The Liberatory Care Coloring Book
This project emerged from Liberty’s life long dream to create a coloring book which evolved as they sat in class with Myriesha Barber and doodled while learning about community liberation psychology. They meditated on the meaning of community care and what care looks like as liberatory practice or care that is generated on the path to liberation.
In August 2020, 12 artists from around the globe gathered in virtual space to dream up what liberatory care means to them in their respective communities. What emerged from that dream space was pure magic and after 5 years, we are thrilled to share a 2nd edition with you with updates and edits.
Key 2nd Edition Udpdates include a removal of outdated artist information and a redirect to this site for the latest information about how to support these amazing creators!
Meet The Creators
Sonja Nosisa
Cover Artist
@SonjaNosisa
Sonja Nosisa Noonan-Ngwane is a Xhosa-American artist and anthropologist currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Anthropology. Sonja is learning to mould ethnographic methodologies such as comic, audio, video, photo, performance and sculptural explorations, to engage in healing on somatic, inter-communal levels and beyond. Living in Cape Town, South Africa, Sonja Nosisa explores mobility and transnational belonging, traditional healing and trauma healing in her academic, personal and artistic works.
Naiyáh
@bynaiyah
Naiyáh is a multidisciplinary artist and illustrator whose work celebrates minimalist abstract design, soulful linework, and the liberatory expression of women of color. Rooted in nature, self-care, and emotional depth, her practice centers art as healing. Inspired by the strong, wise women who shaped her upbringing, Rochelle creates digital illustrations and paintings that honor sisterhood, individuality, and creative resilience. Raised in the Midlands of the UK and now based in London, Rochelle is also known as Naiyah, a vocalist and resident member of the award-winning artist collective Steamdown. Her meditative, soulful musical background echoes through her visual work, bringing a sense of presence, tenderness, and storytelling across all her creative expressions.
G Weaver
https://linktr.ee/ajnagabriella
G Weaver is a queer, genderfluid healing artist & intuitive astrologer (she/her & they/them pronouns) currently living in Portland, Oregon (Chinook/Multnomah territory). She has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, alongside mixed European heritage, primarily Ukrainian & Belarusian. She grew up in Santa Cruz, California (Awaswas/Ohlone territory), where the Pacific Ocean and Redwood forests were among some of their greatest teachers. In her art, she works through many media— writing and poetry, drawing and lettering, digital and 3D collage, space-making, relationship-building, social media weaving, and intuitive healing. She considers them all forms of channeling.
Lin Grimm
ellgrimm.itch.io
Lin Grimm (they/them) has been drawing SOMETHING most days since they were six. Fueled by coffee, cats, and the pursuit of punk, intersectional, radical, post-capitalist, compassionate community. They hope to one day be brave and get a cool tattoo. If you like downloading pay-what-you-can coloring and activity pages at the site above.
Shawna Farinango
Shawna Farinango (she/her) is an indigenous Kichwa emerging Digital Creator based in Hamilton, Ontario. Her work is inspired by the resilience of Kichwa Warmis and the beauty that nature possesses. Through her illustrations she is focused on creating bold and colourful work showcasing Warmi empowerment, Kichwa resilience, my culture and traditions. As a Kichwa illustrator my mission has been to capture the struggles and complexities of what it means to be a kichwa women growing up in what is known as Canada. Through my artwork, I try to challenging restraints that society has imposed on kichwa warmis by showing the beauty, wisdom, and strength of warmis in my community in a digital space. My art has not only been a way to express myself but it has been a way for myself to reclaim my power and most importantly strengthen my identity.
Alex Graves
My name is Alex Graves ( He/Him They/Them) I am an African American Queer artist and educator with a focus on emotional learning and restorative justice. Through my art I want to give voice to alternative narratives around masculinities, race and personal freedom through community. I live in Brooklyn NY with my partner of 4 years and our imaginary dogs.
