Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Fieldsted.
Hi Jerry, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My creativity arrived at a young age. I was doodling people in the form of numbers when I was 4, evolving into more human-like shapes as I grew older. I developed a knack for writing around 10, and began letting my imagination run wild with various ideas and concepts. I wrote down detailed video game design documents, crafted newsletters, and pushed my art every year. After graduating high school, I decided to explore my creative side in community college, eventually earning two Associate Degrees in English and Drama as well as serving as the editor for the college’s newspaper for a year and a half. I began dabbling with photography in my early 20s, adding that visual medium into my toolkit.
After I got a Bachelor’s in Anthropology in 2014, I had further expanded my understanding of the world and how people interact. After moving, a divorce, and losing my job in a unsettling two years, I suddenly found myself in a bit of a freefall from the foundation I had established for myself. I decided in the wake of such massive change that this was an opportunity to rise, not sink. I persevered through a rough year of unemployment and employment in a career line not suited for me, undergoing several interviews after I got off work from my 5am – 1:30pm temporary gig. I eventually landed a role at the local university in 2018, which gave me stability and grounding to unlock the forgotten aspirations of creative fruit I had let fallow in the tumultuous transition.
By 2020 and the arrival of the world-changing pandemic, I had built up a strong new support system with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the good fortune to befriend. I had shed the skin of my old life, and was blossoming into my newfound interest of becoming not only an author, but a book designer and illustrator. Since August 2020 and the publication of my first book Maya Moments, I have published a total of 15 different projects: four photography books under the banner of Develop; three art focused books covering my career as a creative through two chronological releases, Evolve, as well as a third covering my webcomic So…this webcomic; two works of fiction titled Isolate; a few research-heavy publications such as my video game/gender examinations First & Frequent Fantasy and Femtendo, as well as a deep dive into the first series of the book publisher The Limited Editions Club; and more. My art has also expanded and is at a level I am personally very proud of, and I’ve taken some of the best photographs of my life the last few years. In short, I am flourishing as a creative in ways I never have, and am so excited about what’s next!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I mentioned, there was a major disruption in my life in 2016-2018 where things got very topsy turvy for me. I unknowingly had been in a relationship with a narcissist since 2004, and had unintentionally sacrificed so much of my individuality and independence over the 12 years we were together. Many of my college friends were pushed away, and the dynamic with my parents was also heavily impacted as she did not like being around them. After moving in 2015, instead of talking to me about wanting to break up and move on, she chose the far more sinister path of cheating on me instead. Being an empath and susceptible to the influence of her chaotic energy, it took a few additional months of being in an “open relationship” (i.e. she could be with other people while I refused to) for me to acknowledge the painful reality that whatever I thought she was, I had made a critical misread. We agreed to part in 2017, and in the midst of separating and beginning the divorce process my employer decided to lay me off.
The entirety of my foundation had suddenly ripped apart into nothingness. I had in the span of a year and half moved away from where I grew up, parted from my ex-wife, and was unemployed. I remember the walk home from my last unexpected day at the office; the harrowing depression that clouded me, wondering what I was supposed to do. The agreement my ex and I concluded was for me to keep the rented house, new car we had purchased on a loan, both of the cats we had, and resolving our credit card and student loan debt independently. I was very suddenly in dire straits.
Without the support of my earliest friends I had made at my job, Kathy, Laura, and Ana, I would have been in shambles. The three of them truly helped me through the most difficult and challenging period of my life in immediate ways. Having people I could spend some of my newfound time with versus wallowing in self-isolation and despair was huge. I reconnected with my parents as well, and found their love and support monumental. After signing up for a refunding gig for a local online retailer for the faintest hint of financial sustainability, I worked incredibly hard to rebuild a new and fulfilling life…one I was in charge of.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am many things; as Walt Whitman wrote, I “contain multitudes”! I am a writer, crafting together words with thoughtfulness and passion in a variety of topics. I love doing creative and critical writing, I blog as well as write for books. I create videos on Youtube to further talk about my love and interests in video games and beyond. I am also an artist, honing my drawing and digital skills over nearly 40 years into my distinctive style. My art appears in my books, on my blog, and through other collaborative projects, such as the fanzine Taitronica that came out in 2023. Photography is another facet of my artistic expression; I recently served as a supporting photographer for two of my best friends’ wedding, and that was such a joy. I am also a designer, bringing together all of the above into my book projects, and expanding what I bring in creatively with a visual aesthetic that pleases and excites the reader.
I love my books. All 15 of them stand as my personal magnum opus in the world. They are the essence of me in multiple factors made manifest. I take so much pride and joy from them, and eagerly await releasing more! It’s my passion, and I think the fact I’ve published 15 books from 2020 to 2025 across a variety of genres and visual concepts certainly sets me apart!
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is a tricky value to define for a creative. A capitalistic way to look at it is through a financial lens, but I see that as only a piece of the puzzle. Making money off of what you love doing is a dream, for sure, but one can very easily choose to focus on that aspect alone and create soulless shells of content for monetary gain, and I’m not about that.
For me personally, success has to be holistic. You have to breathe your essence, share your energy, and bypass the embarrassment of being raw and authentic. What you produce needs to have YOU in it. And if you’ve done that, if people pick up what you’ve made and find it worthwhile and engaging; they can literally feel your essence and energy and appreciate the contribution you’ve made to your particular craft – you’ve won the prize of success. Even if it’s for a select few versus worldwide saturation; all it takes is resonance and understanding.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jfieldsted.wordpress.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEj4QoVLC1ho5SFD9nWCy6g
- Other: Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/wildcatjf/about
Image Credits
Author photo – Jessica Brandt
Femtendo logo collaboration – Gene Dixon
Develop IV Title Page Models – Sharon Martin and Ben Mota