We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zo’i (miss Bii) Graestonne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Zo’i (Miss Bii), thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I like to challenge myself and try every type of art medium to see how I can replicate my imagination in the physical world. I like to learn, and love to try new things! I’ve been told my whole life I have a vivid imagination and I’m always inspired by my environments or people around me. Often I have very different takes on creative tasks, as I live more than part time in my own head where I’ve created worlds and characters that interact with one another in ways that reflect my favorite movies or TV or books that captured my attentions and enthusiasm for the whimsical.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Goodness, I don’t even know where to start fully, there’s so much to my life these days! I suppose we can start at the right now, and work backwards a bit! My name is Zo’i, though many know me as Miss Bii – or Miss Bii the Cat – and over the years I’ve dabbled in a number of careers and trades, but currently, I’m the host of my own radio show & podcast with one of my best friends, Talib, called Omnium-Gatherum; A Kaleidoscope of Discussion. We don’t have a specific topic most days, but we like to engage in colorful conversation with many types of people! We have a large focus on arts and music, as well as spiritualism and healing, and we like to invite our guests to share their artistic or scientific endeavors. I myself, have been a magician and comedian and have done some background vocals for a friend who was a musician; I write and draw and have a couple of small time comics, and a vast portfolio of illustrations. I’ve been teaching myself to paint with different mediums like acrylic and gouache (which I am not very good at in my opinion! But BOY do you learn a lot when you fail sometimes!) My recent personal passion has been crocheting plushies and tiny chibi-style keychains! Because of some of my background and experiences with the supernatural and my passion for seeking answers in the cosmos, I find myself very tuned in to sci-fi stories and fairy tales, and I really enjoy trying to bring those kinds of characters to life with yarn and illustrations.
Being on the radio has been really fun, and has allowed me to explore in conversation with others the ideas of space and time travel, life from other worlds, and entertain the notion of not being alone in the universe. I know for some, “Aliens” is taboo still but, I’ve seen some things I can’t explain any other way, and to manage some of the strangeness, as an artist, I have created a little mascot for my show that is a cutesy alien being, who is designed to try to blend in with humans as he or she reports back to their people about how humans work. It’s been a really fun exercise in being creative and creating some dynamics for conversation and interactions with my audience!
Having a radio show is also incredibly fun because it allows me to connect with a large audience outside of social media, so I don’t feel as pressured to live by the algorithm of say, Instagram or TikTok, which I feel can actually drain you as an artist. Sometimes it feels like being on social media is relative to being in constant competition with strangers, and often, I find that really disheartening and discouraging; sometimes it feels like, if you don’t get certain engagements on these apps, your work is somehow less-than or unworthy, because you’re not doing the same thing as another person on said app, who maybe hit the algorithm JUST right, and has a particular style… sometimes those types of creators happen to be really similar to others, and it makes you feel out of place, and we find ourselves in constant comparison again. In those instances, I really appreciate having what I call an “Invisible” audience. I can’t see my listeners, and rarely I get a lot of interactions on social media, but we have regulars who tune in every single week, and who sometimes pop into the chatroom to be part of our show! When that happens, it helps me personally appreciate my place as an individual.
I really enjoy being a photographer also, because it allows me to go to events, or when I travel, to take photos and share them online, while also sharing the stories surrounding the events on the radio show, and opens up conversation with our listeners in those areas! For instance, I’ll be journeying up to Montana soon to help my dad after a big surgery, and will be driving up through South Dakota and the eastern side of Montana towards Bozeman, where I’ve never been before, and will finally get to see parts of the country I’ve longed to see! I can’t wait to share that with my listeners!
Also, being someone who’s artsy and travels and has indulged in many a craft and career, I have met and collected many a human, and most of which are also artists of some kind! Over the years, I’ve made friends with lots of musicians, and having several of them join us on the show has been really wonderful because it lets us connect with them on a personal level, and gives them an extra platform that they may not have had before to share their art! This week (Thursday the 16th of January,) my friend Spiro Siavelis who is a comedian out of Las Vegas, Nevada, will join us, and next week, (Thursday the 23rd of January) I will have my good friend Aaron LaCombe, a country-blues musician joining us! This year, our year on the radio started with having my friend and mentor in Magic, Lance Burton Master Magician on with us! Lance is an incredible person and has always been so encouraging and kind over the years, and is always so supportive of the teens that he mentors, and had such awesome things to say about those of us who grew up and went into our own paths in the world!
Last year, I had the California band STONESHIVER and the Georgia Blues trio, The Bourbon Brothers Band – started by my favorite guitarist and (my personal) Rock-Lord, Greg Bergdorf – which was INCREDIBLE on both accounts! I grew up learning magic from Lance Burton, and jammed out to Greg’s guitar magic in Zebrahead, and later discovered Stoneshiver because they were shared with me by a classmate in highschool, and I got connected with those guys because they’re good friends with my favorite musician and someone I was friends with for a time, who I believe is incredibly underappreciated in music, Justin Mauriello! The amount of bizarre connections in music and entertainment has allowed me to be in a space to share these cool stories and people, and share their stories with folks who maybe are fans, or will become fans! If you’re interested, you can actually catch our podcast and past shows on our youtube channel and my website! Just go to www.missbii.net/radio-shows OR direct.me/enter_the_kaleidoscope!
