We were lucky to catch up with Jerry Fieldsted recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jerry thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Putting yourself into the spotlight is always a risk. As a highly sensitive person and an empath, I’ve had my fair share of struggles putting myself and my creative efforts out into the world. I feel there’s a couple key moments where taking a risk entered my life that helped me overcome hesitation and fear and gave me confidence and empowerment.

The first happened in high school. It was my senior year, and I had started my second year of drama classes. I had done technical support my first year, acting as a stage manager and assistant director, but I was suddenly cast in a major role as an actor in an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Tale of Two Cities”! Being on stage is a very big shift, and it was something I wasn’t sure if I was ready to handle. After learning I was cast, I talked with my teacher, Mr. Turner, who provided me incredible support in that he saw something in me I hadn’t. I trusted his instinct, and discovered a lot about myself by stepping into the shoes of someone else. It ignited a love of theatre within me, and I went on to act in plays the rest of my senior year and into community college. I felt liberated, like I could shed the skin of who I was and become something new.

More recently, publishing books has been my latest risk taking. Since 2020, I’ve published 15 books and have many more in the works. As an anthropologist, I want to understand people, so I often take on topics and challenges in areas outside of my own lived perspective, such as exploring gender dynamics, writing a queer protagonist in my novels, and being inclusive and including people from other cultures through my creative outlets. Putting your words, art, photos, and soul into a physical form for others to review and critique, however, is a scary prospect, and for many years I sat on creative projects I was too afraid to share. My experiences online had a few close calls with hateful people that reminded me too much of the bullies I left behind me in elementary school. In 2019, I met one of my bestest friends in the whole world, Rachel Warmath, who is such an inspiring force. She and I talked a lot about creativity and expression, and thanks to her support and encouragement, I published my first book, “Maya Moments”, and haven’t slowed down since! I’ve taken so much of what I had written, drawn, and created and published it in the five years since. We continue to help each other in our creative projects, and we bring out the best in each other because we both want each other to flourish.

Jerry, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since I was young, I have always loved to write and draw. I view these as essential therapy; a way to mediate the world and subvert the reality. Over my 42 years, I have pushed myself to newer, bolder heights, and moving into book design and publishing was a natural progression of my creativity. I’ve published 15 books so far on a variety of subjects, such as video games, gender, photography, collections of my art, limited edition books, an illustrated poem from a Victorian poet with commentary, and extensive data-backed research.

Being able to combine all of my passions into a singular craft is such a gift. Bookmaking is something truly special, and having the ability to utilize my artistic skills, photographic eye, writing talent, and my experiences with image and design software to create a physical volume I am proud of is simply the best feeling. It’s also a nice counterbalance to my career as an administrative support coordinator for the local university, where the work is more empirical and technical.

I love what I do. It’s something that pushes me and allows me to grow and evolve as a person, and expressing that through books, my art, and my writing means everything to me.

I recently published my 15th book for Wildcat Press, Isolate Volume 2, my second novel set in high school that I personally feel is my best book yet, and I have so many more in development! To learn more about of my books, blogging, and art, I have a portfolio site: https://jfieldsted.wordpress.com/.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think everyone has a degree of creativity; it’s how one chooses to express it that is challenging for others to understand. While I draw, take photos, and write, someone else may express their creative spirit in gardening, or in cooking, for example. There is no wrong way to let yourself create! It’s merely removing the fences we build up around ourselves that restrict that expression or that feeling that it doesn’t exist within. It’s all a matter of trust.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Perfectionism, perfectionism, perfectionism!

I’m not entirely sure where this took root in me, but I’ve carried the urge to make sure everything is “perfect” for most of my life. Being on time, never missing school, rereading essays and assignments too many times, feeling immense shame at errors slipping through; you name it!

The last five or so years I’ve made a conscious effort to shift that. I’m allowed to make mistakes. I have permission to mess up. The world won’t end if I misspell something or forget to add a word here or there. Being open to learning from these moments and silencing the inner critic that is too harsh. It’s not easy and I still have moments where it flares back in. I am human, after all. I feel that, where I sit now, however, it is a much calmer sensation than it was before the pandemic. Publishing books has helped with that more than I can say! I’ve had to sit with a book being out there with something I didn’t catch, and finding peace that it’s a part of the process and not a glaring oversight.

We all can be kinder to ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jfieldsted.wordpress.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-fieldsted-343639239/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj4QoVLC1ho5SFD9nWCy6g
• Other: Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/wildcatjf/about
  Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jerry-Fieldsted/author/B08ZS81FKF

Image Credits

Isolate V1 Colors by Gene Dixon
The Best of LVLS+ Model – Kathy Kinsey-Whitney
All other credits: Jerry Fieldsted