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Kitty Cat Cait

@fieldnotesofcait

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• notes from a life well-loved 🤎
what I’m reading, writing + observing
🦢 currently on week three of The Artist’s Way

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Just a few of my favorite things 🤭 taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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2 hours ago

This week, I was reminded of a time in 2020 when I was on the receiving end of an individual’s criticism of something I had shared online.

I don’t recall what it was concerning anymore, but I certainly remember how it made me feel and how small my world had become because of it. As a result, I had stopped sharing my thoughts, beliefs or opinions with others - completely stunting my creative flow.

It has taken many tiny baby steps since to develop callouses and a back bone to hold my identity in relation to others; to create room for my ideas, beliefs and opinions to co-exist with those of another and allow them to be differing but also just as accepted. And isn’t that the whole point? To hold a different perspective and share with others, to allow expansion for self and all? taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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20 hours ago

It’s a special kind of witnessing when a friend recommends a book because they think you’ll enjoy it too. 💋 Thank you @ashleyweghphotography for suggesting Soul Searching by @authorlylasage! Plus this was my first borrow on the @libby.app and idk why but that’s super fun! 🤭

I’ve spent a few sleepless nights nose deep in this one and it’s just too cute, the FMC speaks to ghosts and has me literally wanting to move to this fictional small town. taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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5 days ago

The more you accept yourself, the less willing you become to participate in anything that asks you to be someone you’re not. And because of that, naturally, things begin to fall away.

Relationships. Expectations. Versions of yourself. Things you once tolerated because belonging felt more important than being fully yourself.

When someone is comfortable being exactly who they are, it can act as a mirror. Sometimes that feels inspiring. Sometimes it makes us aware of the places we’re still forgiving in ourselves.

The real work of becoming more authentic, is not becoming someone new, but accepting more and more of who you already are. And the more you do, the harder it becomes to entertain anything that isn’t genuine. taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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6 days ago

“Creativity flourishes when we have a sense of safety and self-acceptance. Your artist, like a small child, is happiest when feeling a sense of security.”

After reading Week Two of The Artist’s Way, the takeaways I am bringing with me are in regards to paying attention to what is or could be hindering to the creative process.

The chapter itself talks about how as a new artist, now out of the shadows, we are our artist’s protective parent and we must learn to recognize the people, places and things that are poisonous to creation which creates creative blocks within one’s journey.

“In creative recovery, it is not necessary that we change our beliefs. It is necessary that we examine them. More than anything else, creative recovery is an exercise in open-mindedness.”

Where your attention goes, energy flows so whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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6 days ago

In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron builds the creative recovery process around two core practices:

* Morning Pages: three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, ideally first thing in the morning. They aren’t really meant to be “journaling” or good writing. They’re somewhere to put the mental clutter, worries, ideas, irritation, or nonsense before your inner critic can get involved.

* The Artist Date: a weekly, solo outing or block of time devoted to your creative self. The point isn’t necessarily to make anything. It’s to fill the well: allowing for curiosity and play.

I like to start my week with my artist date, so today I took myself to the coffee shop, treated myself to a coffee and muffin and tested out my new fountain pen before getting a little bit of work done. Not necessarily creative but, because they are solo, a bit of a stretch for me nonetheless.

It’s actually really kind of silly, but I never go anywhere by myself… I’ve spent the last four years building a business with my partner, so I generally am with him if I’m leaving the house or one of our two teenage daughters. And while I have zero issues being alone, it’s unnatural for me to go anywhere by myself and getting past that threshold of leaving takes some strong convincing. 🫣

So, one small step for me but one large leap for my creativity? 🤭 Anyways, it was pretty unassuming but as I was getting ready to pack up, I waved over a mom who was looking for a table for her family of four and gave her my cozy spot in the corner, tucked away so they could enjoy. She complimented my work bag and my hair, so we’re basically best friends now. 💋 taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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7 days ago

One of the central ideas in The Artist’s Way is that creativity gets choked when everything has to be useful, impressive, productive, or “good.” @juliacameronlive keeps bringing me back to play, curiosity, and small acts of delight because they bypass the part of self that wants to evaluate everything.

Because maybe “recovering” one’s creativity isn’t necessarily about discovering some entirely new creative identity. It may be about returning to the things I instinctively did before i started asking whether they were useful.

When I was a little girl, you would have found me reading or writing, always. Pens, paper, and words were my friends.

Maybe this process isn’t about finding my way back to creativity; it’s about remembering her. taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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8 days ago

My current journal ecosystem 💋🕯️✒️📓

• an A5 travelers notebook - a 2025 birthday gift with a @leuchtturm1917usa inside for daily morning pages and a @stalogy_official to document topics of interest

• The Artist Way by @juliacameronlive and a yellow legal pad for my weekly reflections

• my first time using @hobonichi1101, I opted for an A5 Cousin next year taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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9 days ago

As I’m moving through the first week of the artist way, I sit with these reflections.

My favorite part about this process has been the moments when the creative nudges *clicks* and seeing the creation come together. Allowing the obstacle to crack me open rather than keep me stuck. taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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10 days ago

I’ve DNF’d and shelved for another day the last 3 fantasy books I’ve picked up. Why is it that when the first book is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ that the second book is always subpar?

Time for a little mafia romance as a palette cleanser. Fingers crossed this one does the trick. 🤭 taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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12 days ago

It’s just so grounding, ya know? taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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12 days ago

“There, caught between the dream of action and the fear of failure, shadow artists are born”

I hadn’t considered myself a shadow artist up until I read that line. In my day to day life, I co-operate a video production company with my partner. Building and running a business is no shakes of a lamb’s tail, right? It takes effort, creativity, strategy… the works. So, in my mind, I thought I was facing my demons head on. But when I read that line, I noticed my mind started to drift.

I was already tuning out and daydreaming about the list of items I still needed to accomplish, not allowing myself to be present which told me that I was in fact… still hiding something from myself.

And if that hadn’t been the case, later still in the first chapter I’m absolutely gutted when @juliacameronlive goes on to say that shadow artists often choose shadow careers - ya know, creative adjacent…. Or like myself, who typically is found within the strategy and communication side of our business where my husband has the talent... Ouch.

While i’m halfway joking here, I’ve known for a while that I’ve been holding myself back when it comes to sharing my creative side. My inner child has been screaming at me from the inside but I was caught somewhere between the dream of action and the fear of failure to ever actually start.

So no more hiding from myself, or you, should you choose to follow along, I’m going to take myself seriously, I’m going to nurture my inner child and allow myself to play.

Until next week.

- with love taken in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by @fieldnotesofcait

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13 days ago