Meet Katie Gibbons | Actor, writer, producer, &… shellfish farmer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Gibbons and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, how do you think about risk?
Oh boy… I sure have taken a lot of risks… and more often than not, fallen flat on my face along the way. I believe that no matter what happens… if I keep doing my best with the tools I have there will be a pay-off, even if it isn’t right away. I think about it like Newton’s third law: to every action there is always an equal (and sometimes opposite) reaction. Now, sometimes this reaction is negative (not the outcome you’d hoped for) and in order to be willing to take big risks with potentially major gains and/or catastrophic losses, a person has to have resiliency. I think to really commit to a risk-taking mentality a person must have tremendous self-confidence in their own resiliency. Now, I believe some people are born with some semblance of this, and maybe it’s sometimes even rooted in ignorance, but that’s beside the point, though it bears mentioning. To bring this back to the beginning – I fall flat on my face more often than I “succeed.” In many ways I’ve had a largely privileged existence, though not without turmoil and trauma. It’s those adversities that have perhaps been my greatest gift. Working through my tougher times built the foundation for (and continues to build upon) a belief in and understanding of my own resilience. Having a mindset that includes a high level of self-confidence around my own abilities to handle failures and uncomfortable situations has been pivotal in my willingness to take risks with my creative career, my athletic career, and my life in general. Trust in myself to carry on, regardless of what may happen is my key ingredient in taking big risks such as moving to new places, even new countries, thoroughly learning languages, achieving academic and athletic excellence, and running full speed ahead with a non-linear “creative career.” A little side note: my education background is in biological anthropology. With this in-mind, I would say I approach risk taking in my life somewhat like a scientific experiment. This may sound sort of strange, but I think it’s honestly a good analogy: I have a thesis about how something might play out for me if I do x, y, and z, and then I attempt it and see if my thesis was correct or not, then I reassess and keep testing my theories regardless of whether they are reinforced or not. That said… so far in my life hardly anything has played out as I expected! However, one thesis that HAS held true time and time again is that so long as I keep trying, keep applying myself fully, and keep moving forward, I will undoubtedly learn so much more along the way than I thought imaginable. It always, always opens new doors to previously undiscovered possibilities in the process. A lot of times these new ideas and new possibilities I couldn’t have even fathomed without at least trying the thing I initially set out to do. All of this to say that I am constantly surprised where taking risks leads me – usually pleasantly surprised and pretty much never in the trajectory I expected. These “pleasant surprises” are almost always long-term payoffs accompanied by short-terms struggles. To me being a risk taker means to be in it for the long haul, embracing the lack of control and taking advantage of the opportunities presented to you in new and innovative ways. Life’s a journey. Enjoy the ride, man!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Creating many different forms of art has always been a hobby for me. Even as a little girl I was storyboarding and doodling and making clothes for my animals out of socks, building forts, towns, and worlds and sculpting with the clay in the woods next to my house. All those forms of creative expression (and many, many more) were always my escape from the pressures of school, from other people, or from work; a cathartic exercise I’d do when I needed to get away. I didn’t even consider art and creative expression when it came to picking a university, a major, or a career. Instead, I went to school for business and then through a variety of elective courses and travel experiences, grew intensely interested in biology, and then more specifically fell in love with biological anthropology. Through it all I continued to paint or photograph when I needed a reprieve. In truth, it wasn’t until I’d finished a bachelor’s degree, travelled extensively, trained as a full-time, high-performance athlete in the sport of rowing, and lived in various other countries (Costa Rica, Honduras, Chile, and Germany) for years, that I finally realized… I was an artist at heart.
I had this sudden, overwhelming feeling that I was not at all using my artistic and creative aptitudes and had instead been pounding the pavement to try for any semblance of a “normal” career that actually had a conceivable forward trajectory with an order of how a person moves along that career path. This realization hit me hard—I was constantly worried that I was too late and had in some sense “wasted” years of my life on things that I had no sense doing. While it was incredibly exciting to realize my life’s purpose, I had this overpowering feeling that I had to hurry up and “be a working artist” as fast as possible. I started painting every day, taking classes in all sorts of mediums, trying to pinpoint where my true talents lie. I needed to figure out how to brand myself and make money as a creative as soon and as fast as super-humanly possible, to prove to myself and everyone else that I was for real.
Fortunately for me, I found a release from all these internal pressures quickly, and that was through taking an acting course. I had done musical theater as a teen, but was quiet and self-conscious of my appearance back then. At the time, comparing myself to the other, boisterous, loud, (and mostly talented) other thespians I discounted myself and my abilities as an actor. Essentially a decade later, re-immersing myself in acting in a very, very different capacity changed my life’s trajectory completely. This newfound school of acting really forced me to look inside myself and seek to define firstly, who I was (a much harder question than it seems) and then what was important to me and why. All the conversations, meditations, and writing exercises around these topics lifted the imminent doom I had felt up to this point. Then, I did what I do best: I went ham – trying to understand the film business and all the various roles and steps of production, post-production, pre-production – I wanted to understand it all as thoroughly and as fast as possible… it took longer than I’d care to admit for me to realize that no matter how long I stick with it or how deep I go into the industry, I will never really understand it. That’s part of the enchantment of it all I suppose. During the period of time around when I made this incredible personal creative discovery, I took a plethora of classes and seminars in all sorts of things including screen writing, cinematography, and editing, among others. It was the writing and the acting that stuck with me the most, so that’s what I’ve largely run with. I’’d like to add that through continued acting courses I also dove back into some more visual art creation as well, to blow-off steam from the ups and downs and frustrations in the film industry.
Over the couple of years that I’ve been a working actor and writer, I’ve learned to dial it down and get back to the childhood joy of being present and trusting the process. I’ve had months when I’ve been able to keep up on my personal financial plan just with acting and writing jobs, and other months where I book nothing. What keeps me going is my passion for inspiration and my human desire to be seen, to expose my innermost self and share that with others. At the moment, acting, writing, and painting are my ways of honoring my time on earth: my way of paying homage to the human experience in the best way I see fit. I try to keep at the forefront of my thoughts every day that it’s literally just the experience of living life that I’m here for. Those thoughts remind me to embrace the processes that move me every day. Perhaps someday this passion and my creativity will call me to work in other creative realms or even other mediums, and I hope to always stay open-minded to whatever may feed my soul. For example, in the past year I’ve found myself taking on other roles to bring my creative visions to life, such as producing and editing. It’s important to note that my lifestyle as a working artist doesn’t always pay the bills. Coming to grips with this reality and finding other ways to make money that still fill other spirit cups (or at the very least don’t deplete a person) is super important in facilitating oneself as a working artist. For me, this has been working for the family shellfish farm: I get to work with family members, scuba dive, be out on boats and beaches, travel, educate, help to build up ecosystems, and meet people from all walks of life! It’s all about finding your balance, knowing when you fall out of balance, and then how to find your way back. Some key principals I circle back to when I’m feeling out of balance are persistence, resilience, and attitude: how can I reframe or pivot to find balance again?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would like to preemptively say that I live primarily in Olympia, WA (between Seattle and Portland). I do usually book some work down in LA, but it’s all been during the pandemic, so I haven’t really been much a part of the social scene there. Here in Olympia I would try to find a way to give my friend the highlight reel! There is a lot of good food and places to explore outdoors. Some of my favorites include a handful of restaurants in the downtown waterfront area that have great local seafood. OH… I can’t forget about the coffee scene. Up here a person has a million and one options for local coffee, and so many of them are great choices! I personally love the roadside stands, but if I’m in the mood for breakfast and/or a sit down coffee, I almost always go to The Spar in downtown. I also enjoy a little shop called Ember Goods for killer coffee and good vibes. I love to go hiking on trails that are easy-going and also lead to the beach when a person first comes to visit. When I’m alone or with family or local friends I often choose quite strenuous hiking options that can be a little longer of a drive, but for the first time or easy-going days I love the local state parks scattered in and around Olympia/Lacey!