Jarlisa Shunte
@byjarlisashunte
Jarlisa (they/them) is a south Mississippi-born multidisciplinary artist and writer. Their creative work is an expression of their multifaceted identities with an emphasis on gender expression, body diversity, neurodivergence, and Queerness. Thematic elements drawing from nature, science-fiction, and fantasy are highlighted in their work. Which also encompasses the myriad of beautiful ways other Black women, fems, and NB`s express their own individual identities. Jarlisa holds a Bachelor’s in Marketing and Communications with a minor in Performing Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Master’s in the Business of Art & Design from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Jarlisa’s creative potential knows no boundaries: They are open and ready to receive opportunities to expand and deepen their artistic practice.
Miché
@MrEnby
Miché a two-spirit Latinx with roots in Mexico and the Southwest. Interestingly enough, living in the Pacific Northwest has brought them closer to their Aztec Danza community, as well as the two-spirit and LGBTQ community. They are a community organizer, a naturalist, a software developer, and an activist in each of these realms. Miché lived in their van for three years and traveled across the west working in conservation. They have a pragmatic spiritual practice which incorporates elements of buddhism and indigenous medicine. Miché identifies as transgender (female to male), yet two-spirit is their true identifier, because it resonates more with their indigenous heritage.
Jess Smith
@js.smith
Jess Smith (she/her, they/them) is a graphic designer and illustrator from the Dakota land of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Born of Chinese, Filipino, and European decent, Jess received training from the Savannah College of Art and Design were she is pursuing a career in the visual arts.
Raquel Busa
@maquina37co
My story does not begin with me. Actually, I'm not sure where it starts. Somewhere in Puerto Rice, after centuries of colonialism, my Grandmother on my father's side was born into extreme poverty. I found her name listed on an old census. She was a maid. She had six children, and three of them died of hunger. My Grandmother on my mother's side lived in the Dominican Republic on a small farm that sustained her family, but they didn't have enough money to send their children to school. And somehow, my parents immigrated to the United States, married, and raised seven children.
I am the youngest. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree. I traveled worldwide, and finally settled down with my wife and dog in Howard Beach, Queens, originally Canarsie and Munsee Lenape indigenous land. My name is Raquel Busa. My pronouns are she/her. I am a queer illustrator.
Myriesha Barber
@wearebeautifulcreations
My name is Myriesha, an artist and creative from Toledo, Ohio. My artwork encompasses my relationship to nature and the community that has been created through this work of remaining in relationship to all beings in the creative process. My themes of nature inspired pieces accompanied by creative writing has allowed for an authentic expression of my relationship to the work but also encourages others to engage each piece more deeply as they meet parts of themselves. My collection of art titled, We Are Beautiful Creations, encapsulates my desire to bridge each element of creation including the natural world and emphasizes the beauty that lies in each living being as we continue to create our beautiful lives together in community.
Liberty Gonzalez
@LibertyAwakening
Liberty González (they/them) is a facilitator, organizational consultant, artist, and gender-expansive parent whose work centers liberatory care, creative practice, and community resilience. They are the founder of Awakening Creatives and principal consultant of the emerging Woven Grove Consulting, bringing trauma-informed, equity-rooted, and nature-informed methodologies to groups navigating change.
The Liberatory Care Coloring Book reflects Liberty’s belief that tending to our inner landscapes is foundational to transforming the systems we live and work within. This offering supports people—leaders, caregivers, activists, and everyday humans—in grounding, repairing, and reconnecting with themselves through accessible, creative ritual.
Liberty is based in the Pacific Northwest and works nationally to support individuals and organizations in cultivating cultures of care, belonging, and imagination.
Supporting BIPOC & LGBTQ Communities
In the spirit of this project of promoting liberatory care, the artists voted to donate some of the proceeds of the coloring book to organizations that support the communities that we come from. To suggest a recipient organization, please email liberty@awakeningcreatives.com.