We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Monica Ng a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Monica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Growing up in an Asian household, it was expected that I’d study hard at school, get good grades and get a safe and reputable job as either an accountant, lawyer, doctor or some other office job. Art and creativity is treated nothing more than a hobby and definitely not a “serious career path.” While I did enjoy more creative subjects in high school like visual arts and design and technology, I gave up on these subjects in favour of more “academic” subjects that would maximise my final high school marks. While there is wisdom, in having a job in a stable profession, I followed my parents’ expectations and eventually went on to complete a combined Commerce/Arts degree and began working in accounting.
Long working hours, the expectation of studying on top of work and crazy deadlines made me question what I was working so hard for. I dreaded waking up to go to work. My life was a vicious cycle of working, sleeping, eating. Repeat.
When seasonal long working hours did let up a bit, I began dabbling in jewellery making. The style of jewellery I liked was not available in stores, so I began creating my own designs. Little by little, via encouraging feedback from friends and random people I’d pass on the street about my jewellery, I eventually opened an Etsy shop. A few months on with a growing collection of designs, I was invited by an indie market that was going to have their first event in Sydney to showcase. I had my first stall and it was a smashing success! By December of that year, I resigned from my accounting job and successfully interviewed for a position at the Enmore Design Centre to formally retrain in jewellery and objects design!
As I grew my jewellery side hustle, my love for drawing was reignited, so I decided to start up an Instagram featuring all the relatable, sarcastic and snarky things I’d think about and say amongst friends, living life as a millennial, but never to colleagues, intrusive extended family people and the like… ‘cos it wouldn’t be socially acceptable to, ha! The enjoyment I get from exercising the creative part of my brain and fun I have, sharing a laugh with likeminded people in my community lights up a fire in my belly. For me, being creative and making art sure beats staring at excel formulae all day in my previous life as an accountant!
Monica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hi, my name is Monica and I’m a slashie. I’m an ex-accountant turned admin/jeweller/digital artist. After completing my Commerce/arts degree at university and working as an accountant for a few years, I was deeply unhappy. Every workday felt like a slog, until a series of fortuitous events lead me in a different (and creative) direction, to take a leap of faith and formally retrained in jewellery and objects design. I’m a self-taught digital artist.
My time studying at the Design Centre, Enmore was exciting! I learned new hand skills to fashion not only jewellery but objects such as metal vessels and even titanium cutlery. Growing up in an Asian household, I was forced to do a lot of additional maths exercises as a kid. Although maths was never my most favourite subject, I did develop an appreciation of the rational thinking and the precision involved and this has influenced my geometric jewellery and décor aesthetic. Nothing fills me more with pride than working with a client to create custom pieces. Whether it’s a pair of wedding rings with each other’s fingerprints, a special pendant of a mother’s kids’ initials or creating a large scale metal mobile to hang in their home, from the ideation stage through to bringing it to reality, there’s nothing more rewarding than when a client receives it and loves what you’ve created together. There is no higher compliment!
Asian females are often seen as being meek, reserved and obedient and being branded as a “shy” kid by my parents didn’t help to break this stereotype. My digital art, The Third Life Crisis (a punny take on a quarter life crisis, but for people kicking on past their 1/3 life expectancy, hehe), kicked off on a whim, sharing relatable and funny doodles and stories about all the things I thought of and wish I could say, but can’t say (as it would be highly offensive to annoying colleagues, intrusive extended family, bad dates and the like and generally not socially acceptable.) Damn societal expectations!! It’s a fun space on Instagram to share in some laughs, some miseries and not take life too seriously. From its humble Instagram beginnings, it’s branched off into an Etsy shop and also a matching blog, where I share longer form posts from dating fails, finding and making new friends as an adult to buying your first home and more.
Although I still have a day job, I have much better work/life balance which allows me the mental and physical energy for my art. There is no shame in keeping a day job and being financially stable while you’re chasing your artistic daydream. Think how stressful it would be, if you expected or hoped for your art to be able to support you immediately and sustain an ongoing and liveable income when you’re got regular bills to pay? Take the pressure off your art and keep your day job, until you’re ready to take the leap.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Austin Kleon’s book, “Steal like an artist” talks about an interesting concept of there being nothing new under the sun. Whatever you think of, someone before you has thought of before. While there is some merit to that idea, it’s a truth there are relatable experiences and themes that are eternal. So before you prematurely kill your daydream, because you think: “what sort of original art can you create, that’s not already been created?!” you’ve got to remember, your collective experiences you’ve amassed right up until this moment is yours and yours alone. With your unique experiences, as Kleon puts it: “if you steal an idea from A, steal another idea from B and steal another idea from C” then this mash-up can be unique. What’s old can suddenly become new, if you ‘steal like an artist.’
I also like Struthless aka Campbell Walker. He’s an illustrator, animator and content creator on Youtube. I love his down to earth persona, practical tips and strategies about mindset, productivity and looking after your mental health as a creative.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Going against your parents’ expectations is a difficult path to take. Especially growing up in an Asian household. Although there is wisdom in pursuing a stable career path, what good is it to you, if you hate the industry you’ve studied and work in? Never mind the fact, Discounting sunk costs (i.e. the previous years you’ve studied or the years you’ve worked in the industry) if you truly want to pursue something creative, start taking small steps to explore it. For example, if you’ve previously done a pottery class through a work event and you’re keen to explore what working as a ceramicist looks like, take a short course. Build up new skills, chat with your teacher about their experiences, as you never know what nuggets of experience/connections they could introduce you to. Read up on the art form, go to exhibitions and smaller gallery openings to meet people who are working in your desired artistic industry. Share your work near and far. Sell at markets. Start up an online shop/website. Build up an emergency fund, so that when you do feel like taking the leap, you at least have a financial cushion (of at least a few months of expenses in savings) to fall back on. Consider getting a part time job to help pay bills, but also gives you the time freedom to work on your art. Are you able to find a casual/part time job in an existing creative business in your desired art form? Learn under someone who’s already doing what you want to do. What can you do to move the needle 1% everyday to get to where you want to get to?
Lastly, don’t be afraid to defy your parent’s expectations for your life. The earth will continue spinning. They will still love you (hopefully, haha) and they will adjust. They are not living your life, you are, so pursue what sets your belly on fire! As cliché as it sounds, life is short. The reality is, everyone has bills to pay. So if you’re going to commit at least 40 hours a week to work, you might as well do work you love. The time will pass anyways, so might as well enjoy the ride. Good luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thethirdlifecrisis.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethirdlifecrisis/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thethirdlifecrisis
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thethirdlifecrisis