Creative Manifesto
“To draw you must close your eyes and sing.”
And I’ve left my eyes open for too long. As I celebrate another year of Studio Sophy (it turned 4 years old this month!) I’m setting creative goals for myself. This year, I w̶a̶n̶t̶ t̶o̶ will
Spend time getting lost in my imagination.
Be a beginner.
Create art I’m proud of, in mediums I want to explore.
Get lost in that process and feel emotions.
Write more.
Share my work on this site. Share my work everywhere because I’m proud of it.
Shoot portraits.
Shoot fashion.
Start building a studio.
Continue to study great photographers from the past and present.
Collaborate with other creatives.
Spend much more time doing personal projects than paid freelance work.
Not let the pressure of practical everyday life get in the way of my dreams.
Reclaim my passion. Rediscover the work that is meaningful to me. Redefine my identity as an artist accordingly to my own standards.
Realign myself with the reason I started this website in the first place. Studio Sophy is a world of truth, imagination, and dreams.
Put my heart into my work. And sing.
Throughout life, we go through seasons that ebb and flow, characterized by different wants, needs, priorities, and challenges. What would that look like mapped out?
This website has seen all the twists and turns of my career, mirroring my journey in all its messy splendor. I’m proud of that.
Learning about new tools, meeting colleagues IRL, and spamming downtown San Francisco with thousands of lime green tote bags at the biggest, buzziest design conference in tech.
At an early age, I learned how to write professional emails, mail invoices, appear older than I was, and convince real adults I was good enough for whatever job.
Learning Photoshop, buying a domain name, getting laid off, and other failures that defined my life and turned it for the better.
Being Chinese-American, I feel a personal connection to Guo Pei and many of the themes motivating her work. Her artistic approach is deeply rooted in her heritage and ever-evolving with contemporary fashion practices, her artistic innovation, and transcultural perspective.
I ran 13.1 miles this past weekend. That’s 12.1 more miles than I thought could ever do.
They enrich my perspectives, expose me to diversity and new opinions, and allow me to look at life and the human experience in new fascinating ways.
I love being a woman. I love digging deep into my insecurities and sharing my vulnerability with other women who feel the same internal struggles and anxieties. But it hasn’t always been easy.
Live everyday like you’re Elle Woods after Warner told her she wasn't smart enough for Law School.
Every local and exotic fruit you could imagine in the form of buds and flowers sit on the tips of tree branches, patiently growing and waiting for their harvest.
Attended a developer conference was humbling and eye-opening. I also got to participate in a hackathon where we built a digital platform for the immigrant community.
This morning in yoga class, I had an epiphany. Did I just figure out the meaning of life?
Studio Sophy is an extension of my heart and soul, documenting my life as a series of artistic endeavors. It's some of my proudest work and tells the story of the journeys that have shaped me into who I am.
[Art] can reawaken us to the genuine merit of life as we're forced to lead it. It's advertising for the things we really need.
It's not about what you want and your tastes. It's about what others need and how you fill in that void by being professional and extraordinary in your services.
My website is "Studio Sophy" because it's an online art studio! Everything falls into the realm of my creativity and I have no limitations. So here I am opening myself up to that again.
Natural is beautiful. Authenticity is beautiful. Emotions are beautiful. Vulnerability is beautiful. Confidence is beautiful. Overcoming pain and hardship is so immensely beautiful.
This election definitely isn't the worst thing that's ever happened to you, and you can't let it destroy you, but rather motivate you to work harder for what you believe in. But more importantly, educate yourself. There's always more than you know.
AI this, AI that. Where does the human come in? My thoughts on the future of the design industry coming out of the 2026 Figma Config conference.