About
The Art of the Pivot: Finding Healing through Intuitive Expression
Hi, I’m Karley. Welcome to Karley Mott Creates.
I’ve always been “artsy,” but I’ll be honest: I hated art class in school. Being told what to paint or which medium to use felt stifling and small. The second it was no longer mandatory, I walked away and never looked back.
Instead, I found my canvas in the human face. I spent years as a professional makeup artist for brands such as Lancome, Laura Mercier, Clarins, Estee Lauder, and Cargo, using color and texture to tell stories. I live for a bold lip and vibrant jewelry (even if my wardrobe is mostly black). My obsession with color even led me to become a Certified Color Analyst. I’d developed my own method and had a whole plan to launch a color analysis business after my craniotomy in December 2025.
But as anyone who has faced a major health hurdle knows, healing isn’t a straight line.
My recovery has been a long road. Since surgery, I’ve struggled with memory loss and cognitive shifts—challenges that made my original plan of rigid schedules and heavy organization feel impossible. They say the brain needs a full year to heal, and since art is a proven therapy for memory and cognition, I picked up a sketchbook in January.
That one book quickly became many. Instead of mourning the “plan” that didn’t work out, I chose to pivot. I leaned into a fluid, intuitive world where the only rules are the ones I make in the moment. This practice has been my therapy, my mood-booster, and my way of finding a new path forward.
Expertise Reimagined
I’m not new to the world of jewelry making. For over a decade, I created Karley Mott Jewelry and Loubird Handmade, working with vintage glass and stones.
Detour for a little tangent… Fun brain surgery fact — some things I used to like, I don’t like now. Or things I DID NOT like so much, I do like now. I didn’t like modern, contemporary art pre-surgery. Today, I am so drawn to it. And I loved vintage glass beads and crystals in my jewelry. Now it is not my style. The funny thing is, that is what I made for years.
I’ve translated my jewelry making expertise into a new, lighter medium: paper. Using hand-painted paper, I’ve created “wearable sculptures” that are as comfortable as they are bold. Whether crafted from vintage book pages, vivid watercolors, or sharp ink, every piece is sealed and FUN. Plus, you don’t have to worry about them pulling on your earlobes.
The Art of Deconstruction
My process is a dance between the skills I’ve carried with me and the raw intuition guiding me now. This shift has taught me to look at life with a sense of wonder I didn’t have before. Every brushstroke is a celebration—a quiet “thank you” for the clarity I find in the messiness of healing.
From Canvas to Ear: Most of my signature earrings are born from deconstructing my large-scale collages. I find the most energetic “moments” in a painting and crop them out to become jewelry. It’s my way of finding beauty in the fragments and turning my pure joy for life into something you can wear.
Altered Narratives: I love the history of old books. I paint vibrant botanicals and bold motifs directly onto vintage pages, creating a bridge between the stories we’re given and the ones we choose to write for ourselves.
Bold Commentary: Using my connection to color and emotion, I create mixed-media collages that reflect the world around us. It’s my way of capturing the vibrant, beautiful world I’m so grateful to be a part of.
Perfectly Imperfect
In everything I make, you’ll see the “mark of the maker”—the raw edge of hand-torn paper and a fearless use of color. I create for the people who find strength in the perfectly imperfect and who understand that sometimes, the best path forward is the one you never saw coming.
I Want to Share
I will be sharing posts regularly with you, opening up my sketchbook so you can see my process of trial and error. I want you to see how I can be all over the place with my art. Some days I am painting whimsical florals. Others, I am doing quick expressionist pieces with abrupt strokes to loud music. It’s all part of the healing process. Thanks for being here.
*All content on this website, including artwork, designs, and text, is the property of Karley Mott and protected by copyright laws. No part of this site may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission.
