WHAT IS SELF-CARE FOR ARTISTS?

TENDINITIS IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

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If you are an artist, cartoonist, or other creative type suffering from repetitive stress injury and you have an extra $17, the easiest way start on a self-care regimen of improved work habits and corrective exercise is to go by my book Draw Stronger.

But, as many of you know, musculoskeletal injuries are not the only health issues that keep us from creative practice. Chronic illnesses like cancer, epilepsy, migraine (my personal fave!), and more, can keep us from being able to physically sit our artistic butts in a chair and get to work. States of mental health like depression, bipolar disorders, and more can also keep us away from creative time. The kicker is that these states are not exclusive! You can experience them separately or in various combinations with different degrees of severity. What combination(s) do you experience? PTSD and carpal tunnel syndrome? Lupus and bipolar disorder? Cancer, anxiety, and disc herniation? Oh, yeah – don’t forget eye strain! The possibilities are endless!

This is a slide from a talk I gave at the Massachusetts
Independent Comics Expo (MICE) in 2018,
called "Drawing Deep: Physical and Mental Self-Care Strategies
for Comics Creators." Art is Georgia Webber's.

Let us a agree to say that a drawing injury is ANY state of your body-mind-spirit that keeps you from, or affects, your drawing (in a bad way.)

Since finishing Draw Stronger, I have been involved in many panels and events, at comics conferences, bookstores, and colleges, exploring the definitions and parameters of “self-care”. I am thrilled at the work other artists and health educators are doing to help people care for themselves and live more creative and productive lives. And, of course I’m thrilled for me too! Not only do I give advice, I follow the advice of other people and am happier for it.

UNIVERSAL TRUTHS

 On May 12, 2018, I was on the panel, Practical & Personal: Communicating Health in Comics, at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), with Iasmin Omar Ata, Julie Rocheleau, and Georgia Webber. Whit Taylor moderated.

During our talk, Iasmin and Georgia laid out a few universal truths about good health and making good comics:

1. Every person has their own version of health.
2. You have to be in touch with how you’re feeling.
3. Know your limits because…
4. The consequences of not learning health lessons fast enough can be extreme.
5. Find a balance between passion and what’s right for you.

  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFO AND RESOURCES (by me)

For the last year (or so) I have been writing a column for the ComicsBeat.com called Get A Grip! It’s a self-care column that includes as many facets of healthy creative practice that I can think of. There are articles on Graphic Medicine, mental health, eye strain (coming soon!), using Styrofoam rollers, interviews with creators, and more! You can even find a transcript of Iasmin and Georgia’s discussion at TCAF.