Franziska Monahan Art, Words & the Stories In Between

Franziska Monahan

Art, Words & the Stories In Between

Latest Articles

Shedding the Skin You Grew Into: Reckoning with Work That No Longer Looks Like You
Creative Life

Shedding the Skin You Grew Into: Reckoning with Work That No Longer Looks Like You

There comes a moment in almost every creative's life when they scroll back through their own portfolio and feel something unexpected: distance. Not nostalgia, not pride — just the quiet, uncomfortable recognition that the person who made those pieces is someone they no longer are. Figuring out what to do with that feeling is one of the most undertalked challenges of a creative life.
You Don't Owe Anyone a Window Into Your Studio
Art & Craft

You Don't Owe Anyone a Window Into Your Studio

The pressure to document everything — every sketch, every draft, every behind-the-scenes moment — has become so normalized that keeping your creative process private can feel almost radical. This is a case for protecting the parts of your work that aren't meant to be shared, and for building an audience without handing over the keys to your creative inner life.
The No Files: What Rejection Has Actually Been Trying to Tell You
Creative Life

The No Files: What Rejection Has Actually Been Trying to Tell You

Most creatives keep a mental folder of their rejections — the grants that didn't come through, the galleries that passed, the editors who never wrote back. We treat that folder like evidence of failure. But what if it's actually one of the most instructive archives you own?
Your Timeline Is Not Theirs: Breaking Free from the Creative Comparison Spiral
Creative Life

Your Timeline Is Not Theirs: Breaking Free from the Creative Comparison Spiral

Social media has quietly turned creative careers into a race nobody signed up for — and most of us are losing sleep over someone else's highlight reel. Here's how to stop measuring your chapter three against someone else's chapter twenty, and start trusting the pace of your own story.
Stolen Hours: What the Scroll Is Really Costing Your Creative Brain
Creative Life

Stolen Hours: What the Scroll Is Really Costing Your Creative Brain

Every time you reach for your phone mid-thought, you're not just losing a minute—you're losing the thread. Here's what constant digital noise is actually doing to your creative depth, and how to start taking some of that mental real estate back.
The Feedback Tightrope: How to Take Critique Seriously Without Letting It Take You Apart
Art & Craft

The Feedback Tightrope: How to Take Critique Seriously Without Letting It Take You Apart

Feedback can be the thing that sharpens your work or the thing that quietly dismantles your confidence—and the difference isn't always obvious in the moment. Learning to tell the two apart might be one of the most important skills a working creative can develop.
Too Many Cooks, Not Enough Canvas: The Hidden Dangers of Creative Collaboration
Creative Life

Too Many Cooks, Not Enough Canvas: The Hidden Dangers of Creative Collaboration

Creative partnerships look gorgeous on paper—complementary skills, shared vision, someone to split the coffee bill with. But somewhere between the first excited phone call and the third round of 'feedback,' things can get ugly fast. Here's an honest look at what happens when collaboration stops being generative and starts being a grind.
Show Up Anyway: How to Build a Creative Practice That Works Even When You Don't Feel Like It
Art & Craft

Show Up Anyway: How to Build a Creative Practice That Works Even When You Don't Feel Like It

Waiting for inspiration is a beautiful idea with a terrible track record. The artists and writers who actually finish things—who build bodies of work instead of just talking about them—figured out a long time ago that discipline is the real creative superpower. Here's how to build a practice that doesn't require you to feel inspired first.
The 9-to-5 Audit: Is Your Day Job Funding Your Art or Quietly Killing It?
Art & Craft

The 9-to-5 Audit: Is Your Day Job Funding Your Art or Quietly Killing It?

Not all day jobs are created equal—especially when you're trying to make art on the side. Some employment situations quietly replenish you; others drain the exact reserves your creative work needs most. Here's how to figure out which category you're in, and what to do about it.
Two Visions, One Canvas: What Happens When Solo Creators Stop Going It Alone
Creative Life

Two Visions, One Canvas: What Happens When Solo Creators Stop Going It Alone

Collaboration sounds great in theory—until someone rewrites your ending or paints over your favorite corner of the canvas. For artists who've built their whole identity around working alone, creating alongside someone else can feel like handing a stranger the keys to your house. But what if that discomfort is actually the point?
Punching the Clock, Feeding the Muse: How the Boring Parts of Work Become the Best Creative Material
Art & Craft

Punching the Clock, Feeding the Muse: How the Boring Parts of Work Become the Best Creative Material

Most artists spend their working hours waiting to get home to their real creative life. But what if the fluorescent-lit, deadline-heavy, customer-facing grind is already the material? Some of the richest art ever made grew directly out of the most ordinary employment imaginable.
Let Them See the Mess: Why Sharing Unfinished Work Might Be Your Bravest Creative Move
Creative Life

Let Them See the Mess: Why Sharing Unfinished Work Might Be Your Bravest Creative Move

There's a particular kind of terror in showing someone your work before it's done — before the rough edges are sanded smooth and the whole thing feels safe to hand over. But what if that terror is actually pointing you toward something important? Sharing work-in-progress might just be the most honest thing a creator can do.
Every Artist Is a Thief: The Honest Case for Learning from the People Who Came Before You
Art & Craft

Every Artist Is a Thief: The Honest Case for Learning from the People Who Came Before You

Influence isn't plagiarism. Borrowing isn't copying. And the greatest creative minds throughout history have been unabashedly, enthusiastically indebted to the artists who shaped them. Here's why studying — and yes, imitating — your heroes might be the most legitimate art education you can get.
Making Art in the Dark: The Surprising Gift of Working Before Anyone's Paying Attention
Creative Life

Making Art in the Dark: The Surprising Gift of Working Before Anyone's Paying Attention

There's a strange kind of freedom that lives in obscurity — the kind that disappears the moment people start watching. Before the followers, before the feedback, before the metrics, there's just you and the work. And honestly? That might be the most creatively alive you'll ever feel.
The Murky Middle: Surviving the Part of a Big Creative Project Nobody Talks About
Creative Life

The Murky Middle: Surviving the Part of a Big Creative Project Nobody Talks About

Every ambitious creative project has a honeymoon phase and a finish-line rush — but what about the long, unglamorous stretch in between? That's where most projects go to die. Here's what working artists, novelists, and makers have actually figured out about getting through it.
Ink on Paper, Heart on Sleeve: Why Handwritten Letters Are the Most Honest Art Form Left
Art & Craft

Ink on Paper, Heart on Sleeve: Why Handwritten Letters Are the Most Honest Art Form Left

In a world of instant messages and disappearing stories, the handwritten letter refuses to die quietly. It turns out that slowing down enough to put pen to paper might be the most radical creative act you can do in 2024. We talked to artists, writers, and correspondence enthusiasts about why the epistolary form still hits different.