Inspiration Diaries With Artist and Writer Christina Persika

I met when I took a workshop she hosted where we painted Dala Horse Christmas ornaments ahead of the holidays. I remember stepping into her g o r g e o u s studio and feeling immediately at home. A few months later, I signed up for a 13-week workshop she taught on The Artists’ Way. Through this, I was able to get to know her more deeply, and when I say that this workshop changed my life, I mean it. It was during a pivotal point in my career where I was considering freelancing, what it means to be a writer and artist, and what I want out of my life. Talking with Christina and the other amazing people in the group gave me the courage to finally quit my 9-5 and make the shift to freelance. Since, Christina has been a friend I can always talk to about freelancing/art/writing, and she inspires me endlessly, both through our conversations and her art. I hope you enjoy her Inspiration Diaries as much as I did.

xx Brianna

I will admit, I’ve never been very good at keeping a weekend routine. I usually don’t make it to the farmer’s market (I rarely am in the mood to plan meals for the week ahead, first thing Saturday morning), but I do occasionally make it to yoga. My longest-held weekend tradition is sleeping in, and I’m lucky enough to have a partner who makes a mean brunch. Today he made banana pancakes and scrambled eggs with peppers, cheese, and fresh chives from our friends’ garden.

This particular Sunday, my parents are visiting from Minnesota. They’re retired, so I’m thankful they have the time and energy to come back to Wisconsin every month or so. Sadly, I forgot to snap a picture with them. We went for a walk by Lake Michigan with our dog, Dusty, and stopped into a coffee shop to take cover from the rain.

The rest of the day is pretty low-key. Dusty and I have some cuddle time before bed, while I catch up on my current book. I’m reading ‘The Cloisters’ by Katy Hays, a dark academia mystery novel about Tarot set in New York City’s Met Cloisters. I found it at one of our local used bookshops, Broadway Books. A favorite spot to explore.

During my visit with my parents on Sunday, they mentioned there might be an impromptu (and, quite frankly, random) opportunity for a Monday-afternoon boat ride at a family friend’s lake home up in Crystal Lake. I can’t pass up the chance. This is what Wisconsin summers are all about.

So I take the day-off from work (benefits of being self-employed), promising to get a little bit of productivity in the mix with stops at thrift stores to pick-out frames to sell with my art prints at my upcoming summer markets. Coincidentally, I’ve recently discovered a new podcast all about the business of being an artist. Hosted by British-Australian painter Kate Florence, ‘Nitty Gritty’ interviews artists about the “work” of making art for a living. I have found it to be incredibly helpful and educational, but even more than that, it’s helped me to feel seen in a career that can often feel very isolating. Listening to an episode on my drive helps me feel like I’m working, even just a little bit, this Monday.

The boat ride is scratched in favor of some cooler weather by the lakefront. My sister-in-law is 8-months pregnant, and this summer’s heat has been getting quite dangerous. Best to find a bit of a breeze by the beach, instead.

Between thrift stores, we have lunch at the beautiful Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, play mini golf at South Pier in Sheboygan, eat ice cream cones at an old-timey parlor, and then my niece and nephew and I spend a magical afternoon building sand castles at the South Side Beach.

I drive an hour south on I-43 to make it home for the night, with just enough time to watch an episode of Apple TV’s “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” with Ted before bed.

I have been feeling pretty restless lately. I have had so many work projects up in-the-air at once, barely finding time to finish one before I have to start on a new thing. I am hopeful that this is just a season, though. This year I am celebrating 10-years since I started my business, Persika Design Co. I am so proud of this accomplishment. In many ways, it hasn’t been easy, but it’s also been one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences of my life.

When Gathering Place Brewery reached out to me about partnering with them for their inaugural artist residency, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to collaborate on some ideas I’ve been stewing over for a while and also to create a retrospective of some recent works to celebrate my anniversary.

Together, we’re creating a special beer to commemorate the project. I will also co-teach a couple of workshops on Procreate this summer at the breweries with my friends, Hanna Milos and Yen Nguyen. The biggest event of all will be on August 15th, when we’ll throw a 10-year anniversary party at The Gathering Place’s Tosa brewery. Everyone’s invited!!! (pssstt.. I’m working on getting an instructor to lead line dancing! It’s going to be a blast.)

