I love the thick sparkling white yarn that makes up the edging and spokes on this crochet mandala by Arienne, who is “a Florida mom of 2 amazing young ladies” that says, “I’ve been a crazy crocheter for over 20 years!” I also love the variegated blue yarns towards the outside edge and the sparkly gold in the middle round.
Arienne shares,
“Thank you for much for taking on such a huge endeavor of the heart! I have enjoyed your blog and Wink’s. I was very sad to hear of her loss. I stopped what I was doing to make Wink’s spoked mandala – my very first. I also made a second in the same colors for my daughter Quinn.”
“Quinn suffers from depression – a trait that runs on my side of her family tree. We support her however we can. She’s accomplished a lot. Quinn just graduated from USF with a degree as a sign language interpreter. Her goal is to work in mental health facilities to help as many other people as she can. My whole family uses creativity to help us heal.”
“I know Wink’s family will treasure her works of ART for years. And the rest of us will enjoy her art and patterns in her books. In my family, we lost my incredibly artistic mother to melanoma and truly cherish her painted pieces.”
She added that Quinn has suggested getting an interpreter for the Mandalas for Marinke project to draw more people. She notes that they’re tax deductible and Arienne says, “she takes after her dad in that way – helpful and thinks of tax and business!”
I hadn’t thought about having an interpreter. I am always looking for ways to be more inclusive in everything I do. I eventually want to have my books translated into other languages including braille and audio. It’s going to be important to me that the Marinke art show is accessible. So I appreciate this additional insight!!
This got me thinking about sign language for mental health issues, which I didn’t know anything about before today. I found a Sign Word List for Mental Health that can be previewed at Signing Savvy, including the sign for “depressed” in which the two middle fingers are bent inward, the hands are moved downward along the torso and a “sad expression” is made (according to ASL University). Note that this is the American Sign Language version.
This is one of the posts made in honor of Wink, in celebration of crochet mandalas and to raise depression awareness. See all Mandalas for Marinke posts here.