Life After Burnout with Katie Mai 🎨
Plus: You're invited to a full day of storytelling
blog.fifty-eight // One of my favorite things I've done since moving back to Chicago is go to storytelling nights.
These gatherings are a chance to laugh, cry, and oftentimes realize that the best orator in town might just be your next-door neighbor.
We all have a story to tell, whether personally, professionally, or otherwise. But in order to figure out what makes our stories truly tick, we sometimes need just a little bit of good feedback—and a push in the right direction.
That’s why we teamed up with Colleen Yu to bring her “Let’s Ripple” event series to Chicago. We're hosting 80+ creators, artists, writers, and filmmakers for a day of:
Instruction from an award-winning storytelling professional
A no-phones, getting-back-to-the-basics approach to writing
Breakout group feedback and opportunities to share your story
Our promise: You’ll leave the event not only with a great story to tell, but also a new friend (or two or three). To top it off, we’ll have a catered lunch, on-site media team, and live musical performance from a secret artist 🎶
Interested? Tickets just went live—and between now and next Thursday (or until sold out), Creator Mag readers get 15% off when using code “THEBLOG” at checkout.
We hope to see you there! In the meantime, scroll down for Moy’s conversation with artist and illustrator Katie Mai.
— NGL
P.S. Last blog, we wrote about balancing deep thoughts on the Internet with the simple nature of a good catch-up call. You can read it here.
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Katie Mai is an illustrator and creator based in Philadelphia, PA. Whether it’s painting a couple of moles in love (yes, the animal) or collaborating with Target for the Lunar New Year, Katie documents her journey from her artist studio in Philly.
The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Moy Zhong: Hi Katie! First question—what was your biggest win of 2024?
Katie Mai: I did a lot of self-reflecting, and I really figured out what works for me and what doesn't. Creatively, and also in my business and personal life. Obviously those are all so interconnected, so it just, like, bleeds into each other.
I feel like I really figured out what art I like to make. Also what videos I like to make, and what I could [feasibly] do as one person. Because I feel like in previous years, I was taking on so many things and saying yes to everything, and I ended up just burning myself out.
So in 2024, yeah, I really took the time to figure out what it is I want to do, and I feel like my art has grown from there.
MZ: What kind of illustrations and videos have you, like, settled on—what do you like to make?
KM: I figured out that I like painting a lot. Even though it takes up so much time (and it's a lot longer than digital art), I really enjoy the whole process and how tactile it is. Sketching, and then doing color exercises. Painting and scanning that in, fixing it up—I’ve come to love every part of that process.
Video-wise…because I do lifestyle or smart business-type videos, I was having a lot of trouble figuring out what parts of my personal life I want to show versus what’s interesting about my business. Because a lot of it is just like me at my desk.
I had a meeting with my manager, actually, because I was kind of freaking out. I was like, I don't know what to make anymore. I don't know what people want to watch—especially because my views were a little bit low.
She said, okay, we're going to use this as a point where you can just experiment with whatever you want. And maybe not as many people will see it, but it's you doing something that you want to do.
And I think I really took that to heart. I've been enjoying the process of filming and editing a lot more.
MZ: That's so sweet to hear from a manager. Also something I feel like I wouldn't expect from a business-focused manager.
KM: Yeah, she's so awesome. I think it's a smaller management company, too, so there's only five-ish other artists they manage.
MZ: Cool. Well, I mean, this is kind of along a similar vein, but what has been the biggest learning that you're bringing into 2025? It can be the same thing.
KM: Yeah, I think just refining what works for me and what fills my creative cup. My belief is that if I make something that I am passionate about and stand behind it, people will see my passion, and that will bring people in.
Maybe not at first—but I think people recognize it. I have a lot of bigger projects that I'm working on this year that are a little bit scary, and before, I wasn't as confident in myself and my abilities.
I've learned to gain confidence by doing things little by little. Eventually, I'll just have to take the leap and throw myself into projects that maybe I didn't think I was good enough for previously.
MZ: You’ve done so, so many cool projects this year! When I met up with my friend Ray, we went to look for your Lunar New Year collab with Target. We didn't find it, but then he went back to Target the next day and got it.
KM: That whole project was honestly so surreal. I didn't feel like that was real until I saw it in real life, this tangible thing that I can hold in my hand.
MZ: How long did that take—that whole process?
KM: They reached out to me in December of 2023 for the first time. Design was, like, all of January. And then after that, their team took on production. So I basically just sent them my illustrations, and then they made all the products throughout the year.
They'll do, like, check-ins with me. But it officially released this January.
MZ: Yeah. Any other lingering thoughts or comments?
KM: One of the things I've always wanted to do is write and illustrate a picture book. I've been working with my agent on a story concept, and that story revolves a little bit around AI and, like, creating things genuinely. People recognizing that and valuing it a lot more than something created by something else.
I feel like that theme has been swirling around me for the past year or so.
You can follow along with Katie’s journey here.
Thanks for reading! Shoot us a reply, comment, or DM if anything resonated with you in particular—we respond to them all.
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i love her art omg