In Full Color: Therapist Uses Art To Explore The Facets Of Self-Care

I keep trying to connect with women who are doing amazing things in the realm of self-care. We all approach it definitely, but our core objective is the same: helping women love on themselves in a society where it feels impossible.Part of that connection has led to me spending more time on Twitter (follow me at @WhereWomenBloom). There I met Tasha Quinn, a licensed therapist and artist, sharing her "102 Ways to Practice Self-Care" series.TPJ: I'm loving your 102 Ways to practice self-care series. You are not only gifted in the area of making the abstract idea of self-care come alive for people of color, but you are an incredibly gifted artist! I love seeing them in my timeline. What inspired you to start 102Ways?Tasha Quinn: As a therapist, I talk about and around self-care probably as often as I say my name. It's the foundation of a lot of my therapeutic work with clients. So the topic is something I feel is very important. It has also been getting a lot more attention lately (which is awesome), so I knew people would be able to connect with the general idea of what self-care is. I've always noticed a lack of people of color, especially black women in the conversation of self-care. I remember googling the word "free" and seeing images of white women twirling around in fields with their hair down. I noticed a lot about how magical and strong and resilient black women are but struggled to find examples of us being vulnerable and still being okay. So I wanted to add to that conversation, and art has been the way I make sense of the world around me, so I decided to start painting/drawing illustrations.TPJ: How does the artistic nature of what you do appeal to you?TQ: Art, drawing and really any form of imagery is how I understand myself and the world. I don't truly get something until I can see it in my mind. A lot of times when I am dealing with something difficult emotionally, I usually struggle to find words to define what I'm feeling. Art has been my crutch, I will draw and scribble the things that are hard to say. I also just love how people interact with art in general. I enjoy consuming other people's voice through their art. I know there are other people like me who like having another medium or image available to help us understand a concept. So my hope is that seeing pictures help others interact with the idea of self-care in a new way.TPJ: Do you have a favorite?TQ: Man, this is a hard question because I connect to all of them in really different and personal ways. Some pictures I really just loved painting, either because it was challenging or it started out as something completely different and turned into something nice. Way 11 "Trust Your Gut" is one of the first ones that I painted. It's not my best painting but the idea means so much to me on an emotional and spiritual level. Just that idea is probably my favorite. But who knows, I hope to surprise myself some more in the remaining 52.Follow Tasha on Twitter at @102Ways and let her know which one is your favorite!