Today we’d like to introduce you to Ji Park.
Ji, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was little, I was a kid who didn’t stand out. I looked too much like everyone else. I was sad that I wasn’t special. So when I met art and learned about the star artists, I believed that becoming like them would do a trick for me. The magic that I was looking for, and something that will turn me into someone whos more than “normal”. So I started to chase that dream without looking back.
I left my hometown to learn from better studios and left my country when I got accepted to Art school. I had to say goodbye to my old friends and my family, but I didn’t care much. There was a future in front of me. But somehow I started to feel the emptiness, so I guessed it was because I wasn’t achieving enough. So I applied to the school where I believed was better than the one I was attending. I left New York again and finally arrived in California. I was happy, hyped. Beliving now my future is promised. I was going to be an amazing artist who gets paid well and be loved by everyone. Everything looked good. I had a caring boyfriend, studying what I want with instructers from an amazing school. However, the hollow feeling was not getting any better. It got so much worse it was breaking me down.
Few bridges were burnt, several nights I spent in agony, and countless hours I was sitting in front of the desk, crying. I kept asking my self if I am good enough to be a useful person. Every work I created were terrible. And then one day, I realized that I can’t push forward anymore and looked back. I decided to stop pretending. Stop pretending as if I know what I am doing. I opened up about this to my parents and admitted to them about my fear. Then I realized that I was chasing the wrong dream. The dream that would force me to do things that I couldn’t tolerate. Once I accepted that I was wrong, everything changed.
I started drawing simple things again. Things I loved in LA. Just five sketches and an hour practice a day, besides school. This was to practice to love art again. Now I am trying to establish my place as an artist, who simply delivers drawings that people can enjoy. That’s how I started my life as an artist: Monaji.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was not a smooth road. Everything was confusing because I didn’t have a mindset of a business person. I had no idea what people seek from artists, nor how to manage my name value. It still is the biggest challenge for me.
To overcome this, I had to ask. As much as I could. Asked a lot, watched a lot, and learned a lot. Because no one would tell me about these.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Monaji story. Tell us more about the business.
Monaji is an individual artist who draws women across the world. As a female artist, I run into so many different shapes of women, both physically and intellectually. I want my arts to inspire other females to feel comfortable about themselves by getting connected with others through my art. With the purpose, I believe that “girls of Monaji” can be special.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Funny enough, but the parts that I believed was good luck turned out to be the nightmare I had to live in. But what I believed was bad luck always gave me a lesson to learn so much, which can be seen as “good luck”. I guess one of the most impactful “good luck” was to experience toxicity of goal-driven lifestyle, which eventually led me to stop and rethink about the career path. Thanks to the unfortunate memory, I am pursuing a different life, which I am happy with.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monajigirls/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Eric Ng: Photography
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