I just keep thinking about creative resilience. Focus. Fortitude. Looking back to my creative mentors for wisdom and guidance. And I come across this beloved quote by Louise Bourgeois, “It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive”. ❤️

Katrina Rodabaugh

My studio is abuzz with spring inspiration—even if my driveway is covered in ice. New mending kits in February; Creative Practice class in March; an event in Stockholm in April; and a summer retreat in my studio in August. I’ll tell you more in my next Love Letter… www.katrinarodabaugh.com/join

Ah! Sounds like an amazing exhibition. Yes, I love learning more about the women who helped create Black Mountain College in NC. Particularly smitten with Anni Albers and Ruth Asawa. ❤️

Congratulations, Brece!!!

Thank you!!!

Darning on knits. I love it. It’s playful. It’s joyous. It’s a great excuse for adding color and texture. Darning the elbows on this old sweater with wool yarn I dyed with local plants. Goldenrod, Rudbeckia, walnut, marigold. Little things brightening my days. Keeping my hands busy, my heart too.

Photo from the book, On Weaving, by Anni Albers. “Plate 42. Studies made on the typewriter.”

Experimenting with some new darning on knits. And then fell into a portal researching weaving. And that brought me back to the Anni Albers book, On Weaving, first published in 1965. And then back to this favorite piece, Studies made on the typewriter. I mean, on a typewriter! Ok, back to work I go.

I’ve been looking to artists, mostly women, who kept making work into their 70s, 80s, 90s. I want that stamina. That bravery. That long view. 💘

I keep this quote in the front of my journal. Sharing it here today. “Art is restoration: the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted in life, to make something that is fragmented—which is what fear and anxiety do to a person—into something whole.” —Louise Bourgeois, Artist (1911-2010)

So lovely!

Oh no! That’s awful. I’ve only grown winter bulbs for a few years. Glad to know what to lookout for in future years. Good luck with the shells!

Oh, how wonderful! Life affirming. 🌱🌱🌱

Amaryllis flowers blooming against the pale blue wall.

This amaryllis is my inspiration this week. Look at those ruffles! I miss gardening and foraging in winter here in Upstate NY. I miss the verdant landscape. Things growing. This year I’m forcing more winter bulbs indoors. Beauty. Hope. It’s been an antidote. How do you connect with plants in winter?

The only place I’ve found to reply to comments is under notifications, mentions. It’s so clumsy! But I’m trying. I’ll try tapping too.

Hooray for redesign!

Hooray for imperfect! Hooray for sustainable! Hooray for when they create magic together.

Good luck! 🍀

Yes, sorting needs to happen over here too. I keep waiting for the magical studio fairy to show up and organize my shelves but I think I’m pretty far down the Studio Fairy Waitlist. 😉

Cheering you on! May the functional repairs surrender for the fun ones. At some point. 🤞

Oh, good luck! They are vats of wonder.

So wonderful when those treasured fabrics or materials are put to use. Enjoy!

Endless mending piles over here too! Hooray for quilt making.

I can’t seem to read the replies to posts. Or reply back to them. Poking around over here trying to find my way. Stay tuned!

Tell me… what are you currently mending or making or designing? I want to know about YOU. I’m currently loving darning on knits, mending old quilts, planning the summer dye garden, and wondering if this is the year we’ll, finally, redesign our ancient bathroom. How about you?

How kind! Thank you for this warm welcome.

Pretty much always dreaming about mending or plants or how to use creativity for sustainable design. It’s January but I’m already thinking of lilacs. Feeling a bit shy to start a new account. Again. But let’s see how this goes. Hi! I’m Katrina. Nice to meet you or see you here. Let’s mend things.