By 2000, The Big Picture was finished, mixed by producer Dave Fridmann, and shopped to numerous labels before finally being released by Rainbow Quartz in October 2001.
George Reiff remained active in the music scene as a performer and producer, working with Chris Robinson, Court Yard Hounds, Dixie Chicks, Jakob Dylan, and Bruce Robison, among others.
Similarly, Josh Gravelin went on to work with Ian Moore, Alejandro Escovedo, Guy Forsyth, Sparkwood, Beaver Nelson, Oxford Files, Nakia, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and more.
Kevin Whitley, who played drums in an early incarnation of Cotton Mather, joined forces with original bassist Matt Hovis and 16 Deluxe vocalist Carrie Clark, and the trio, under the name The Pretty Please, released an EP in 2004 produced by Robert Harrison.
Although the double album was essentially a Robert Harrison solo project, it included contributions from George Reiff, Josh Gravelin, Darin Murphy, Brad Jones, and Dave Fridmann.
During Cotton Mather's hiatus, the group still retained a degree of success, as "Lily Dreams On" from Kontiki appeared on the soundtrack of the television show Veronica Mars, and "Lost My Motto" from Hotel Baltimore was included on Steven Van Zandt's compilation The Coolest Songs In The World.
By this time, Dana Myzer and Josh Gravelin were no longer readily available, so the line-up, although flexible, generally centered around Harrison, Williams, Reiff, and Murphy.
Long-time bassist and producer George Reiff fell ill toward the end of 2016, during the compilation and release of these albums and EPs, and died from lung cancer in May 2017.
Through PledgeMusic, they attempted to raise money for the recording of a new album, but fell short of their goal; Harrison later stated that he took most of the year off to recuperate from the loss of Reiff and other changes in his personal life.
During 2019, Harrison released 16 new songs from the I Ching project to patrons, as well as many unreleased Cotton Mather recordings and videos detailing the band's history, especially during the time of Kontiki and The Big Picture.