I can be myself when everyone I know is dead?: The delightfully dreadful art of Kamila Mlynarczyk

Kamila is a cornucopia of dreadfulness. Her works at once beautiful and terrible, each piece like being tickled by Death’s cold little fingers, every bewitching creation a world I want to know more about. — Brom

Welcome to the mind of Canadian horror-art sensation Kamila Mlynarczyk (better known as @WoodedWoods). Featuring art created between 2017–2019 this art book charts her progression from teaching herself how to draw to creating one-panel illustration art. It also features a chapter on her famous art dolls. Her artist notes and narrative describe her fascinating creative process and many of the inspirations behind her countless creepy, unsettling, yet poignant (and often hilarious) sketches. While the rhyme and reason behind why everyone needs a little snail friend, why cute poops make this world a better place, and why werewolves always hesitate before devouring the sacrificial girl-child can at times simply be chalked-up to mischief, Kamila is truly funny and relatable. To Kamila, nothing fictional can ever be as frightening as reality, and so much of her inspiration comes from the right here and now. She strives to depict the most terrible things in a sympathetic light, and in that way they become more beautiful than reality, more light-hearted than realistically possible, and through their relatability they become cheeky and charming—they become cathartic. 

Features: table of contents, introductions by James O’Barr, creator of The Crow, and Neil Christopher, writer and publisher, photos, sketches, paintings, illustrations, and even on post-it note piece (see if you can spot it!), also contains Kamila's list of things you should read or watch to become well versed in the language of horror.  

Kamila Mlynarczyk is an Ontario-based artist that made a name for herself with her Art Dolls. Her fresh, if gruesome, creations have been showcased internationally and she has garnered a sizeable online following. Kamila has always worked in various mediums, but over the past five years she has been what she terms “re-learning how to draw” and drawing relentlessly. I can be myself when everyone I know is dead... follows her personal and public (through online presence) journey from Art Dolls through re-learning how to draw, to absurd character studies, to completed scenes. Kamila draws inspiration from her life and from reality as nothing fictional can ever frighten us in the same way that reality can. She strives to depict the most terrible things in a sympathetic light, and in that way they become light-hearted, they become cathartic, they become freeing.