Empty houses are no longer lonely

all pictures were made by Cari-Ann 

At the very start of the Wayward project one of our ideas was to interview inspiring people who do something creative, endearing, brave or weird. I made a list of people who inspired me to get away from my computer to do more fun and creative things. Cari-Ann was on top of that list. I have been a huge fan of her for a few years now. And if you haven’t seen her pictures yet, hurry over to her Flickr and say hi.

Cari Ann is sweet and wild and full of talent. She says the life she is actually living is the inspiration for her dreams instead of the other way around. Trespassing abandoned places, visiting lonely houses. She brings them to life for a short while with her pictures.

We asked her a few questions to get to know the girl behind the pictures a bit better.

What do you think is the best thing about being you? This could be anything, something about your character or looks or talents that you think makes it amazing to be you.

Oh gosh I don't know really.  I'm not a very confident person, but I do really enjoy my life and the fact that I'm able to travel and explore as much as I do.  I feel very lucky for that.  Not a lot of people are able to do that, and it's not that I have the financial means to do so, exactly, but I'm really happy that I make seeing the world my number one priority.  I know that when I'm old I'll never regret it.

If you are sad, what do you do to make yourself happy?

Going for a walk outside always cheers me up, or playing Pokemon! haha. Talking to and spending time with my boyfriend.

What do you do to get inspired?

Being somewhere new, especially an abandoned place, really inspires me.  Just breaking out from routine.  Staying off the internet and away from stuff like that helps too.

Do you have recurring dreams? Have you ever used a dream as inspiration for a picture?

Not recurring scenarios, really, but all my dreams occur in the same world, I guess, if that makes sense.  Like, if I have a dream about a school, it always is the same school --or any kind of building or town or whatever.  Like, the city in my dreams is all made of rollercoaster-roads on really skinny stilts way up in the sky.  And there's tons of abandoned stuff and all the houses are overgrown with vines and plants.  I have a hard time remembering my dreams after I wake up, so they're not really inspiration for pictures.  But maybe it's sortof like my real life is inspiration for things in dreams.

What is your favourite colour?

Oooh. I like color combinations more than colors by themselves.  Or a color will be my favorite in a specific context.

I read you like Pokemon and you took some pictures with a Poké Ball :) What is your most favourite Pokemon?

Ahh!  Eevee and all the evolutions.  Or Charmander.  Or Vulpix.  Or Ninetails.  Or Mew!  Or Dratini/Dragonair/Dragonite.

What animal, a real one or a fantasy animal, are you most like?

Umm. People have told me a fox, a deer.. Maybe a moth? I like moths.

What are your favourite lyrics at the moment?

Oh man I don't know.  I really like the things written about in songs by Lucero.  Or Drive-By Truckers.  Deer Tick, too.  Dang, I don't know, my computer crashed so I haven't had any music available in awhile.

What places are on your list to travel to and explore?

Pripyat in the Ukraine, Gunkanjima in Japan, the abandoned Six Flags in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama.. I love the deep south. Russia.  French Polynesia.  Anywhere, everywhere.

Have you ever travelled alone? Would you?

To visit someone, I have.  And sure.

What is the bravest thing you have ever done?

Ohh I don't know.  I don't know if I consider anything I do brave, really, because it's not so scary to me.  Well it is kindof, I guess, because getting caught breaking into a place would be terrible, ha.  But scarier things are like.. being in public with lots of people, or having to interact with people at school or at a job.  That's way scary for some reason.

Are you an introvert of an extrovert? Do you know what your personality type according to this test is?

That test says I'm INFP, which makes sense I guess!  But yeah introverted definitely I think, I get really nervous being around people even if they are my friends, or even if I'm just talking to someone online, ha.  I'm really paranoid, I think everyone thinks poorly of me for some reason.  But I really like most people, I just get scared kindof I guess.

Is it true that you were a feral child who didn't speak until they were like10?

Haha well i wasn't feral. but i didn't speak until age 12
I had what's called selective mutism, which basically (obviously) means I chose not to speak, especially in social situations, even though I knew how to speak.  I thought I was a cat and would meow sometimes, haha, but I didn't talk.  I don't remember why and I don't remember why I started talking either.  I wish I could provide more information about it, but that's all I really know!

If you want to see more of Cari-Ann you can find her here, here, here, here and here and she was recently featured in this amazing zine. She also answers a lot of questions you might have on her Formspring.