Civil Rights

Thanks MLK, Malcolm X, and all the other courageous people who fought the odds. You're cool.

That aside, my life has been NUTS.
Stark moved in. Let's just say that his old house was unfit for living and he moved in with me and my folks. Not only am I amazingly happy to have him around all the time (more happy that we're not sick of each other!) but I think he's a lot happier not living in that old memory-prison. My tiny room is more cramped than ever, but I don't mind it really. Stark is my other half. I'm willing to compromise some of my "precious" space previously occupied by my "precious" things. (My "Donate to Value Village" bag is overflowing...)
Next year I'm leaving for college. Probably at Western Washington University. Small, cute, liberal, artsy, (hopefully) cheap rent. Tuition shouldn't be an issue, books I can find cheap, it's just the cost of living that is worrying me. Also, more heart-wrenching, Stark. Can't afford school and the job market isn't his friend. I'm worried he cannot come with me and we'd be separated by 2 hours of highway driving... One night, though, at a moment of strain, he reassured me that he will follow me anywhere. I believe he will.


On a more fun note, I have bought myself a mountain horned dragon. Because of the guys at my petstore calling him "Joe Montana", we have called him Jomo. It's punchy, cute, and perfect for him! I am coming to find that animals have a more spiritual effect on me than ever before. An example... last night I spilled hot beeswax all over my sketchbook and rug, ruining the better part of both. I was upset. But holding Jomo and seeing his beautiful little mug, his skinny legs, the undeniable life that ran through him, the un-human qualities of a different sort of living being... I couldn't be upset. Especially after he jumped from my hand and onto my shoulder. Feeling, holding another creature has a meditative effect. I can't focus on anything but them, they're my responsibility and I have to keep them safe. "That which you tame you owe your life." Animals are always going to be a major part of my life. Always.

That is all at the moment, work is soon.

What I'm Doing

Hello, all!
In the life of Maranda, things are looking up at last. I've told my parents of my plans to finish my first half of college and then move into my boyfriend's house in order to take a year off and build a portfolio for an art school. (I'm thinking Digipen now, sound cool? yeah!) They don't seem keen on it, but I feel better with them knowing the truth. If it's anything I hate it's keeping things that are important in my life from the ones I love. It drives me insane!
That aside, I'm also very excited about school. My classes are about as liberal-artsy as you can get. Yoga, poetry, design, and French. Whooo, man, you definitely can't tell what I'M majoring in, eh?
In my world of art, things are going as usual. I'm working on some new stuff for an art show on the 25th. Here's one! Left my camera at Stark's, so here's a really disappointing webcam shot. Oh well, it's not even done. Here ya go anyway!


It started as "I have nothing to do while Stark plays a card game, so um... here's a bird I guess. Whoah yeah let's paint it!" Most of my best pieces start out with little to no planning and evolve as they're done. Hopefully this one's no exception.
I'm also working on another crazy collage dead animal sculpture. People seem to like them for some reason. :D The link is Tally, my first one. I still need to upload Furlough and Agatha. For another day!
Best of all, this news comes to you with great joy.
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pause for dramatic effect...
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I QUIT THE DELI JOB!
Yes indeed! I worked my little tail off and got two interviews: one at a pet store and one at a craft store: two places I adore to be. The pet store gave me a job first so that is where I am headed to. I'm a dog bather. =D Well, starting in October anyway. The location is perfect, the hours work, and I get to spend all day with dogs. It's a win, win, win, win, and possibly win situation.

So that is where I stand and I promise to have some new art updates up soon. Thanks a bunch for reading. :3

It's Been a While

Hello, what readers I still may (or may not) have.
I hate to keep posting these "I'm too busy lately to blog", but I'm afraid that's what this is. :( Stark and I have been working overtime on our large order of Dice Sprites, school is starting on the 20th, and on the 25th I still have that art festival (which I am very excited for). I've got my work cut out for me this coming month. Not to mention actual work! My deli job is still crap, but at least I'm growing calluses. After a slight emotional breakdown one day, ever since then I've been harder to bother and my hide's grown in thickness (not including that incident with cold, smelly chicken grease... almost barfed, lol).
That aside, I'm hanging in there. I'm living in the moment and getting through each day trying to stay stress-free. In a year, I have no idea where I'll be. In a week, I don't know. Heck, I don't even know the plan for tomorrow. It's a bit disheartening, in a way, but I must keep reminding myself that I'll always have the three things that are most important to me. The people I surround myself with (Stark, parents, friends), my art, and the company of animals. As long as I have those (and the living necessities, of course) I'll be fine no matter what I'm doing or where I'm living. It's a constant effort to remind myself of this fact. I'm going to believe Stark when he tells me that I am strong and capable, and I'll overcome everything that comes in my way.
That's basically all I have to say at this point, but even if you didn't read it, here's a screenshot of something I'm working on on-and-off.

There Will Come a Day When We Transcend Our Pain

...until that day, take it easy on yourself.
--Weezer

Hello, readers!
Many things to tell you and little time to do it. To make things short I shall count the ways. (Somehow I am reminded of Rodger Rabbit at this moment. One one thousand, two one thousand...) Anyway.

•My partner in crime Stark and I have turned Dice Sprites from a cute hobby to a serious money-maker. Conventions, super-intense crafting sessions, and a fridge full of food are in our future. But best of all I get to see him giddy with artistic inspiration because of his newfound passion: sculpting. Art is meant to be shared and I am happiest when I see his eyes light up with a new idea or when he hugs me tight exclaiming his excitement for our future.
•I still don't have my own computer. I'm coping well borrowing Stark's laptop and mom and dad's super-fancy desktop.
•I went to DragonFlight convention in Bellevue this past weekend and made a lot of new Sprites, which I shall share presently. Many thanks to my good friends Jean and Rob for the table space.
•Lastly: I will no longer be known as Kirai. Kirai was the name I used when I drew Anime fanart. Now I am just Maranda Cromwell, comfortable with my true identity. To be completely honest, the name Kirai never sat right with me. I always assumed it because I was "stuck" with it when I decided to sign my art with it when I was 14. It means "hate" in Japanese. At this stage in my life I am over hate and I am over trying to fit into a niche that I don't fit into. I'm giving up my facade and using my real name: my real self.