Today, we’re taking one step at a time and finally getting some art up on the walls! This was a bit of a fiasco at first. We realized the walls are as hard as cement, and even using a drill bit made for brick wasn’t strong enough. Command Strips didn’t do the job either. I actually had to return them to the hardware store I got them from because whatever new formula 3M is working with is garbage. They were less sticky than one of my Hodag stickers! But eventually, with a new drill, we got the job done.

I’m taking a slow start to the day this morning because I’m teaching this evening, and anytime I’ve tried to keep up my energy and productivity morning through night, I crash out so hard.

It’s July 1st, so that means I have to put together my monthly phone wallpaper, using the artwork from my annual wall calendar. This month’s artwork is of snails, and there is a really special reason behind it!

Besides the theme of 2026’s calendar being about creatures and critters that live in and around rivers, July is my partner’s birthday month. Last year, Ted got really into aquascaping freshwater fish tanks. Snails play a very important role in a freshwater tank, as they help clean the water and the algae off the glass. I have learned so much about fish tanks from Ted, and I wanted to surprise him with artwork that honors one of his special interests.

Tonight’s workshop is at Joy Ice Cream, a part of their ‘Crafter Dark’ series. I spent the afternoon running some last-minute errands in preparation before heading west to Wauwatosa.

As I said, July has been really fucking hot. So hot, I almost questioned whether we should be doing a workshop outside at all. But if Summerfest is still happening, we can make it through to paint outside. Luckily, the heat broke a bit as the sun went down, and we had ice cream to cool us off.

I am teaching my ‘Quilts and Symbols’ painting workshop. This one in particular is inspired by the idea of ‘Home,’ as I’ve just finished a body of work affectionately called, “Imagining Home.”

I found some mini wooden house cut-outs, in addition to square wooden panels, so participants are able to choose which surface they would like to paint on.

The mural I painted in the interior of Joy Ice Cream in 2024 is quilt-inspired. The owner, Liz Joy, is a quilter and we worked together to incorporate quilt-patterns and symbols that are personally significant to her, her family, and the community.

I love teaching workshops so much. I especially love the joy of getting to share my passion with others and nerd out over the little things, like how to mix the perfect shade of minty-blue-green.

Despite taking it pretty easy in the morning, I’m still a bit wiped out from working the night before. I stopped at a little neighborhood market, Groppi’s, to grab an Italian wrap because I don’t feel like making lunch today.

I’m not super productive in the studio today, but I do have some wholesale orders I need to get out. Packing orders and packaging products is a task I actually really enjoy (in moderation), since it’s really easy, relatively mindless, and I can multi-task while I do it, orrrr I can binge-watch episodes of Vanderpump Rules. Which one do you think I chose?

In all seriousness, this is my first time ever watching Vanderpump Rules, and I am in a constant state of shock. I was finally convinced to start watching because one of my favorite YouTubers, Maddie Dragsbaek, started a watch-along podcast called “PumpCast” with one of her hilarious besties, Meg Ruocco. I am obsessed with them, and I don’t think I could manage watching this

show without them. It is too ridiculous, and I need parasocial friends to talk to about it with, even if they can’t hear how I’m agreeing with everything they say on the other side of the screen.

For dinner, we’re cooking up something light. I bake some marinated salmon and throw together a berry and goat cheese salad on the side.

After dinner, I am bursting with excitement to open the packages that came in the mail. I ordered a thousand dollars worth of notepads (four designs total - three of them are brand new, one is a restock.) This is a big investment for my business and a financial strain for me personally, as well, but I’ve been wanting to branch into more stationery-type products I can wholesale, and I am in love with the designs I came up with. Unfortunately, when I opened up the first box, I was disappointed to find that the majority of the “Strawberry Letter Pads” were misaligned in their printing. I reached out to the manufacturer (U-Printing), and I’m hoping they will replace them. They’ve been making me jump through hoops, going back and forth with customer service for days to file a job claim. I had this problem with my last notepad printer (PrintPPS), so if anyone has any recommendations for quality notepad printing services at a reasonable cost to price for wholesale, I am all ears.

