A Story Behind My 2023 Calendar

Oct 11

I've been cooking up a new calendar for 2023. But before I actually announce its launch soon, I wanted to share a small story of how it came about.

Since the end of summer, I found myself struggling a lot with self-doubt. I've been reaching out and presenting my portfolio to companies to license my designs. And I have been getting lots of rejections (and even more crickets) along the way. I know this is completely normal and I've learned not to take it personally. BUT there are times when positive thinking fails and a rejection hits hard leading further into a slump.

In an attempt to recuperate, I tried tending to my garden, letting myself rest, going outside and drinking my favorite boba teas (many of them). They all helped me feel better slowly, but the best cure for me was to paint. I allowed myself to mindlessly paint for a few days. Without a specific goal, I picked up gardening books from a library and painted vegetables after vegetables, fruits after fruits, plus some flowers! And instead of experimenting with a new medium, I stuck with my old-time favorite - watercolor! It felt safe and reassuring.

Paintings of vegetables, fruits and flowers piled up on my desk. Then one day, visiting a local farmer's market gave me an exciting idea - that those paintings would make a perfect calendar! Hence, my project for arranging them into a beautiful Farmer's Market themed calendar was born.

As soon as the idea came about, my mind lighted up and the troubling doubts were thrown out of the window (at least for now).

So… what's next? The calendars are being printed and will arrive at my doorstep this week. I'm confident they will turn out beautifully. I'm planning to release them in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned! :)

UPDATE: Here are a few pictures of the printed 2023 calendar!