You probably know Cat from her beautiful instagram account @theolivetreesandthemoon. She is a land steward, knitter, folk herbalist and mother who believes in the magic of where one stands, deeply rooted in bio-regional characteristics. Her grid is a gorgeous collection of snapshots from her life on a dreamy hill in Portugal that will have you drooling over some Slow Living fantasies. But did you know about her secret life?
In this episode, I do get to talk with her about her process of finding home on the land she lives on, creating community, and finding groundedness in the act of making. I also get her to spill a dark secret: her grid aesthetics landed her a job as a social media consultant!
So, after we cover the ins and outs of her dreamy life, we dive into the messy world of social media: the beauty of the connection, and the false sense of intimacy. The inspiration and the comparison. The information superhighway and the echo chamber of opinions. Cat shares the ways that consulting has changed her relationship with social media and the boundaries she needs to keep her personal life separate from her professional one. She talks about the phenomenon of shock, when followers find out that instagram influencers do not share their politics and why it is so important to take activism offline and into our physical communities.
Join us this week for a reality check on what goes on behind your favorite social media accounts and a reminder to go outside and make something with your hands.
SHOW NOTES
5:00– How did you come to the land you live on?
15:00– Building a house vs. inheriting the story and tending the story of old homes
21:26– The duality of being a homesteader and being something of a public figure because of social media.
27:23– Boundaries between professional and personal social media
35:33– The false intimacy of social media and the echo chambers of the internet: Yes, that person you’ve followed for years might actually be racist!
Instagram Wizardry and Land Stewardship