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last class ever OR crystal mielcarek finally graduates

so yeah, this week, in two days actually, i walk...
in a cap...
and gown...
across a stage
and someone will hand me...
a fake diploma (since the real one is mailed)

which means.. i am the graduate..
No more school!
well i'm not really that super excited about not attending classes anymore, since i like learning and going to school, i will however continue to learn things on my own as people do... fetus is better than person.

it's four a.m.
i'm sorta hungry since dinner was forever ago now...
and i can't sleep
so i'm contimplating the world...
and commercials...
and the parts of things that i hear as i try to doze off into my ear.

no wonder everyone is screwed up lol.


anyway
my last homework assignment ever
was completed today

lemmie know what you think :)
also
print
available
on etsy

and here is what i think about television:

Cold and flu, murder, terror, Sex, depression, dry skin, indigestion, For a limited time only, low carb, low fat, with whip, award winning, the views and opinions are not those of this network

noel night and other fun

So, i participated in "noel night" this year :)
it was a great experience and i made a bit of money
the shot to the left is my table
i shared with a friend of mine, emily aka vivid
check out her twitter for more info

i didn't sell as many prints as i'd have liked but people were excited and anxious to buy original pieces and charms :)



i think it gives me a better idea what to expect for next time and the next show i decide to do
so now i guess it's time to start looking around for the next event!
i'll keep better posted next time, this was a sudden sort of thing that i hadn't heard about at first and then rushed to participate :)





p.s. senior year is coming to a close
graduation money accepted lol paypal : smushbox@gmail.com
it's been eight long years
and now i'll finally have my BFA in illustration.









now to find a job...

on the other hand...

hello everyone, i hope you had a lovely holiday :)
i spent mine with some friends, ate way to much food and overindulged on turkey (my favorite part of this holiday)

today was setting up my mini table top tree, which looks pretty fab btw, maybe i'll post an image later.

but for now, i'll give you a special peek at my sketchbook. ive been spending a lot of time experimenting with patterns and cute characters. let me know what you think :)

undergoing the near impossible

and loving every moment of it. all of the free time i have is spent working on a very large project. i'm going to revamp and redo all of the cards of the tarot. that means 78 designs and paintings. i'm super excited and thus far it's been mostly fun more than real work.

here is a sampling :)

i just wanted to let everyone know

that, as strange as it may be to complain about, i really despise google's new favicon.

it's a very trivial thing to be upset about, but honestly, i find the new icon an affront to my eyes.
(i found this comparison online to better illustrate, whoever created it, don't kill me)


so honestly, i like the oldest one the best though, eventually i got used to the lower case "g". this new one... sucks.

just had to get that off my chest. thanks for listening.

oh and i just wasted like, 15 minutes driving around to go to a gas station and all of them are closed... i could've swore everything around me was 24 hours... especially speedy-q... oh well, i'll have to take a jaunt tomorrow morning before classes....

prints available on ebay

smushbox on ebay

3 cards for the day

Been fooling around with my tarot deck again, pulling 3 cards a day, this is what i pulled for today. Judgement : letting go of the past & big change, Ace of Cups : Love and desire, Death : One door closes as another opens. Good times.

the truth is out there

Hello everyone!

Here is what's happening in my world:

I spent many hours yesterday updating www.smushbox.net
all of my more current work is now viewable and/or purchasable through my site
i accept paypal and check/money orders
there are prices on some of the paintings
and if there is anything else of interest to anyone make me an offer

i'm working on a few new pieces now, the most current that i've finished is
the pink octopus and he's (hopefully) SOLD

the geisha is also out the door
(thank you sara!)

school starts very soon (sept 9th)
and hopefully i can finish up my last two classes!
and have my BFA

Other than that i'm still truckin! Makin work and looking for work (so hit me up if you have something specific in mind) I've got prints available through me, etsy and cafepress (links available on my site and myspace) feel free to add me on whatever btw

g'nite all!