If you would like to learn more in depth stuff about my show or my art, you can find all kinds of stuff on my website! I also sell a lot of my keychains and plushies, if you find you would like a handmade friend to take on your own adventures!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think three qualities that aided me in my journey and were most impactful would be compassion, enthusiasm in creativity and being in a near-constant state of excitement. I joke about it sometimes, but truly, I am the most easily excitable person most people ever meet. I’m genuinely down for just about any and all adventures, all the time, day or night! Being open to experiencing something new as often as possible has allowed me to be more creative, and holding space for myself to be enthusiastic about that moment of creativity, and honing in on that excitement has really allowed me a lot of opportunities in my life, that I don’t think I would have been granted otherwise. And from there, I think growing up being compassionate for others, and always eager to help someone when they need it, lending my excitement or enthusiasm for a project or situation, and holding emotional and personal space for someone if they need a friend, has been a huge reward when making personal and professional connections.
When you can be a compassionate person, and listen to others to actually listen to them, and hear them when they share something deep, profound, or significant, and allow them space to share something personal and meaningful, you not only show them that they matter, and the things that matter to them suddenly become more important and hold more weight in them receiving validation, but it also can teach you something about yourself that you never anticipated!
I believe having these qualities especially in the times of the world now, are incredibly helpful to both yourself and the people you will come into contact with on your own journey.
With those qualities, you can easily gain some skills much like myself, that I also believe can give you a huge advantage in growing in your craft – such as becoming charismatic, having the confidence in yourself to hold conversations, whether they are small talk or deep-dive inter-personal conversations! Personally, I think having ‘Rizz and confidence are honed skills one can gain – but only when you learn to be your own best friend and biggest cheerleader, which is not an easy task! Some of us have a really hard time seeing ourselves the way others see us, in a good light, where we can appreciate ourselves as a unique and special being! It took me years to really be able to look at myself and say, “Hey! You’re awesome, and I love you!” the same way you might say to a best friend or someone you really admire. Being compassionate to yourself is so so SO important, as much as it is to be for others! So, be sure to hold space to be compassionate with yourself too.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
I would say right now, my biggest challenge is dealing with the feeling of dejection regarding social media and how it is such struggle as an artist to break out and garner the attention of the right audience and be able make sales or connections with the right audience to sustain myself financially, as I don’t do “what’s trending” or have a common style that I see others falling in to. I have a fairly niche style and interest in my art, both as a crochet/fabric artist and an illustrator. “The Algorithm” used to be a phrase to just explain the computer engineering of how apps work via categorizations, but has become its own entity in the online world, and what the Algorithm deems “worthy” if you will, is what gets the attention. Part of that seems to be based on randomness but also a weird set of timed posts and perhaps filter use or songs that are considered popular on the apps…
For me, trying to resolve that is in actions of moving on social media in the same, steady, tortoise-like way I have been for the last two years, as I have seen a regular and steady increase in my follower count, but I also interact with a lot of different accounts of which I personally enjoy, and see as potential connections to maybe at this point, have on my radio show, or collaborate with, or people who I just believe in that I can maybe be part of their growth in social media success as a sort of internet friend.
In real life, I have learned that the best way to gain any real traction, is in making connections and networking; because it’s not about who you know, its about who knows you, and how much they like you. Are the people you’re interacting with actually going to prop you up and speak well of you, introduce you to their friends, invite you to their cook outs or buy your products/art? Because if not, then you need to stop building them up immediately, or else it will become a big waste of your own energy. To me, social media is very much the same… so I am trying to be diligent in who I follow online, and I do my best to have genuine interactions with folks who’s brand I believe in – both because that is how I see successful business practice and also, in the hopes that someday they might also see me as someone they believe in.
It’s not easy to do sometimes, as we have probably all come to find a creator we liked turned out to be a less likable person off the internet… and that can certainly taint one’s views on everything – much like when people used to say “Don’t idolize pop stars/movie stars” or “Don’t meet your heroes” because you’re told that they will always disappoint you. I don’t necessarily believe that’s true in all cases, (though it can be, and has been a few times for myself) but focusing on putting your energy into people you truly feel can be down to earth and supportive of your own personal brand, is how I’m trying to see social media and the influencers on it. I want to learn how many of them are doing it – making money, and building successful businesses selling their art and doing their podcasts/shows…
In sort of studying these other creators and influencers, I’m trying to apply what I see them doing in a way that I feel can lead to some level of success for myself and my pages. I am currently doing an experiment with how I post reels, for example, on Instagram, and how often I post them, and hoping that I can figure out the lottery of the algorithm.
I am also working on a specific set of plushies that I am plotting out reels and TikTok styled videos with, in the hopes that that may garner the attraction of the right audience. . . otherwise, I’m just frequently trying to engage with my radio audience more on social media and asking those who tune in to share our pages and crafts with friends that they think would enjoy our content, and I hope to find the right people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.missbii.net
- Instagram: @missbiithecat (personal/art), @graestonne.images (photography), @enter_the_kaleidoscope (radio)
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/MissBiitheCat
- Twitter: @missbiithecat & @zoigraestonne
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OmniumGatherum-ph4oh
- Other: Catch the Omnium-Gatherum live radio show Thursdays at 4-6pm EST on revolution.radio/ – Studio A*
Image Credits
Photograph of Aaron LaCombe and Steve Tice, Justin Mauriello with Stoneshiver, Mike Kiddoo
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
