A graduate of Clayton County’s Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts, Teylor Parks felt her mental health spiral during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. She had recently graduated from Florida A&M University and was living alone in Indianapolis, away from her family and friends for the first time.
“I was really anxious all the time, being that isolated, and I started feeling really depressed,” Parks said.
She turned to the same arts and crafts projects she had enjoyed as a child, making colorful affirmation cards and paintings and sharing them online.
“After doing some of these different art and wellness activities, I realized that I was starting to be alleviated from my anxious thoughts and this negative self-talk that I was dealing with,” Parks said.
Her art resonated with people around the world, who started buying her cards and meditation journals and sharing their own mental health struggles. It was the beginning of Breathe in Color, Parks’ creative wellness brand that offers a line of affirmation cards, guided journals, and facilitated in-person experiences.
Breathe in Color recently partnered with Freedom Sanctuary in the Edgewood neighborhood to launch Wellness Days, weekly creative classes that foster community and self-care through art.
Building community through art and wellness
“Our motto is creative wellness for all,” Parks said.
“I remember when I was an entry-level employee and saving up $20 just so I could go to a dance or flow movement class at the end of the week,” she added. “I don’t want price to be the reason why people who need wellness or arts and community aren’t able to have access to it.”
Breathe in Color’s classes are priced on a sliding scale for affordability. Monday journaling and meditation classes start at $10, while early bird tickets for Wednesday ceramics sessions are $20.
Parks believes hands-on activities like painting and journaling are not only opportunities for creative expression, but for self-care and community, especially for young Black girls.
“My classes are always open to everyone, but since I’m the face of it, I attract a lot of young Black girls and Black women into the cohort, and the journaling class has become a safe space for them to talk through some of their struggles,” Parks said.
Her classes have turned into impromptu support groups for participants.
“For example, last week an older woman came who was really struggling with her mother getting older, and they have a bad relationship, and other women in the circle had similar experiences and could offer advice,” Parks said.
Expanding Breathe in Color’s programming
Parks will start offering painting sessions, beginning in September. Later this fall, she will also teach ceramics classes through Clayton County Parks and Recreation.
“This will be awesome because I’m a born-and-raised ClayCo girl, and it feels like I’m giving back to my community,” said Parks of working with Clayton County.
Building the community that she needed at a difficult time in her life with creative activities which have sustained her from childhood to adulthood is at the heart of Breathe in Color’s programming.
“If you’re dealing with everyday stress, especially with things like grief or anxiety, or the struggles of life changes, sometimes you need self-care tools, but a lot of times you also need community,” Parks said.
“I’m providing these therapeutic art services, but in reality I’m just connecting girls to each other and the people they need at these different times in their lives,” she continued.
