Stephen
Carol
Jean
Justine
Luc
Dan
Mary
Emily
Maxine
StephenStephen Powell is the chief programs and partnerships officer at the National CARES Mentoring Movement, an organization that trains African-American mentors. “Because I know that this is my calling and what I'm supposed to be doing on this planet, I get a lot of reward from it… I always remind myself, I can't pour from an empty cup. I put so much into community… to ensure that young people can have a successful future... But I also remember that if I don't take care of myself, I'm not going to be of good use to THIS community first, my family.” “When I think about my family, that's where I restore myself… Whether it's my daughter's running track--sometimes I run with her--walking, drawing with Simone… dating my wife. Because at the end of the day, I want to position myself as their first love. And I feel like every day is a new opportunity to not just show them that I love them, but that I'm in love with them.” Made for Montclair Local News.
CarolWhen Carol Cohn was voted one of the top three artists of the LA stARTup art fair in early 2019, she cried for two days. “Sometimes tears are happy tears. It was such a validation of my making this step in this direction.” Cohn, who always loved to draw, needed permission to make more meaningful art. The permission came three years earlier when her marriage counselor suggested Cohn journal or draw to help process the ending of a long marriage. “I was able to listen to my muse without being judged because the therapist said, ‘try it.’” Not long after, Cohn visited an exhibit at the Whitney, where the word “impermanence” came to her mind. “It is a Buddhist concept that nothing is permanent and that we begin our lives as seeds, we become the tree, and in our wisdom we become the fruit of that tree...I realized I had crossed the threshold. I was now the fruit of the tree and that my life had given me so many lessons. Divorce was one chapter...And now I have the strength to create the images to tell that story.” Made for Montclair Local News.
JeanJean Savage was very thin growing up but didn’t realize she had an eating disorder until a couple of years ago. There were “long periods of time where I just tried to ignore my body and not honor it… It wasn't until I actually gained weight and actually became fat, which I don't think there's anything wrong with, that I realized that I hadn't been fat my whole life… It's really amazing to me that I've been able to love myself when even just a couple of years ago I didn't want to be here, you know?”For Savage, taking baths is a big part of her self-care. “You're doing something for yourself and for your own body and in a way you're not only honoring your body, but you're getting on that level with your body and saying, ‘Hey, I see you. We're in it together.’” Made for Montclair Local News.
JustineAs a new single mother and someone who works in child protective services, Justine Powell knows stress but has developed ways to cope with it. “I have this thing I do. It's called ‘the next best thing.’ And if I'm really stressed, I stop and I get very, very simple: literally, what is the next thing you need to do?” Powell asks herself this when working with a challenging client or caring for her daughter. “There are times with her where I give her a bath and then there's a trail of the diaper, the toys, this and that and I'm looking at it and I'm like, you really should go back and pick it up. I'm like, you know what? We're going to sit right now. We're going to sit for the next 10 minutes and this whole house can be an explosive mess and we're just going to sit because that's the next best thing we need to do to feel better and not feel overwhelmed.” Powell attributes her overall well-being to therapy and wishes there wasn’t a stigma around it. “If people value therapy, like they value going to the gym and maintaining their bodies, a lot of people will be a lot better off emotionally and mentally.”Made for Montclair Local News.
Luc“Being a teenager and also on top of that being trans, hasn't been easy as far as self-love goes,” says Luc Nahas. Part of his self-care includes putting together a nice outfit, despite how little sleep he may have gotten or anxiety over a test. “It might not be like I'm dressed to the nines every day, but… it's me organizing myself physically so I could organize myself mentally.” For Nahas “being able to look in the mirror and see what I had always hoped I'd grow up to be” is an act of self-love. “We all have our own struggles with what we look like in our mind versus what we look like in the real world. Sometimes we just have to learn with time that you're going to find yourself and you may not look like every single thing you dream to be. I mean, I probably dreamed that I’d have a Zac Efron six pack, but we're not there. I'm happy and so for myself, that is the most handsome version of myself. I’m my authentic self.”Made for Montclair Local News.
Dan“The only thing that really stresses me out is aging,” says Dan Epstein. “The way I relieve that stress is by being very busy, or busying myself with things that actually matter to me, like my volunteer work at Studio Montclair… I pass on the knowledge that other people gave me. It's important to me to mentor young people the way I was mentored. So that's part of it. And the other part is doing my own work… making the portraits that I would make because I believe they need to be made.”Made for Montclair Local News.
MaryMary Scully-Davison finds solace and joy through prayer. “There's one scripture that is my lifelong scripture that helps me when I'm struggling, in Romans 8:28 where it says all things work together for those who love God and those who are called according to his purpose so even though it's bad at a time there is a purpose for it. I kept that forefront in my mind when my husband was almost dying… When you start giving thanks or say thankful things it adds on. It's sort of contagious. One thing adds to another. Like sometimes me and my husband, we will say, ‘Oh we are so thankful to be here’... I think being thankful is key to staying healthy.” Made for Montclair Local News.
Emily“I've been stuck in one job for a long time, and it's a comfortable place in that I get a paycheck and nobody's firing me. Nobody's putting pressure on me. But it's not going anywhere. It doesn't progress,” reflects Emily Tumbleson. She combats her frustrations by socializing, singing in a choir, meditation and photography. Lately, she’s discovered the joys of making meals for herself. “Cooking is actually a huge thing for me. It's usually how I show affection for other people… I think cooking touches upon the idea of patience. Taking the time to do that thing for myself brings me joy and satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment. Having patience with myself has been important to be more okay with myself and be okay with taking the time and not necessarily needing the instant results that I so often seem to just need.”Made for Montclair Local News.
MaxineAs the assistant caregiver to both of her parents, C. Maxine Rodney struggles with balance. “My fears are not having enough time to create or to continue creating the life that I desire and not being able to fully support them the way I need to and live my life.” Still, Rodney finds time to love herself, and finds setting boundaries important to that care. “If you're constantly pouring into other places, other people's and things, and they're never pouring into you, they're always taking from you. Those are relationships and entities that are out of balance and out of alignment with you.” “Being by bodies of water, especially for empaths is a great healing technique and a great grounding technique… Water is my thing.” If she can’t get to water, Rodney has a favorite tree at Brookdale Park she visits. “I came out here late one night. I had been praying and meditating, I was going through something and I was drawn to that tree. And every so often I go and all I do is just simply touch it.”Made for Montclair Local News.
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