Transcript:
Creating Safety is a 3-panel comic that details how the artist created a symbolic ‘safe space’ for themselves when they moved into a new apartment and explains how the space helps with their self-care.
Panel 1: The header reads “I recently moved into a new apartment, and the first thing I did was to make myself a safe space.” The panel depicts a corner with a dark orange and green blanket on the floor, a crocheted doll with blue pants and a grey shirt on the blanket, and two cushions, one grey-white and the other black-white on each wall. There is a blue tray table to the right of the blanket. Each object is labelled with black arrows, from left to right, they are: “The doll mom got me from back home, it makes me feel like she’s physically here with me, despite being in different continents,” “The Halloween blanket that came with my first foster cat, Cammron. He had a big impact on me. I miss him so much, touching the blanket feels like he is still here. I hope he is doing okay at his new home, and “The rest is from Toronto, I got them when I was there for my first year of university.”
Panel 2: This panel depicts a computer with “SOLIDWORKS” visible on its screen. The header writes, “When I have to do something that is mentally tough, I do it while sitting at my corner. It feels like no matter how uncomfortable I am, this space will always soothe and physically welcome me.” There is a light blue speech bubble coming from the lower right corner of the page saying: “I had to complete a digital modeling project last week, and I wouldn’t have been as calm if I wasn’t sitting there. I ate kettle corn and made myself ginger tea. These made it less painful.”
Panel 3 is a zigzag outlined text bubble that finalizes the comic. “For my self-care, the small things I do for myself go a long way. Whether that be making myself a safe physical space or going to my favorite cafe after a hard interview, consistent self-care has been gently building safety inside me, one soft moment at a time.”
