Art iz kewl

Q:Hi Karly! Hope you're doing well and everything. I've been in a grad program lately that's allowed me to really embrace creative work through my jobs. It's been really cool to be able to experiment and output stuff more in my personal (I actually made something Wednesday themed that I might send over one day) and work life. The one problem is its become too cool and its all I can think about even over my homework. I came here to learn how to do one, highly-technical thing and now can't fathom a future where I'm not creating. My question to you is how did you know that this was the path for you and that you should lean into your art?

A: Your situation sounds very different than anything I have experienced so I’m not sure I have much advice to give….

But I can say in my situation that i have prioritized my art over everything… school, career, social life. It was the only thing I wanted to do and luckily eventually it was my career and became the foundation of much of my current social life (although I still prioritize making shit over seeing people lol)

I have other advise kinda in this vein in the productivity tag on this page if you wanna check it out. Just click “productivity” on the bottom of this post.

structurin' time

Q: Hey karly,

Wanted 2 start off and say that the way you live n rock is an inspo to me (from ur website to ur art to ur knack for decor) makes me want to lifemaxx. That being said, i do a lot of different stuff like you (guitar, sewing, reading/writing and drawing mainly) but it's really hard to find the time to do all of that especially now that I work full time :( When i play guitar i think about my sewing projects, when i draw i think about the book im reading, la di da the list goes on. I find it hard to stay present in my hobbies and a lot of stuff remains unfinished. How do u go about splitting up your time and interests and staying present in one interest long enough to make something that you're proud of or feel like its accurately expressing yourself? Thanx :) <3

A: Okay, well to be honest I’ve never had a commitment like full time job other than school. When I did work outside of music I only worked part-time in retail or food service. So it’s a little hard for me to relate to ur specific experience!! But I’ll try my best to answer your question regardless.

With writing I used to structure that time very regimented…. no matter what, at some point in the day I sit and dedicate how ever long to writing 20 lines of potential lyrics. Sometimes it doesn’t create anything good enough to use in the song but what matters is you worked that muscle for the day.

The rest of my shit i just do when I feel the call. I sew when I wanna zone out and listen to music or watch TV while I do it. It’s my “multitasking” thing that helps me feel like I’m still being productive even when I wanna veg out. It’s nice to have at least one hobby that you can do to get in a flow state without having to think about it. Knitting or sewing accomplishes this real easy. Drawing or something might work for you too. Coding or adding to my website has accomplished this as well for me recently!

But yeah, basically since I have free time any time i’m not on tour now I wake up and if I feel like writing, I write, if I feel like sewing I sew etc. I can tell pretty immediately what I wanna do based on the weather. Extreme cold, hot or rainy I’m more inclined to stay inside and work on visual art or mess around on guitar. I like to write outside on nice days, or go out to write. And if you’re in the mood for none of those things, it’s good to be around friends or go on a walk or read. As little time as I can spend vegging out without any sort of supplementary thing I usually avoid. It’s gotten 17 bajillion times easier since getting off socials. But I know not everyone can really do that.

Now how to do this with a full time job…? No idea sry. I wish I had better advice for that.

As far as your problem with being unable to devote your attention to one thing at a time, I think thats not always a bad thing. Transitioning between one thing and another when you feel like it is something you’re allowed to do! It always helps to not be so hard on yourself, or not going in already comparing your work to other peoples work. Maybe pick one thing rn to really dedicate yourself to a little bit everyday, the thing you most want finished pieces for, and try to do that everyday. Then do the others when you try to work on that thing but needed a break.

Hope this is helpful!