As for LA, I love going to the parks there, too. I often go for a run at Observatory park by myself or with a friend and have frequented the little café near the parking area at the bottom. I love their scones, quiches, and coffees! On my most recent trip I went out for drinks with friends a few times and would definitely visit both places I went to again – El Tejano on Magnolia and The Den in West Hollywood. I always enjoy sunbathing, hiking, and walks on the beach, so all of those things are a must when I’m in town as well – regardless of weather because, let’s face it… even a “bad weather day” in LA is gorgeous relative the the imminent rain we’re used to for about 9 months up here in the PNW.

Another thing I’d add about LA is the awesome live comedy scene! I really, really enjoy going out and watching standup when I’m in town with spare time in my evenings.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents always encouraged my tenacity and extreme persistence with things I wanted to accomplish or in areas in my life where I wanted to improve. Having that kind of support behind me throughout my whole life has absolutely helped me accomplish things I might never have even tried otherwise. My mom is a family practice doctor and my dad is a self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur.” They are both incredibly adventurous, creative, eclectic individuals and have been through a LOT, both together and in their individual lives before they got together. Being born into a world filled with their joy for living life to the fullest – through the ups and the downs – has inspired me more than any one other thing I could pinpoint. They are perhaps the most resilient, self-inspired people I know, which has inspired me to live my life similarly.

Website: www.katie-gibbons.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_katiegibbons/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieagibbons/

Image Credits
Dana Patrick Photography
Lucas Gibbons Photography
Boston Harbor Photography
Dan Lao Photography