Nia

How did you start making art that empowers people?

I've always been a person who loves to work with their hands and create things. When I started making the art that I now love I was just out of treatment for my eating disorder. I was on disability and wasn't working as a result but I still had my Etsy shop. Creating the products I had originally didn't feel authentic to me anymore so I put it on hold and only created products that spoke to me. And I started coming up with little designs on my iPad that resonated with my mental health journey and encouraging people to pursue self care and self love and body positivity. These designs made me happy and then I found enamel pins and started turning my art into physical products outside of stickers. People really resonate with what I create and it makes me feel so fulfilled to hear that my art has made a difference in people's lives.

What do you do to self-care?

What I count as self care really depends on the day and my frame of mind. I often focus on the little things that keep me moving with forward momentum. So making sure to take care of my hygiene and eat and sleep is majorly important! But I also enjoy reading and that's an escape from the world for me. I also love sitting down with some snacks to a good Netflix binge. One thing that's really meditative for me is getting in my car and driving down the interstate for an hour or so. Self care for me means disrupting the negative thought spirals and productivity rabbit holes and prioritizing myself for a set amount of time. I also make sure to have some for of nourishing connection everyday whether by phone or video chat.