Is creativity coaching right for you? An interview with Catherine LaSota
And a killer opportunity to work with her!
Happy New Year, and Welcome back to the Long Pause. This time of year is a giant reset button, so instead of sharing a Long Pause story from a fellow creator, I'm sharing an interview with Catherine LaSota about her work as a creativity coach— the ultimate reset. Catherine is the genius behind The Resort, a hybrid writing community where I was a longtime lurker before finally meeting Catherine in 2021 when I received a complimentary coaching session. I kicked off 2022 with three months of coaching with her, during which she helped shift my thinking about my creative life, and helped me set things in motion that would reap rewards long after our sessions came to an end. The Long Pause exists in part because of the work we did! The best part? She just restructured her coaching business to open space for more new clients. I hope you love reading about Catherine and her smart perspective on all sorts of creative Pauses. Don't miss the offer she shares with readers at the end!
Catherine, welcome to The Long Pause! I have to ask-- have you ever had a long period where you weren't making the work you wanted to be making? Do you have any personal experiences with a Long Pause?
Thank you, Erinn! It’s great to be here. I love reading The Long Pause and am a big advocate of artists sharing their stories with one another. And, yes, absolutely, I have periods all the time when I am taking a pause from my own creative work. As a mother of two young children, a resident of non-stop New York City, and the owner of a small business, taking pauses in certain areas of my life is just par for the course. I have a practice as a visual artist, a musician, and a writer, and what I’ve come to realize over the years is that we are not meant to go hard all the time in our creative pursuits (or, at least, I’m not meant to do that). I certainly don’t make art and music and essays all at the same time – I tend to cycle through my different practices and sometimes (at least outwardly) I have no creative practice at all. But these seemingly fallow times are actually super important for the creative process. Our brains and hearts and spirits are doing so much work all the time that has no material representation, until it does.
You've been working to support creative people for a long time. Tell me about your trajectory as a creator, community builder, and now coach.
I moved to New York City in the late 1990s, right after finishing college, because I had dreams of being an artist in NYC. It wasn’t easy – I was broke and working at an art supply store and totally scattered in terms of what kind of art, exactly, I wanted to spend my time making. What saved me was connecting with other people, finding my community and support systems. I’ve always believed that a creative life is not built alone, and that when one of us has success, it’s good for the collective. I’m pro- mutual aid and anti- competition!
Over the years, I earned two MFAs (one in sculpture and one in creative nonfiction), hosted a monthly reading series and several podcasts, and published dozens of interviews with writers and artists, which means I’ve had the thrill of being in conversation with hundreds of folks who are all building a creative life in their own way. When I developed the Resort writing community, which is how you and I met, one of the purposes of that project was to demystify the publishing industry and the craft of writing for people at all stages of the writing process. I had benefited from making connections with authors and publishers and editors through my work in NYC – in that I now had not only helpful connections but a wide-ranging understanding of how the creative ecosystem works – and I wanted to share those benefits with as many people as possible.
I’m pro- mutual aid and anti- competition!
A few years ago I enrolled in a certified coach training program, and I combined those skills with training and experience I have in facilitation and other fields to work with writers and artists as a creativity coach one-on-one. This gives me the opportunity to go deeper with my clients, more quickly, which is extremely gratifying not only for my clients but for me as a person who is always rooting for my fellow artists.
I know from my own experience that your approach to coaching someone who isn't making the work they want to be making can be really effective not just in the moment but over time (this whole Substack started with questions you posed to me). Can you talk about how you approach a client who comes to you in the middle of a drought?
I’m so glad to hear that our work together has had a long-term impact for you! That is my goal: not just to help my clients complete a specific project or power through a limited period in their life, but to help them build the skills and mindset to develop a personal creative practice that works uniquely well for them over a lifetime.
I would say, actually, that every single client I’ve worked with has chosen to work with me because they were in some kind of a creative drought. That is, they knew that there was more they wanted to be doing creatively in their lives (whether that be writing, artmaking, performing, or something as yet to be determined), but they just couldn’t seem to find the time or energy or confidence (sometimes for years) to prioritize this practice in their lives. This is what we work on together, and it is work that I love.
It might seem counterintuitive to invest money and time into working with a professional on creative work that's not currently happening. What's your pitch for your services to someone who might be skeptical?
First of all, I want to say that I never want someone to put themselves in a precarious financial situation to invest in coaching, whether or not they are currently making creative work. A healthy creative life is an ecosystem, and when one part of your life is stressed, that will absolutely affect your creative output. This also happens to be a primary reason why investing in coaching, if your budget allows it, is a great decision especially when you are not making creative work. Together, we can investigate what it is you want to be creating, and how various points of friction in your life and/or frame of mind might be making that difficult – and then we can work together on personalized tools and a game plan to get you where you want to be creatively.
What are you looking forward to in 2025? What's next for you professionally and or creatively?
Collectively and individually, we have all been through a lot in the past several years, and I’m anticipating some shifts in 2025. In order to roll with these shifts in a way that feels good and aligned for us, it is important that we continue to check in with ourselves and our desires and needs – and it’s also important that we build and maintain strong communities! Personally, I’m looking forward to building on my own spiritual practices – this includes my journaling, tarot, reading, and walking practices – in support of the way I show up in the world for myself and others. Professionally, I am stoked to work with more writers, artists, and creators of all kinds, to help people show up more fully as themselves and make the creative work that truly nurtures them and their communities.
Anything else you want to tell me that I missed?
It’s been such a pleasure to be here on The Long Pause! Thank you for the work that you do. If any of your readers are intrigued by creativity coaching and feel like now could be a supportive time to pursue it, I invite them to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation call so I can answer any questions they may have, and if they mention The Long Pause I am pleased to offer them 10% off any of my current coaching programs!
Catherine LaSota is a writer/artist/singer, community builder, and creativity coach. She is the founder of the Resort writing community and the acclaimed LIC Reading Series (2015-2020), and she has developed and hosted several podcasts about art, community, and social justice. Catherine’s writing appears in Literary Hub, BOMB, Electric Literature, and elsewhere, and you can read an especially Long Pause-worthy column that she wrote for Catapult here. Catherine is also Associate Director of Social Practice CUNY and a certified advanced SCUBA diver, and she lives with her husband and two young kids in Queens, NYC. You can learn more about Catherine and her coaching offerings here.
Find Catherine on teh internets:
Instagram: @catherinelasota
Email Newsletter sign up!: Catherine LaSota’s newsletter
“What I’ve come to realize over the years is that we are not meant to go hard all the time in our creative pursuits.” 100% agree—a passion morphing into a chore can become a personal creative tragedy!