magazine and new painting

so i guess i'm going to be interviewed for a magazine? lol
i should be getting a call tomorrow from "visit detroit magazine"
for they want to talk to me and do a spot for the
detroit zoo poster competition i won. so that's pretty exciting :D

aside from that
this week has been a busy one
www.smushbox.net will be updated this week with new work
but here is a taste for now

Meth and Hot Dogs

In just a few short days a show i'm participating in is opening! Got my work ready and shipped out in time to St Louis Missouri for "Meth and Hot Dogs" at Cranky Yellow. Special thanks to Kill Taupe for the opportunity to join in on the fun! If you're in the area be sure to check it out! should be fantastic, lots of great artists!





here is one of the pieces i submitted:

i had kind of an evil breakfast thing going on, some of the unfortunate acts that happen to the things we humans destroy and consume :D

i call this piece "are you fucking serious?"

etsy

so, after procrastinating forever since i had to learn a whole new interface i wasn't familiar with, i finally set up my etsy shop. thus far i have a whopping... one print :) but don't worry, i'll get better the more i do it. im doing a limited run (15) of my cheshire cat piece. i'll be getting them printed up on high quality paper, mailing them either in tubes or bubble wrap envelopes if i can find one the size i need. they are 11x17 in size and if you would like more details check out my listing!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade smushbox.etsy.com

say "fuzzy pickles"

so i've been working at a comic shop as a favor for a friend for the holiday and you wouldn't believe the interesting individuals who shop at comic book stores. anyway i also brought myself a super nintendo emulator (also being the holiday, many of the regulars are out of town celebrating so the store is slow and i have all the time in the world for art, video games, internet browsing and comic book reading)

so at home, i've been playing "mother 3" the sequel to "earthbound"
at the comic shop i am replaying "earthbound" for the 100th time :D

so
inspiration struck
and i did this:


now on to link!

Today was the day!

Hello everyone,

haven't updated in a bit, too much crazy going on in life i suppose. i finally hit up the zoo and bought a few of my posters and checked out the show. there were so many more pieces than i remembered. i must say it was great to see my poster up on the advertisements for the show and such and hanging in the zoofari market for sale.

on another note:
i finally got my work down to 323 east in royal oak.
i should be appearing on the website within a few days and my work will be hanging and available for purchase through the gallery for three to six months!

I did five pieces for them this time: hanging bunny, fairytale, dark side of the rainbow, cheshire cat and moon landing.

if you're in the area check it out!

oh and a treat, newest work in progress:

http://www.veoh.com

Watch Supermarket Secrets 1/4 in Faith Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Oh, and i almost forgot

i got a zmail!

still excited about all the zoo stuff
my friend went down there today, i guess the poster is now available in the shop for $3

munny in progress

hmm.. in recent news
i attended the opening at cpop which was fantastic
i'd never been to an opening before
but i think i'd do it again, free beer, lots of artwork, and people everywhere that looked familiar but i just couldn't place where i knew them. don't you just hate it when that happens?

323 east has agreed to show some of my work and
in about a week and a half i'll have stuff there
pretty exciting i'd say
my first bit as a gallery artist, tee hee

and on to today which i spent time sketching and working on painting my munny
progress shot for you

so, no bad news from here.


tomorrow i drop a couple pieces of in the D for the student show at CCS. I got a pretty fab review and i got a whopping seven pieces in the show (be it some are 5x7 but still, a nice lucky number) so excitement ensues as the semester comes to a close. my summer will be full of painting and outdoor activity and hopefully i'll have some amazing ideas to close out my final semester at CCS

after eight years, its about time i graduate, wouldn't you say?

kittens vomit tee shirt now available:

hello friends
it's very late
i finished a painting tonite
and primed my munny

now
i bid you goodnight
with a link
to my cafe press
where you can now get

a
delicious looking

kittens vomit stars and rainbows original tee shirt design

joy!
tell me what's up

smushbox stuff on cafe press

spiders are invading my home

i seriously killed the most gigantic spider today after grabbing a sub from quiznos. as i was about to walk into my home... there it was, blocking the entrance of my doorway. i stopped in my tracks.... trying to come up with a plan of action, any plan would do. i hesitated, stared into it's eyes.... and he stared right back.

