Take a step into Happy Sarcastic‘s rainbow world of colourful graphics. Emilie Michel from Toronto, is the person behind this mysterious pseudonym. Her work has a distinctive holographic feel to it, with a mix of translucent geometrical forms and minimalist line drawings. In this interview, find out a little more about her artistic influences, music taste and her dream collaborations, amongst many other interesting facts.
Emilie Michel aka Happy Sarcastic at her desk
How did you find miPic?
I first discovered miPic through Instagram. 83Oranges shared photos of products they had printed through miPic, and I thought it would be fun to print/sell my own designs.
How did you come up with your artist name?
This is actually kind of a silly story. About 5 years ago, one of my very good friends made me an Instagram account without me knowing – she would sneak pictures of me when I was wearing really loud or funky pants, and she made my username : girlinthecrazypants. I had no clue haha. Up until then, I didn’t really have an interest in joining Instagram, but once I found out I had an account, I figured why not keep it. The only thing was that I wanted to change the handle my friend had chosen, so I enlisted her help and we went back and forth all night trying to think of a new one. Eventually, I think she used a band name generator that came up with Happy Sarcastic – and I loved it, so it stuck haha.
Who are artistic references/influences?
Baugasm has been one of my largest influences this past year. He is incredibly talented, and I’ve taken all of his SkillShare tutorials, which were extremely helpful and I highly recommend! I also very much admire all the ladies at Kastor and Pollux – a creative agency based in Toronto, CA. I love their style and have been following them for quite some time now, and I truly admire all of their creative projects.
Where do you feel most inspired to create your work?
I would have to say my apartment. I enjoy having a space to myself when I’m working, and I certainly love the occasional distractions from my cat, Steve French.
What is your favourite social platform?
Instagram is my favourite social platform, for sure. Not only do I use it as my primary platform for sharing my designs, but I’ve also made connections with other artists/designers/photographers from around the world who have provided me with an immense amount of support and a strong sense of community.
Which of your pieces is most meaningful to you and what’s the story behind it?
I’m not sure if I can decide on a singular piece that’s the most meaningful to me; I find each of my pieces meaningful in different ways. If I could choose a whole series, I would choose my Design a Day Challenge series. This is a challenge I undertook in July where I design a poster every day for 365 days. This challenge has pushed me creatively, and I love to see my progression in skills and style over the course of the past few months.
Who do you dream to collaborate with?
There are so many artists out there right now that I dream to collaborate with, it’s hard to decide on a single one. I would love the opportunity to work with people in all mediums – such as film, fashion, music, etc. Any collaboration sounds great to me.
Is creating art / taking photos your full time job? If not, what do you do 9 till 5?
Yup! I’m a full time freelance graphic designer based in Toronto, CA.
Who else do you admire on miPic?
I admire: GaelleCinnamon, leftfield_corn, and RosaPicnic. I love their styles – They’re completely unique and so beautifully imaginative.
What music are you listening too right now?
I recently discovered Khruangbin and have them playing on repeat.
If you could have dinner with someone from a different lifetime, who would it be?
Janis Joplin – I feel like it’d be a lot of fun.
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