Love Yourself! Newsletter – Galactic self-care

I’ve talked a lot about finding your own forms of self-care because we are all so different, the same things will not work for all of us.

My creative outlet lately has been painting shells, for a few reasons. First of all, it can be difficult to find art supplies where I live, so that’s instantly a barrier for me. And for someone with ADHD, those few extra steps are often insurmountable. Shells are plentiful and free. And the other, not-so-small reason, is that it forces me to get out of the house and walk on the beach. It’s also a super nice bonus if I can get my son involved, who also struggles with leaving the house sometimes.

One of my favorite things to paint is space scenes and galaxies because it’s basically a themed abstract subject that anyone can do. I’m not a skilled “painter” I just like to create, you know? And I dig astronomy and science, so it’s a perfect activity for me.

I’m a huge fan of mixed media, I certainly enjoy a little bit of everything and that makes it right up my alley, so I wanted to combine my newest shell painting (which I thought came out super rad) with something else I’ve been working on — word searches.

So I photographed it and added a few digital elements, mostly just text and sparkles. It was such a fun process to take something I found on the beach, turn it into something different and then turn it into digital art with a puzzle. And not only was it a fun learning experience, but I felt good about it. I was proud of such a creative work that I’d never tried before.

It’s delightful when we take a chance on a vision we have in our heads and it turns out better than we hoped, isn’t it? I’m going to try and bask in that feeling and remember it the next time I hesitate to try something new.

self-care

Check out the rest of the newest edition of the Love Yourself! newsletter here

Author

  • Nikki

    Nikki is a photographer, writer, artist, and advocate of radical self-love. She writes about mental health, gaming, sex, and inclusivity.

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