this dude was the size of a quarter in body alone... with the legs he had to be like, two inches. still frozen, i begin to panic... i can't live out in the hallway the rest of my life and i cannot be a pussy and call for help, anyone i know lives 15-20 minutes out of the way to just rush over and kill a spider.

so, finally, in a fit of hunger and fear i booked it back to my vehicle. i fumbled with the key for the trunk, cursing under my breath and my delicious mesquite chicken sub slowly getting colder the longer i'm under attack. throwing things left and right i finally come across the can i was looking for... carburetor cleaner. this should do the trick.

end of story. i ate my sub. it was exquisite. then i painted this:
i call it "dark side of the rainbow"
school tomorrow
goodnight cruel world.

munnies and fun things

Today i went on a journey. Not a horribly far distance, just to Lift in Royal Oak Michigan. I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and procured for myself a MUNNY!

I've been wanting to design one as long as i've known about them. I also got myself a delicious Kozik smoking lighter pictured at the right along side of my mini munny and bear.

this will be exciting. i'll be posting process and finals when its done :D
wish me luck on my first vinyl toy endeavor. On a side note, i've stocked up on 70$ worth of canvas, and i'm working my butt off right now trying to be productive. It is always unfortunate when the productivity has to be forced. I think i intimidated myself a bit this week, but today i'm getting back on track :)

New paintings soon - as soon as i borrow or buy a digital camera. Some larger works are in the process as well as some really fun smaller pieces. Most of those will be (hopefully) taken down to 323 east in royal oak soon. I have my review at CCS first, than freedom.

my condolences ...

so, today, at the age of 86, everyone's favorite sassy golden girl, passed away.

I remember as a child enjoying all the old sitcoms; andy griffith, leave it to beaver, and of course, the golden girls. one of the very few memories i have left of my grandmother (she passed when i was very young) was watching the golden girls together.

so to you bea arthur, i say goodbye.

smushbox.net

So, today and yesterday, besides the usual, i spent most of my day in front of my monitor working on revamping my website to add a certain element of professionalism. important stuff. remaining positive and working hard, doing all i can to keep this going.

smushbox.net --- crystal mielcarek illustration

Painting and watching a bit of mindless television besides just to break the website tedium. sometimes you just need to give the old eyes a break from staring at a screen... by staring at another screen i guess. i really need to get myself a digital camera so i can share some love on this here blog and of course, so i can more easily get digital images of some of my bigger pieces.

Putting together separate scanned images just is not my favorite activity i guess.

Lets get some extra zzzz's tonight, interweb

Attention my loyal followers:

I now have my very own shop hosted at
 cafe press!

Please check it out and let me know what you think!  I'm willing to take requests for different shirts and stuff if there is something you'd love to have that's not represented :)

Vintage Lunchboxes

So, here it is. My secret passion. I've been collecting lunchboxes since i was about... fourteen or fifteen i would guess. I had just started high school. Prior to the vintage boxes, i would grab any random one off the shelf at a Meijer and Peel the sticker off so i could decorate it myself. I still have a few of these hand decorated boxes as well, but these are my pride and joy.

above we have a tiny part of a plastic mario box, pac man plastic from the old cartoon, a delicious popples lunchbox, a metal aladdin pac man box from 1980, then the A-team and another popples box.

In this second pic we have: Teddy Ruxpin, the Care Bear Cousins, My little Pony and The Cabbage Patch kids.

I have so many lined on my kitchen cupboards, some are stacked two deep. I rotate now and again to keep things fresh.

