5 minute read
Bad Crystal Art by Tara Demers
Interview By Lauren Elizabeth Campbell, Editor-in-Chief
Have you ever wondered what your favorite celebrity would look like if they were poorly drawn on Microsoft Paint? Tara Demers, a digital artist from Dallas, Texas studying at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, holds the answer.
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Her Instagram account @BadCrystalArt takes photos from celebrity Instagram accounts and turns them into bad pieces of art. So bad, they’re actually good, and Demers is the creative genius behind it.
Demers' art has caught the attention of John Mayer, blackbear, the Jonas Brothers, 5 Seconds of Summer, and Jordan McGraw - just to name a few of her most notable admirers. And every day, her account continues to grow.
In addition to running the Bad Crystal Art Instagram account, Demers hosts the podcast Bad Crystal Art Class, which features guest speakers, fun discussions, and life advice. She recently hosted her first Bad Crystal Art event, a digital concert, where she introduced herself personally to her followers and shared live music from handpicked bands and artists. Demers also runs a Bad Crystal Art Twitter account, where she gives inside information about Bad Crystal Art and shares more about herself.
Her Bad Crystal Art merchandise, Bad Crystal Art Collection, is also impeccably branded. Her most notable merchandise brand, Museum of Bad Crystal Art, features her interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa on sweatshirts, t-shirts, and fanny packs. Demers describes her art and what's next for her:
Where did you get the idea to start Bad Crystal Art? Have you always been into the Microsoft Paint-esque style of art?
So originally, there was a Twitter account that was kind of doing something like what I'm doing now. I knew the girl who ran that account, and I thought, "Hey, this is a really fun thing. I should do my own," so I messaged her, and I was like, "Hey would it be cool if I did my own account with my own people?" and she said, "Yeah go for it!" Her account isn't around anymore, but yeah. So I originally started on Twitter. That wasn't getting too much recognition, so I moved to Instagram, and it honestly got a lot more recognition than I thought in a relatively short period. But yeah! I've been into art my whole life. Since I was younger, I would draw with friends and all that, and it's just something that's always been in my life, whether I tried to do good or bad whatever. But it's definitely something that I really enjoy doing!
How would you describe yourself, the mastermind behind Bad Crystal Art?
You know, I don't know. I want to say super down to earth, at least I definitely try to be. I am a fan of so many people, but let's say I did a piece of them, and they happen to see it; I'm not going to freak out because they're just people, you know? This is something that I definitely have learned being a fan of a lot of artists who have seen the work that I've done. They're just normal people like you and me. They're just a different type. But yeah, I definitely try to be down to earth, and I just try to give back the support to the people who continuously support and love me.
You've been making and posting Bad Crystal Art since February of 2019 and just reached 5,000 posts on Instagram - meaning you've made 5,000 different pieces of Bad Crystal Art. How long does it take you to make each piece?
Yes, I did just hit 5000 posts! It depends on the detail in each picture, but I want to say maybe 15 to 20 minutes per piece. I think I try to crack out 5 to 10 a day if I'm not too busy.
How do you choose which images to turn into Bad Crystal Art?
I don't really have a specific way of how I choose. I think it's more I see a picture of somebody that I follow or something that I like, and I think, "Oh, this would be really funny as bad art," so I'll screenshot it, save it, and it's basically just kind of like that. I have so many pictures in my camera roll of people that I still have to do that I found, and some pictures are probably like a month old, so when I finally get around to it, people might be like, dang, this picture was a while ago hahaha, but they always love it!
How does it feel to have people like John Mayer reposting your art and interacting with your account?
Super, super surreal; If I told my 15-16- year-old self, granted I'm only 19 - almost 20, that I would have John Mayer, the Jonas Brothers - who were my childhood, and a bunch more know my account. I definitely would not believe myself. It's insane to say that these people have seen my art, followed my account, and just recognize it for what it is. I don't know how to describe it. I guess it's just super insane. Again, I never would've thought that would happen, especially not when I started this account with 100 followers. And now it's at almost 7,000 followers, which I know is not a lot still, but I'm just super grateful, and I always step back and look at my life and all the opportunities that I've had celebrities that I've direct messaged with. Just super, super insane. And again, I know those people are just people, but I have to step back sometimes and take a look at what I've created with my art and all the love that it gets.
On August 26th, you hosted "Meet Bad Crystal Art," an online concert event featuring performances from Mae Krell, Hotel Fiction, and Mikey Ferrari. Can fans expect more music collaborations with Bad Crystal Art in the future?
I did; yes, it was super, super fun. Granted, it was my first time hosting a virtual event like that myself, so it's kind of weird at first trying to get it all together, and honestly, it was a spur of the moment thing. My friend who works where I held it, Applause, which is something through Zoom, told me about it. I immediately was like, "Okay, I need to do something with this; this is an awesome thing," so I reached out to all the artists. They were all super down, but I think maybe I'll eventually do an in-person thing, but yeah, I'll definitely do another event like this and a lot more music collaborations.
