We were lucky to catch up with Anjali Karustis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Anjali, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I definitely am not exaggerating when I saw I’ve always wanted to be an artist. If you would have asked when I was very young, I would have told you the same thing I would say today. Of course, I know more about what it takes to be a full-time working artist than I did back then, but the intent remains the same. My passion for creating has probably grown since I was younger as well.

In kindergarten I would spend many days drawing and painting in my art classroom with my teacher when I was supposed to be at recess. At the end of the school year I received what was called a Framed Art Award, where one student in each grade would have one of their projects framed all nicely and we’d all get on stage during an assembly and display it to everyone. This was announced to us students at the assembly, so it was a surprise to me when my name was called. The picture that was taken of me when I got onstage was not the most thrilled and excited girl you’ve ever seen, but inside I was so happy that people were looking at my art (less so me).

I think it was the end of my junior year/start of my senior year in high school where I saw myself realistically picturing a life as a professional creative. During this time I entered and won a competition, where I had my design used for the logo of the 2015 Philadelphia Labor Day Parade, ran by the AFL-CIO (a trade union center that advocates for the rights of working people). The logo was printed on posters, t-shirts, buttons, and other merchandise. This was one of the first times my art was being used for a commercial purpose, and after that I knew I wanted more opportunities like that.

Anjali, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Anjali Karustis, but my art business/practice goes by Artjali. A little play on words, if you will. Probably easier to remember than my full name too!

I am a lifelong artist, which led me to receive my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration in 2020. While I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember, I’m only a year or two into my art practice as a form of a career. After recovering from graduating/entering the working world in a pandemic, I feel now is my time to make a living off of my passion.

I think there’s a quote out there about how, basically, everyone is subconsciously working to bring their inner child back in their life. Embracing childlike play and authenticity I believe can truly change one’s mindset.

My art practice, and by extension, what I sell, is centered around this core concept: speaking to your inner child through spontaneity and intuition. As a chronic over-thinker, I’ve spent a lot of time in art school and afterwards loosening up, trusting my mind and my hand, and not worrying too much about the end result. This has definitely allowed me to connect with my inner child.

Through so many words, I use all of this and my perhaps under-thinking mindset when it comes to creating art, to sell printmaking work (linoleum and screen printing), paintings, and drawings. I strive for viewers and consumers of my work to connect with their own inner child through my art.

I like the idea of functionality, so work that you can wear such as tote bags, patches, and t-shirts, and things you can display in your home as well, like original art, high-quality prints, and hand-printed fabric wall hangings. I’ve been experimenting with incorporating sewing into my practice too, so don’t be surprised if you see handprinted designs on handmade items!

I also want to prompt viewers and consumers to look inward, to read or view my work and to relate it to their own life and their inner child. This is partly why when I use words/text in my work, it’s fairly vague in nature. It’s very intentional!

Personally, I’m really proud of how my work has developed thus far, and where it has the potential to go. I’m open to many different creative opportunities, whether that be illustrating a children’s book or album cover, having work commissioned or sold to by interior designers, or simply selling a print to one of you at an art market. I’m going to keep making and I hope others can join me for the ride!

For potential and future clients/followers/fans: I’m not trying to sell you something. I want my art to speak to you first and foremost. I want you to look at my work, and ideally feel joy, laughter, nostalgia, and anything that can speak to your inner child too.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am constantly challenging thoughts that were most likely taught to me from an early age regarding art-making. I’ve been to art school and trained and studied the “rules” to follow to be successful. There are definitely aspects, elements, and principles of art that are considered by many to be crucial in order to create a successful piece of art. But I think you have to question what successful means.

I find having these rules around art are ultimately constraints for me. They have made me hesitant to even begin to create work. Even now in the age where lots of artists are active on social media, I question whether it’s worth including my art in a place where it’s already very saturated. There’s even societal rules surrounding posting your art on social media.

When I moved recently, I decided to fill the area around my desk with things that inspire me. One of them is a big white strip of paper that I wrote on that says “make it anyway”. When I’m discouraged by whatever it may be and think to myself, “why even bother with starting this piece?”, I’m reminded to make it anyway.

Consistently reminding myself that there are truly no rules to art is very freeing. I can make really whatever I want. It’s not really about supplies either; If I only have a pencil and paper, I can still make whatever I want. I don’t have to adhere to a specific look, style, movement, I can just be myself. Believe it or not, you don’t actually have to worry about proportions, color theory (no matter how sophisticated they make that sound), spatial composition, how your art looks all together on your social media pages, or anything else. Despite doubts, hesitations, worries, MAKE IT ANYWAY!! That’s what I had to learn, and unlearn societal rules surrounding art.

And to bring it back to my main goal, your inner child knows absolutely nothing about color theory, or the rule of thirds, or high contrast vs low contrast images. How can you expect them to know what tonal variants are anyways?

I’m not saying adhering to these rules are inherently bad. I think for many it gives a good foundation to start their art journey with. I’d say in some ways it has helped me too. But respectfully ditching them has helped me more!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

About two years after graduating from art school, I got my first full-time 9-5 job at my alma mater as an Admissions Counselor, where I helped students like myself along in the college application process. I would also travel and meet art students from around the country and review their portfolios. However, my alma mater and employer suddenly announced its closure with a seven day notice. It’s quite a difficult situation to be in, to process your university closing on such short notice and to also be out of my main source of income at the time. I was lucky enough to be brought on by another art school for a few months, but with almost two years of college admissions experience, I had very little time to dedicate to art. I recently decided it was time for a change.

I left my 9-5 and am now pursuing art as a career part-time. I knew it would be stressful to get my feet off the ground, but slowly and surely it’s happening. And I’m so grateful for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artjali.com
• Instagram: @art.jali
• Other: tiktok: @art.jali