Well so much for going to bed. I couldn't help it, i got excited about my lunchbox blog. So now really, one last cigarette and it's off to snooze a bit before class in the morning. Goodnite internet.

so i tell myself to start...

appealing more to the children's book market... and what do i do? lol... well, in other news, i've decided my best bet and first move will be to start submitting to some children's book publishers. my style lends itself well to that market, even though my content and sense of humor will not be appriciated in some aspects of the venue.

it's easy enough for me to censor myself though :) and i've also got the novi comic convention coming up next month, though i dont think i'll be able to afford a table, i will surely be there at least one day to show my work around to publishers. i used to know so many people at the comic cons... when i was 17-20 i would get a table every year, go out with the creators after the show for dinner and parties. it was the life, a geeky life, but fun as hell :)

so yes, tonite, i finally painted on this red canvas i had floating around. i'd started something like this on it, but it wasn't going in the direction i wanted. so here we are, a little rotation and more definition and i'm starting to get somewhere. i'll be finishing this piece up tomorrow or wednesday hopefully, for critique in senior studio on thursday. i also have this great, calm, buddhist looking elephant piece i'm also submitting. quite the contrast it will be.

now that it's three in the morning and i'm beginning to talk like yoda, i think it's time to retire.
though one final note, at the comic convention in novi this year, we have special guest carrie fisher to look forward to! instead of praising her for her role as leia though, i really want to tell her how much i enjoyed her performance in "Drop Dead Fred"

p.p.s. the storm trooper that said "these are not the droids we're looking for" is also gonna be there.

Where the magic happens...

So, i know that when i look at other blogs, or artist websites, being an artist myself it's always interesting seeing other people's work space. The things which one has around to inspire them, it's all very telling. So here it is, a shot of my (recently cleaned up) workspace.

I'm going to post a shot of some of my collectibles as well soon. I'm a big fan of anything vintage, especially cheesy eighties toys and lunchboxes. I have a vast metal Aladdin lunchbox assortment also tons of Pac-man and Mario toys.


So today in the studio i did a small marker drawing in ye old sketchbook. The Disney Cheshire cat in my style. I'll share it with you now:



The day is now done. g'nite

Detroit Zoo Poster Competition

So, last month the illustration department at the College for Creative Studies was approached to do a poster design for the Detroit Zoo. There were 54 submissions, here is mine:I was trying to go for something that would appeal to everyone and had to stray away from my typical sarcasm and humor. I started with the animal designs, then played around with the color fields on the computer - which is again out of my normal element.

Yesterday, the zoo announced the winners: four honorable mentions, a first through fifth place and a best of show - which is the poster to be used and somehow, i took best of show!!:


Now, my poster will be used at the detroit zoo as the official poster, my art becomes part of the zoo's permanent collection and i also received a scholarship!

exciting and wonderful news from my world!

negligence

well, i don't mean to nelglect you blog, but unfortunately, so much stuff has been going on that typing just seems like too much lol. So, here i am. it's time now for me to actually figure stuff out and do something with all of this crazy random art of mine.

this is me and my bunny.
that weird thing in my ear is a bluetooth, and though i hate them, the speaker on my really old ass phone finally committed suicide so if i want to talk to anyone not on speakerphone i'm stuck with it. i also have a really amazing post coming up about how mormon's shouldnt write vampire stories lol. silly stephanie meyers.


for now, that is all

margo

So, after i watched "The Royal Tenembaums" I was inspired to do this little painting in my sketchbook. The movie was pretty decent. I could even look past the fact that Ben Stiller was in it even though he is my mortal enemy (basically i just find him irritating and a lot less than funny). I have so many films to watch right now that trying to keep up is a joke :)

zit completed

sketchbook painting a day - new attempt

new mini art

the worlds happiest mushroom cloud

this is not a tank

cool shit

check this out: chiho aoshima
really fun i <3

help me decide

which of these i should paint for my class as my first project.

so yesterday

i became obsessed with " a whole nother"
honestly think about it
just about everyone says this
just yesterday i exclaimed "i thought i had a whole nother roll!!" refering to paper towel...
suddenly it hit me.
nother isnt a fucking word.

i should have said " i thought i had another whole roll!" or something like that...
so what the heck's up with "nother"?

the moon landing was a fake!!

#47 creation

#61 fairy tale

so

i'm tired and cranky after the holidays lol

here's some art
i'm off to play knights of the old republic and drink beer until i cannot keep my eyes open any longer
oooo and eat some chex mix
and drink some water
and cuddle under a blanket in comfy clothes
yeah
see
i know how to live the fucking life.