User:Miyenganishikwe Neesa

I'm new to the furry community (though I've heard of it at least as far back as the early nineties). I usually go by the nickname of albus_draconis; it's a male name, I realize, but I didn't want to go by "alba". In any case, it means the same thing; white dragon- a reference to my fursona.

I was born in 1968, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I drew my name from the Cree and Seneca languages; Coyote-Woman Wintermoon. I don't speak either language, unfortunately, but I do claim a smallish amount of ancestry from the Innu tribe of the Cree people (my mother's tribe). Because of this, I trace some my interest in humanoform animals to my people's history/mythology (the rest derives from D&D, various fantasy novels, erotic comics such as Xenophile; by Phil Foglio, and my own warped imagination), which is rich in an animal-based mythology and religious practice.

I haven't yet created a character in any of the available gaming-communities, as this isn't my primary interest, at the moment.

I (way too many I's, here), consider myself to be a herpephile, having loved and collected dragons for over half of my life. My preferred furry persona (fursona?) is of a blue-eyed, white dragon with a long mane of silver-white hair, though I have a strong attachment to wolves and coyotes, as is evidenced by my name. I am currently working on a design for my first fursuit (should that be skinsuit?); I have most of the needed materials, but I'm wondering where I can acquire some wig-hair of a suitable length (at least 12 inches long) and colour.

I am an artist, preferring to work in fibre, cloth, clays, paint and silver wire. I'm mostly self-taught, but I did take courses at the University of Manitoba, getting a Certificate in Apparel Design. I've participated in other projects, such as the now-defunct Gallery of Life, a co-op of artists in a variety of media. Sadly, due to lack of funds to keep it running, the Gallery closed in 1996.

During the year of 2006, I volunteered at the Manitoba Museum as an illustrator for their archeology department. The works I did for them will be published in a book of scholarly papers by eminent archeologists and anthropologists- it will probably be read by maybe a hundred people. Hopefully, I'll get a copy- I was promised one.

This is still an extremely new medium for me, this on-line stuff, and I'm still in the process of learning how all of this works.

I regularly attend local science-fiction conventions (I'm unable to travel, at the moment; no car), most notably, Keycon (now in it's twenty-fourth year, and my twenty-ninth convention). I would jump at the chance to attend a furry-related Con, if it's within a reachable distance.

As for hobbies, I have many; I'm a bibliophile, in that I collect books of all sorts; from dictionaries and language-primers, to science-fiction novels, to books on anatomy and biology. Actually, I'm a collector of many things, few really connected to the world of collectibles or media-related merchandising (no interest in those kinds of things), but I do tend to gather a largish hoard of anything that grabs my interest. I like shiny things- so jewelry is up there (I weed it out regularly, to keep it from taking over my bathroom). There is my dragon collection, bone collection, feathers, fabric, funky rocks. There are also too many books, weird deco items and seeds for my garden.

So, the hoarding instinct of the dragon is definitely there! Pity the poor nit who tries to toss something out; "but I might use that!" (rawr, slash)

I dread whenever I have to move; I have to purge my stuff and go through it all to at least make an attempt at lightening the load. I hate moving.

Other hobbies include; gardening, costume-design, jewelry design, fiction-writing, dance (belly and pow-wow; haven't done much of this recently, due to bad knees), and LARP.

Anyway, looking to learn more about the furry crowd, their habits, etiquette, and if any are in Winnipeg, etc.