I am feeling the business-owner blues tonight, after that let-down. But I’m happy to share that the other notepads are beautiful! I put the quilted “Cherry Market Pad” on my fridge right away, before tuning in for an episode of “Cape Fear.” Ted and I have been loving this show so much.

We watched the 1991 film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, in preparation. I have been so impressed with how this new adaptation is keeping true to the original premise of the film, but with an entirely fresh story and perspective. Apple TV has really been killing the game, in my opinion, with their original series.

Today is Independence Day-observed, aka a holiday from work. I don’t always take holidays (or even weekends) off from work. In fact, I’ve been a bit of a workaholic the past few years. I get into this cycle of not working a full 8-hour day every weekday, and then punishing myself for not completing all of my work by working on weekends and holidays. I need to remind myself, though, that sometimes I work more than an 8-hour day. Some days, I even work 10 or 12 hours. And even still, it doesn’t all have to balance out, anyway. The 40-hour work week is completely arbitrary, and one of the only benefits I get from being self-employed is the ability to work when and however much I want. I may not get health insurance, a 401-K, paid leave, or vacation, but I do have my freedom, and on a holiday when I can’t be proud of my country, I can at least celebrate my own independence.

In that spirit, Ted and I pop over to Allie Boys for breakfast sandwiches - mine is on their bagel of the week, “Spinach and Artichoke,” per my friend Meg’s recommendation. After breakfast, we browse around Urban Outfitters. Ted, like the elder millennial he is, is always making fun of the youth’s fashion choices. I thought it’d be funny to make him try on an outfit that was completely out of his style. He wasn’t up for it, but he did find an adorable Snoopy glass to-go mug for iced coffees, and I replaced my recently broken sunglasses.

We finished a couple of chores at home and then ran to the Bubblr bike station to rent electric bikes for the first time with the goal of making it to Summerfest, “The World’s Largest Music Festival,” before 3 PM - the cut-off for free admission. We cut it soooo close and made it through the gate at 3 o’clock on the dot. Whew!!!

Once inside, we jumped on a sky glider and took in a lay of the land. We bought beers, and I purchased my first-ever Summerfest merch - an adorable Polo-bear-inspired crewneck sweatshirt.

I specifically wanted to go to Summerfest today so that we could see Ken Pomeroy perform, and they didn’t disappoint. I was in a puddle of tears listening to Ken sing about their adopted dog, Wrango. All I could think about was Dusty. :,)

By the time we got in for the night, we were tempted to stay home. But there were no excuses. In lieu of fireworks, Milwaukee County Parks and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee were hosting a drone show at McKinley Beach, just steps away from our apartment. We wouldn’t even need to find parking. We strapped our beach-chairs to our backs and walked down to the lake to enjoy the show.

Okay, here’s where things get a little hazy, literally and metaphorically. It’s the 4th of July today, and my plan is to just spend it hanging out with friends. A snag, though. After a week of sweat-inducing temps, it’s suddenly not so hot and sunny. It is actually quite foggy, and the forecast keeps predicting rain, but changing the times of when we can expect it.

Not to worry, we are a go-with-the-flow type of crew today. We all meet at South Shore Beach in Bay View with an array of picnic-appropriate goodies and beverages, sun be damned.

It might have been the aforementioned beverages, but somehow I forgot to take any photos today other than the one of this bottle of “Farigoule,” an herbal thyme liqueur that my friend Catalina swears she hasn’t been able to find anywhere closer than Minnesota. I took a pic so that I could look out for it when I’m out and about, hoping to find a source that will be a little more accessible.

And that was my week! It always boggles my mind how I can simultaneously always feel like I’m doing so much and so little. Thanks for following along! Reach out if you have any leads on good notepad manufacturers or places to buy Farigoule in Wisconsin. Also, keep an eye out. I recorded some videos during the week, as well, and I’m hoping to put together a little vlog for my temporarily dormant YouTube channel.

With love,

Christina Persika

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Connect with Christina here:

Instagram: @persikadesignco

Substack:

Website: persikadesignco.com

Thank you for reading The Mood Board! It means so much to me that you are here, and I hope you found bits of inspiration here today. Say hi on Instagram here, shop my faves here, and read my other writing here. And if you want to buy me a coffee, you can do that here. :)