We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Priscilla Rathbone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Priscilla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

You know those Deep Thought Questions about how to make a career out of what makes you happy, and they say to think back to your childhood and what brought you joy as a very young person? And I always thought about climbing trees and catching bugs (I grew up kind of wild in Florida with a single dad), and I didn’t see how I could make a career out of that. But I forgot about the hours I spent lost in creating imaginary worlds, and perfecting my own languages and fancy scripts. Even though I never played D&D, I was fascinated by the anthropological descriptions of different kinds of cultures and governmental systems. I drew the fantasy creatures I saw in the books. I developed a calligraphy script for writing down my ideas.

I wish that I had been brave enough, adventurous enough and clear-seeing enough to start a creative career as an artist earlier in life. I wish that I had remembered and honored that girl who spent hours imagining and drawing and creating. I think I had 3 major blocks to discovering her earlier– 1. I thought that my love of art and beauty was not “important” enough and that instead I should be out there helping people and saving the world. 2. I was not confident in my artistic abilities. I wanted to be “excellent” right away, and struggled with perfectionism for many years. 3. I had lost my mom (who was an artist) when I was 5, and so in a way, felt like I lost the connection to my artist self, and instead tried to climb into my Dad’s world, dominated by the intellect. It seemed safer. I finished college then went to graduate school at Antioch, in couple/family therapy. I wanted to help people with their relationships. But, although I enjoyed connecting with people, I found I didn’t really click with the work. It didn’t have enough visual creativity for me. I felt like a failure. If I were to go back and try to do it now, I would focus on art therapy, but even that I’m not sure would have been enough.

I first discovered the joys of a creative career after my first son was born and my husband and I started a business as wedding photographers. I just loved the transformation of the ordinary into the beautiful, the pomp and circumstance, the complexity of family relationships, the extravagance of the flowers and cake and place settings and favors, and of course let’s not forget the cute, cute kids. Capturing the emotion and beauty of that special time was a magical experience. But it was also a very physically demanding job and I ended up with major hearing problems from standing too close to loud speakers during fun receptions!

In 2017, we had a major family tragedy. My younger son, the love of my life, who was 5 at the time, suffered a near-fatal drowning accident. He was in a coma, then a semi-conscious state for 2 1/2 years. Our whole world became hospitals and therapy appointments and hyperbaric oxygen chambers and traveling for stem cell injections. We gave it our all, but he passed away in early 2020. In the midst of our grief and upheaval, the pandemic struck. It was a dark time, and I did not know if I would survive it.

I believe that art and cats saved my life. Did you know that studies have shown that cats’ purrs can mend broken bones? I think that they can also mend broken hearts. My kitty Bellatrix adopted me as her “person,” and spent countless hours in my lap, slowly healing me. A friend of mine suggested I try Zentangle drawing, as it is an art based on repetitive patterns. It is soothing and meditative. And also healing.

I was finally ready to be an artist. What does perfectionism matter when you feel like you have already lost your whole world? I was finally ready to be brave.

I love being an artist so much. I have a boundless imagination (I don’t understand “creative block”) and always have too many ideas. Bellatrix is my muse and I honor her by centering my art around cats. I started drawing cats in Seattle, and then they seemed to get a mind of their own (as cats do :)), and they started traveling, to Paris, to London, to NYC. And thus was born “Pretty City Kitty.” The name was suggested by my husband, who is good at things like that. My motto is “So many cats to draw, so little time.” I completed a “Frida Catlo” series last year, and now my cats are hanging out in Puerto Vallarta (my latest project). I like to do 12 images for each city, so I can make calendars with them.

The reason I wish I had discovered earlier that I could be an “Artist” is that it clicks, it feels right, and it brings me joy. I want my cat art to bring joy to others too.

Priscilla, 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?

Building on the last question, I really enjoyed creating art, but making it into a business was another thing! I had no idea if people would connect with my cat art. I didn’t really do any market research but instead just started posting my Zentangle-Inspired cat art on Instagram. As I started to connect with other artists and cat lovers, I gained more confidence in my art. I opened my Pretty City Kitty shop on RedBubble, where I can post my images, and people can order them on a variety of items from t-shirts to wall art. I also have a shop on Lulu, which has cat calendars and coloring books. And I signed up for local craft fairs, where my “eco art cards” have been particularly popular. I print them on seed paper, which you can plant! I don’t have a website of my own yet, but it is in the works, and then I hope to be able to offer everything in one place. I can really print any of my art images on almost anything one would want (mousepads, stickers, throw pillows, etc.)!

I want to bring the joy of cute cats doing cute things to the world. I also love the message of Zentangle, which is that anyone can do art and create beauty. In the Zentangle community, artists from around the world create and share these patterns, and then others modify and play with them to make their own, in a wonderful creative synergy. At some point, I would like to branch out more into teaching Zentangle and bringing this accessible art to everyone.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me of being an artist is getting into the flow of creation. I’ve never been too great at meditating, though I’ve tried a lot, and making art seems to be a type of meditation in action. I like losing myself in the creative process. I love having a vision in my head and then seeing it come alive on paper (though it’s true that my abilities do not yet match my vision and I’m not sure they ever will). And I also believe that art is often (always?) the transmutation of pain into beauty. I am honored to channel my pain into something that I hope can bring more joy and beauty to others and to the world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

An important lesson I had to unlearn is not to strive for Perfection. I am still in the process of unlearning this one. “The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good.” Although I wanted to be an artist when I was younger, I felt like I would never be able to create art that matched my standards. And, of course, I was right, since my standards were too perfectionistic. I desired to make the art of my dreams right away. I believed that my art was not “good enough” and constantly criticized myself. My desire for perfection sprang out a desire for safety (if I was perfect, I couldn’t be criticized), a desire for praise (if others told me I was good enough, maybe I could believe it myself), a desire for security and relief from anxiety (maybe if I was perfect, I could finally relax and just feel ok).

I now have the (hard-earned) knowledge that the desire for Perfection, however alluring, blocks creativity, connection, authenticity and joy. The philosophy of Zentangle drawing has been very therapeutic in this way. In Zentangle art, there are “no mistakes”– if you happen to draw something that you didn’t mean to, you just incorporate it into the design. I find the repetitive patterns very soothing, and sometimes challenging in a way that focuses my attention and hones my creativity. I often feel, in the middle of a design, that it is just not looking at all like I want it to, but then the patterns work their magic, and once the overall design is finished, it all comes together. I’m not religious, but it is a spiritual kind of experience, and makes me feel like maybe I am just part of the great pattern of life, and I have a small part to play. I don’t know what it is, but I am a small piece of a beautiful design.

Perfection blocks connection, because who can connect with someone who is perfect? It is in our imperfections that we find originality, and commonalities. The desire for perfection blocks authenticity, because you have to spend so much time denying the parts of yourself and your creations that are imperfect. And perfection blocks joy, because who can get into the flow when they are worried about quality of the final product? Art is messy, art is emotional, art is life. And life ain’t perfect! (as we all know)

Social media, although often maligned for increasing the pressure on people to be perfect, has actually had the opposite effect for me. It’s a bit difficult for me to post my art sometimes because I feel like it’s not good enough or not up to the standards I have or the vision I hold. But I put it up anyway. And I connect with other artists. And we support each other. And so then I can accept myself and my art more and more, instead of worrying about presenting a perfect image!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prettycitykittyart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrettyCityKittyArt
• Other: E-mail: [email protected]

Image Credits

Bob Rathbone; Priscilla Rathbone