Today’s pretty crochet mandala for the Mandalas for Marinke project comes to us from Lauren, a 29-year-old crafter whose Instagram name (@aphoticjade) means “dark green”.
We learn from Lauren’s Etsy shop, HomespunTechnique, that in addition to crochet she enjoys felting. embroidery and cross stitch. She shares there that her shop:
“all started as a random hobby I picked up from my sister, and the creative options seemed endless. So I created original depictions of popular characters that you’re browsing today. And recently, I’ve added more handmade crafts to my shop!”
You can also find Lauren on Tumblr. Take a closer look at the pretty crochet mandala that she made:
I love the darkness of the purple/green edging and how that comes out of some rows of grey and purple but there are bright spots of light blue and pink in some of the center rows. Very striking and reminds me of the highs and lows of everyday life! Here are some more photos:
For today’s depression awareness portion of the project, I wanted to share this video from the Mental Health Channel on Vimeo, which showcases the work of an artist who is living with depression:
THE INSIDE STORY: Major Depression, Chapter 1
I love where he says:
“It’s not that I’m completely fearless about people’s judgments about me and my mental illness, it’s just that the secrecy is so potentially lethal.”
Lauren’s mandala is the 12-round standard free crochet mandala pattern by Wink. See all Mandalas for Marinke posts here.
Please believe me when I say I can’t say I know exactly what you’re going through because it’s different for e everybody who suffers. Several of my family member’s and so do I. To me it’s a giant snake that strikes occasionally and you don’t know until it’s too late. It doesn’t really want to kill you but sometimes he wants you to end you. I’ve had bouts since I was a child. I could talk for hours about the self hatred,anger and frustration. Please if you have any kind of insurance including Medicare or medicaid because they can stear you in the right direction.