We were lucky to catch up with Catherine Freebersyser recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Catherine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

Art has always been my outlet for expressing myself and an outlet of escaping from the world of reality. I love the joy that comes with being an artist and being able to make a handmade gift that someone can give to someone special in their lives, whether it is a family member, friend, college, or someone special. I will never forget the day when I was asked to fulfill my first commission. My boyfriend’s aunt texted me asking if I would be interested in helping out one of her neighbors, who is a realtor, by drawing a house of one of his good clients. My first response was overfilled with a mixture of joy, excitement, and thrill of the thought of someone wanting to pay me for my art. When creating the piece, it was filled with nothing but focus and drive, wanting to create something that they envisioned in their head. That’s one thing I love about commissions. It is the idea that I am able to use my skills and passion to bring my clients’ picture that they created in their head come to life. When handing over the finished project of the house, I was nervous beyond words. But seeing the smile on his face light up as he saw the finished piece is the most priceless aspect of what I do. I still can’t get over that feeling every time I receive a commision, realizing someone thinks so highly of my work. It is one of the best feelings in the world and continues to drive me forward on my creative path.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always had a pencil or paintbrush in my hand as a child. I was always a quiet kid and kept to myself. It has always been a form of meditation and escape. I started off replicating drawings from “How to Draw” books, ranging from flowers to cartoons. The love of art continued into my teens while always practicing and exploring different types of mediums. I still love trying out different methods and mediums, trying to expand different creative skills. In college I expanded my skills, and have a bachelors in fine art and certificate in ceramics.

My work now consists of acrylic painting, art marker/pen drawings, and ceramics. I love looking at the world around me and finding the beauty of architecture and nature. I think that architecture doesn’t only show the beauty of its history, but also holds so many cherished memories for the people who work/ live there. Most recently I have loved exploring watercolor. With watercolor, I have found a love of drawing everyday objects and food!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect that I get as a creator comes down to two different feelings. Creating art is not only an escape, but also a form of meditation. Art lets me get lost in what I am doing and puts everything else in life aside. It is my place of peace where I can let my creativity shine and grow. The second feeling that comes is when the creative process is over, and I get to hand my creation to my client. It is the best feeling in the world being able to use my skill to fulfill and capture what they had pictured in their head come to life. That is why I love being a creator because it is not only rewarding to me, but also for others as well.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was in college in art school, I felt that my art was different in some ways than the rest. Going through art school, I believed that my work wasn’t received as well as the others. There was one particular instance where I was having an art review with all the art professors in the art department. One aspect about myself is that I am not great at verbal expressing myself at times when I get nervous. I remember stumbling over my words and feeling like I wasn’t describing my process with my art the way that I was trying to have it come across. So when trying to explain my intentions and meaning behind my work, my professor’s facial expressions led me to believe that they were not overly impressed. I even had one professor describe my work as “decorative art”. When I heard this, it took me aback, making my work feel less important than I had pictured in my head. When I asked her to expand, she said, “Well it is one that does not have any substance and is just there to look pretty for the eyes.” At that moment I felt gutted and went into the bathroom aftwards balling my eyes out. I felt defeated, and it made me second guess if this was something even worth pursuing because I wasn’t good enough. But afterwards, I realized that their opinions were just that; opinions.
Just because they feel my art is a certain way doesn’t define how I feel about it, or does it dictate how others relate to it. There are going to be people who love my art and style while there will be others who don’t. I’ve come to realize that while I do value others opinions, the one that should matter and mean the most is mine. That moment taught me to be resilient and push myself forward for myself and my happiness.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: cats_headspace
• Other: [email protected] for commissions if in the St. Louis area. Also message me in Instagram,