY

I have not figured this out yet. But kindness, curiosity and wonder figure highly.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am fairly new to Couch Surfing but have many years of experience with being a traveling artist -- and some good press for my efforts (see jimmott.com).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I did an art tour in 2011 wherein I stayed with couchsurfing hosts most of the time. It was in many ways better than setting up an itinerary way ahead of time, and I liked that the people I met were so friendly and generous -- not necessarily expecting me to make them a painting, which made the meetings more relaxed (I still made little paintings for them if I had time).

Interests

art, nature, people, ideas...

• arts
• traveling
• nature
• reading non-fiction

Music, Movies, and Books

the Gift, by Lewis Hyde; the Odyssey; Death Comes to the Archbishop, by Willa Cather. An Interrupted Life, by Etty Hillesum; A Brief History of Nearly everything, by Bill Bryson; Ghostbread, by Sonja Livingston, etc. Richard Thompson music... among many many others.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traded art for a speeding ticket in Montana.

Teach, Learn, Share

sketching, drawing, painting, journaling

What I Can Share with Hosts

stories from the road (17 months of Itinerant Artist project tours in 17 yrs.), art, interest in surroundings, interest in the depth of things

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States