And now, Sprites!



















See? We've been busy. If you want to learn the stories of all the Sprites seen here and a sad incident with a Fumble Monster, click here to visit the Facebook album.

There is other news, but for now I will keep it at this. I will be busy changing everything from Maranda "Kirai" Cromwell to just Maranda Cromwell.
Thank you again for reading. :3

Long Awaited

Lately I've been struggling with attempting to work on my art so I might be able to quit my terrible job. Recent events have led me to instead resolve to basically tough it out and stop being such a whiner.
That aside, Stark and I have been making boo-koo Dice Sprites and even have a spot in a nearby town's art festival in September. We've got our work cut out for us, but I am quite excited for it. An art career while working AND attending college is going to be quite an undertaking, but I have to make myself believe that I can do it.

And with that, I leave you with a crazy monster drawn on the back of my paycheck with a ballpoint pen.

Good News Bears

It's always a delightful feeling when
A) your fingers smell like fresh lavender
B) your boyfriend is coming home soon from a long trip
C) you got some new awesome things at the thrift store
and D) you earned 3x as much money selling art and manning a booth than one week's work at your crappy real job.
This is what I am going through now and I couldn't be happier. (Ok, well, it would be nice if my boyfriend was home NOW, but he's having fun and coming home soon anyway. <3)


Cornucopia Days was a huge success, if you hadn't gathered that already!
I had a lot of fun hanging out with Sandy and my friends who popped by to visit. Also, Chubby Kitten was my wingman the whole weekend. Here he is watching my purse while I grub out on ice cream. He fits perfectly inside my folding chair's cup holder.

Something else happened this weekend, too: and by "something" I do not mean "watching Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas twice in 3 days", but it is rather along the lines of "a gift that made me feel more amazing than any gift has".
An old scraggly looking guy with missing front teeth bought one of my prints. He was cordial and polite and I liked him, even though he looked like a drugged-out ex-hippie who played wild-stringed guitars on the sidewalk. After he bought my print he left and came back a short while later with a little plastic bag.
"Here, a gift for you. Some of my art."
Inside was a black leather belt. Simple, stiff, with an unassuming silver buckle. But on the other side...
I nearly cried. This guy, a perfect stranger, went out of his way to not only support my art but also gift me this wonderful, touching message. It's people like him that reassure me that there are good people left in the world.

I'm extremely grateful to be surrounded by such interesting, kind, generous, fun, and loving people. This weekend also marks a huge step in my quest to become free from my job at the deli and another step towards my budding art business. I'm excited for the rest of my life.

Dice Sprites

An update on my newest set of critters: Dice Sprites!
Here is a little blurb about them.

Since the Dawn of Time (or at least the Dawn of Dice-Based Role Playing Games) people have had their own personal type of luck. Some people have rotten luck, some people have awesome luck, and some people swear that their luck has attention deficit disorder. Only recently have we discovered that luck actually has a physical form: Dice Sprites. When you roll a dice for the first time, your Dice Sprite is sprung into existence. From then on he/she develops their own personality, colors, body shape, and attitude. They stay with you and govern your dice rolls as they see fit. Some Dice Sprites even adopt their humans's attitudes toward gaming itself. It is not uncommon that Dice Sprites start becoming little embodiments of their humans's gaming essence. Like humans, every Dice Sprite is different. They will forever remain our cute little imps of luck for as long as there is a game which involves dice rolling.

And here they are, all four of them thus far.





They will be for sale soon! Stay tuned. My Etsy shop will be my next major endeavor. I plan to fill it with all sorts of fun things, like the Dice Sprites, artist trading cards, prints, dyed bandannas, jewelry... ah. I often daydream about being an entirely self-sufficient artist. Someday that day will come. Unitl then, I'll keep making Dice Sprites!

New Design, New Purpose

Hello all! These new blog designs are quite stylish, don't you agree? But that is not all I have to say!


As you may or may not know, I work in a deli. A corporate grocery store chain's deli. I fry food, mix salads, toss garbage, sweep, mop, wipe up meat juice, deal with my intolerable manager, and up-sell crappy food to customers (among other unsavory things). I have to have this job to save money for when I move out of the house to live on my own and go to a four-year university. I appreciate the fact that I am paid and have a job, all the same, but in the end this job is grating on my sanity. Every day I dread going in to work, and that sort of negativity is never healthy for any mind. At this point it's not hard to admit I'm complaining: I really do not like my job and I miss the freedom that came with being unemployed. I feel that any other sort of retail or grunt-work job would be better (what could be worse than hot oil burns and waste-food-dishwater-soup?). But why settle for that when I have artistic gifts at my fingertips? I can paint, draw, sew, sculpt, and design! Therefore, I am seeking alternative employment to replace my current, disgusting job. And by alternative employment, I mean Etsy craft selling and art galleries.
So far I have written my plans in a well organized list. Materials shopping list, action plans, costs, product ideas, etc. Doing this will hopefully do a few things.
A) Earn money
B) Improve my self-promotion drive (ya gotta have it in order to be a freelance anything)
C) Give me more to blog about!

So, wish me luck. This will take all of my determination. I want this very badly, though, and it will be good for me as well! Good for my future, my present, and most of all: good for my mental health. I can do this. I need this!