Here is the next of the beautiful, inspiring, special contributions coming in to the #MandalasForMarinke remembrance project. I am grateful for each and every amazing contribution. You are invited to join; learn more here.
Beautiful Crochet Mandalas
These two spoke crochet mandalas are both so pretty that I can’t decide which one I like better. I love the variegated blue yarn in the one on the right above but I also love the shades of pink and purple in the one on the left. Both lovely!
Meet the Maker
This lovely contribution comes from Gabriela (@ella_makes) in German who writes:
“I felt like I’d been punched in my heart when I heard about Wink’s death and even more so when I heard about the cause. Wink appeared so colorful, so light-hearted on the surface … Depression is such a dark, horrible disease! If you contain it within yourself it will always lurk beneath the surface.
I don’t know when my own spells of depression began but my first major depressive episode was when I was seventeen. My first pregnancy and my lovely baby were what saved my life at that time.
But depression came back again and again …
I’m scared about the role that depression has played in my own life. Wink’s death has shown me once again that we are not safe from this dark, soul-shattering illness, not even if we do all of the things that are good and right.
Nevertheless, I try to do the “good things” for myself, because I’d like to be happy and satisfied. For me, one of these good things is craft, especially crochet. It is a way to de-stress, escape and clear my head.
Yesterday I read a wonderful saying by Michael Bridge that I want to share:
“When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of creations is completed inside us, the doors of our soul fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight.”
Lovely, isn’t it?
I think it’s also important for everyone to know that English isn’t Gabriela’s first language and she finds it challenging to write in it, especially about a topic as difficult as depression. I think that she’s done a great job, with beautiful writing here, and more than that, am glad she took the risk of doing this. She wrote at the beginning of her letter:
“Against all odds, I’d like to take part in your crochet art project for Marinke. It is a humble contribution but I think it is so important to raise awareness about depression and honor Wink’s gorgeous work.
At the end of the letter she added:
“Writing this letter was demanding, but I feel relieved that I have the courage to do such things now.”
A beautiful act of bravery and one that I bet Wink would be proud of!
Words by Wink
Here’s how Wink described one of her crochet wrap patterns, which I think speaks to how much she enjoyed creating, sharing and using her designs:
“Dance in the forest and feel loved with the Dancing Hearts Wrap!
This wrap is perfect for chilly Summer evenings and early Autumn mornings. It will wrap you with softness and beauty.”
About Depression
One purpose of this project is to raise awareness about depression so each post will end with some facts, thoughts or quotes about depression, suicide and/or mental health. Today I wanted to make sure that you know that the Journal of Depression and Anxiety is an Open Access Journal, which means that you can access information from it online for free. Journals like this provide some of the top research across industries and if you’re nerdy like me then this is stuff that you like reading.
Of course, not every available article will be of interest to you, but it’s great that this stuff is available for people seeking more information about depression and mental health issues. Two recent articles that I liked learning from were Stigma and Shame as Barriers to Treatment in OCD and Effects of Practicing Ikebana on Anxiety and Respiration. I also got a lot out of reading Individualized Pharmacological Treatment of Depressive Disorders.
In addition to this online Open Access Journal, you should know that many libraries make journals available online to their patrons so that’s another resource you can access for information.
All contributions to Mandalas for Marinke are welcome and will help raise awareness about depression while honoring her work in the same way that this great contribution has done today. Details to join here.
1 comment
Comments are closed.