Hello, and welcome to our artist spotlight! I'm thrilled to introduce you to Sophie, the talented creator behind mingo studio. Based in the US, Sophie has been honing her artistic skills since childhood, but it wasn't until 2020 that she discovered the power of bullet journaling.
In this spotlight feature, we're excited to dive deeper into Sophie's journey with bullet journaling, exploring how this practice has not only enhanced her productivity, but also unlocked new levels of artistic expression. Her insights are sure to inspire our community of artists and creatives to explore the transformative potential of this versatile organizational tool.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your artistic journey. What sparked your passion?
I have been an artist for as long as I can remember; my parents still have some of my sister and I's artwork taped up in our childhood home. But I specifically started bullet journaling at the beginning of 2020 because I was inspired by the amazing AmandaRachLee on YouTube. Her videos about bullet journaling, a foreign concept to me at the time, intrigued me because they perfectly combined organization and creativity in one handmade notebook. Once I got the ball rolling in January 2020, I became obsessed with the hobby and started a YouTube channel sharing my spreads that same July. Over the past 5 years, I've seen many ebbs and flows in the style of my artwork, the kinds of spreads I need for different eras of my life, etc., but the concept of a bujo is still the best way I've found to keep my life scheduled and organized, while still being able to be artistic and creative.
2.What is the most profound lesson you've learned about yourself through the practice of bullet journaling?
One of the most profound lessons that bullet journaling has taught me is that life goes through phases of highs and lows, and while being able to ride that wave and embrace change is a challenge, it's a necessary one. It's hard to see yourself changing and altering as a person in real-time, but whenever I look back at my old bullet journals I can truly see how much I've grown over the past couple of years. Yes, my art style has evolved and my to-do lists have changed from “violin practice,” an instrument I played in high school, to “club interview,” now that I'm in university. But besides that, I can see how my priorities have evolved, how my friendships have changed, and how my spiritual life has grown, all within the pages of a daily notebook that's cataloged my life since 2020. Being able to look from a birds-eye view the changes I've gone through over the past 5 years inspires and encourages me as I look towards challenges in the future.
3. In what ways does journaling help you deal with stress or anxiety?
When I'm dealing with a lot of stress or anxiety I find that using my bullet journal helps me manage all the overwhelming factors and gives me a second to breathe. Usually, I find that my anxiety worsens when I have a lot of factors outside of my control or an overwhelming number of tasks to get done. So I find that using my journal to first label the things I can control and focus on that, and then secondly organize my schedule to make sure that I can reasonably accomplish everything, helps me take a step back and look at a situation logically. Looking back through my old journals, I've found months that were extremely busy and overwhelming, but having a bullet journal to help me plan and organize made my life a lot easier.
4. How to stay productive in content creation?
As a college student with multiple extracurriculars, a job, and two YouTube channels, I frequently get asked how I manage it all and stay productive. The ironic answer is that my bullet journal channel kills two birds with one stone: creating video content while also organizing my schedule simultaneously. However, I find that I enjoy always having something creative to work on, so my focus on accomplishing meager tasks like schoolwork or meetings is fueled by my want to get to the fun stuff like video editing or creating art. If you're finding yourself in a monotonous lifestyle with no motivation to get up each morning and be productive, I encourage you to find something exciting to look forward to every day, (mine is drawing, reading, and creating content,) and use it as a reward system to get the other boring tasks done. Like a bunny following a carrot, it makes accomplishing your to-do's that much more enjoyable.
5. When did you first start using Ohuhu products? What do you love about them?
I started using Ohuhu products about 3 years ago when I was gifted my first set of alcohol markers from a friend. I had heard a lot about the brand before and how great their stationery was, so I really wanted to try alcohol markers for the first time. At first, I was discouraged because I couldn't get used to how they performed and blended; it took me a few months to get used to the techniques that alcohol markers ask for in comparison to water-based markers. But since I have fallen in love with the art style and received many other packs of alcohol, water-based, and acrylic markers from Ohuhu that I have used and loved. Their product ink colors are always very vibrant, they blend very well, and I can always trust Ohuhu to produce the best, high-quality stationery to use in my bullet journal.
6. Looking ahead, is there a particular project or creative goal that you're currently focused on achieving next?
One creative goal that I'm teaching myself right now is how to enjoy being creative when I am not creating content to post online. Quite frequently when I sit down to make art I think to myself that I must record this process, or it is a wasted opportunity for a video. But although I love making YouTube content, I find that whenever I take time to just create art for myself and my sketchbook without the pressure of a camera, I get to immerse myself in the experience and I enjoy creating art so much more. It's a process mostly revolving around me carving out time in my schedule to draw for fun, not for content, but one that I've been slowly getting better at, and I hope to only improve.
