We LOVE Cosmic Care, the Spacey, Body Positive Guide to Self-Care

Self-care is utterly essential in this day and age. But even knowing that, it's not always easy to do what's important and set aside time to take care of yourself.

Artist and animator Robin Eisenberg, knows this very well. She's the author and illustrator of Cosmic Care: An Intergalactic Guide to Finding Your Glow, a gorgeously drawn book about the universality of self-care. It's full of simple yet powerful tips for nurturing your mind, body and soul, complete with soothing, spacey illustrations that show that self-care really is for everyone.

We loved this book, and were delighted to get the chance to speak with Robin Eisenberg herself. Keep reading to find out more about how it came to be, why the messages contained within are so important and what else we can all do to better take care of ourselves.

Sweety High: What inspired the creation of Cosmic Care? Did it take a long time to develop the aesthetic and the intergalactic theme?

Robin Eisenberg: The themes of space and introspection have been in my work for a long time, so when Chronicle reached out about working on a book, it felt natural for those same themes to be central. I wanted to create something that would hopefully bring people comfort (which is a big part of why I create art to begin with). Since so many of my drawings take place in outer space, we came up with the idea of self-care in space, which led to the idea of Cosmic Care. We decided to have the evolution of a star serve as the framework for the book, and thought about different practices that might fit within each different phase.

(Cosmic Care via Chronicle Books)

 

SH: How do you think that spacey aesthetic relates to self-care's universality?

RE: I think one of the things that I love about making art set in outer space is that it doesn't tie it to a specific location or experience, and it can hopefully be relatable to more people. I've always loved drawing extraterrestrial beings doing very Earthly things—I like the combination of something familiar and comforting in an unexpected context.

 

SH: Why do you think so many people need help to be reminded to slow down, look within and take care of themselves?

RE: I think we can often ignore our own needs for much longer than we ignore the needs of others. Today's world demands so much, and it's often not very forgiving. It's so important to try to be kind and gentle with yourself. Hopefully the book will help to provide a small reminder to do that, or even just a moment of calm.

(Cosmic Care via Chronicle Books)

 

SH: What messages about body positivity and self-love do you hope to reflect in your drawings?

RE: I think beauty comes in so many different forms, and I love illustrating that in my work! I try to draw characters who are comfortable with themselves. I hope that people can see themselves reflected in my art, and that they are inspired to feel comfortable in the same way.

 

SH: We loved your Wonder Woman illustration, and how she reflected real women. Did you expect the reaction to it that you received?

RE: Thank you! I really didn't expect that reaction at all. I was asked to create a character inspired by Wonder Woman in my usual style, and I drew that specific body type out of many options. In my mind, I had drawn a strong and confident character inspired by Wonder Woman, and it was a fun project that I was happy I got to work on. I didn't expect any backlash at all. I was really shocked at how intense the anger was towards the drawing and towards me. But I did get a lot of messages from people saying it felt amazing to see someone with that body type as a Wonder Woman character! So that made it worth it.

Only one word for the Wonder Woman 1984 #1 @RoosterTeeth variant cover by Robin Eisenberg: rad. Out September 29. pic.twitter.com/HySpmlWKUd

— DC Nation (@thedcnation) August 7, 2020

 

SH: Do you have any go-to practices for when you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed and want to get back to normal?

RE: It depends on what the situation is, but I usually like to either go for a long walk and look at trees, go for a long drive and sing/scream along to music or play piano. I overthink a lot and easily tend to spiral with my own thoughts, so getting myself out of my head can be helpful. But if I need to figure something out, I write. If I'm feeling unsettled or trying to figure out how to respond to something, I'll write out everything I'm thinking. Just writing it out is really helpful for me to feel calmer. I was doing a lot of writing the week that Wonder Woman art was first released.

(Cosmic Care via Chronicle Books)

 

SH: What's the biggest piece of advice you have for anyone still seeking to embrace their minds and bodies?

RE: One thing that's been really helpful for me is to try and surround myself with things that make me feel better about myself, as opposed to things I know will make me feel insecure or make me want to compare myself. I feel like we all ingest so much into our brains all day, and some of it is going to inevitably be not great, so I try to balance out the bad. In the past, I used to feed the negative parts of my brain a lot, and even though it was briefly satisfying it was ultimately not helpful. For example, I used to follow a lot of accounts on Instagram that would highlight my body insecurities—I would compare myself and feel inadequate. A few years ago, I started following more accounts of people who had a body type like mine and who seemed really confident, and it helped a lot. It was a small change but for me one that had a pretty big impact.

(Cosmic Care via Chronicle Books)

 

Need to set aside more time for yourself? Click HERE to discover the perfect self-care activity for you, based on your zodiac sign.