First off I’d like to say sorry for the depressing things that happened this year.
I was looking through my photos from 2024 and realised i didn’t create as much as i thought. This photo sums up the year for me pretty well—an unruly mix of some creative work moderated with balance and restoration, and always with my partner by my side.
Thanks to my partner I came across an episode on Freakonomics titled “In praise of maintenance“. Putting the concept of maintenance in the spotlight helped to give it a proper place in my consciousness. I realised that maintenance has been a central theme of my year, where I learnt the importance of maintaining my body, my belongings, the space i live in, and my relationships.
I used to believe only creating was important. Creating above all else. But the inevitable degradation of all things is teaching me otherwise. This year I dedicated more time to deep breathing my way out of hyperfocus, stress and anxiety. I started doing some home pilates in maintenance of my muscles, bones and overall health. And I was lucky enough to get to listen to many audiobooks, mostly by my current fav author Mark Lawrence. Audiobooks are a great way for me to rest my easily strained eyes and to wind down before bedtime.
This might sound silly but I get overwhelmed by how dust and grime builds up in our home, I don’t know how to deal with it and the never-ending buildup frustrates my OCD self. I am trying to create a new compartment in my mind labelled as “cleaning” to give recognition to the work needed to maintain spaces, that it is just as essential as creative work.
Out of necessity, a lot of my crafting activities over the past year went into repairing, as opposed to creating something new. I mended and altered a lot of clothing and covers for myself as well as my family. Many were simple projects such as cutting an old holey bath towel into several smaller cleaning rags. Recently I also hand washed and dried our yellowing pillows. It was such an ordeal that I immediately went and made pillow protectors out of old retired blankets, hoping I never have to wash the pillows again.
My fav projects are the ones that really make my like a lot better, added bonus if they look cute too. These hand-me-down-repaired shorts I wear almost everyday. This beanie I always wear to sleep when traveling, to keep my head warm. It was made with yarn hand dyed by @mimikmakes. These hand me down jeans I altered and repaired, they were nicely seasoned and kept me warm, comfy and happy during our travels.
In between these maintenance projects, I tried to experiment wherever i could.
Experiment like no one is looking.
Make a fool of yourself.
Fulfil your childhood dreams.
Experiment anywhere, in any domain. Fabric, paper, social media, writing, videos, sketch booking, diy home fixes, and all the in betweens.
When it came to sewing, I tried thinking of ways to use up all my scraps, even the really tiny ones, and also tried out a couple of zero waste patterns by Birgitta Helmersson. Of all the crafts, sewing has taught me the most about practice, and the joy of learning new skills and getting better at what you do.
This was an experimental zero-waste dress I just completed a couple of days ago, and was trying it on to see how it could be worn.
As part of a continuing journey I tried to make things I believe in rather than what would be popular. I tried to be more of myself. Inspired by my partner, I leaned into making ugly art cos it is much more fun for me as compared to realistic art. Sometimes I think of it as making your best bad art. Also making art to commemorate special moments.
We travelled a bit this year and I wrote and shared about parts that could be potentially interesting or useful for others. In one of these I wrote a rather lengthy detailed blog about where to find stamps in Korea. I see it as a small way in which I can give back.
I learnt that it is a privilege to desire to learn, and it was a privilege for me to get to learn something new this year, knitting.
I celebrated the small wins.
I kept documenting. Documenting as many precious memories as I can.
A lot of my year has been dedicated to my other half, as it is both ways. For me maintaining a relationship or even dare I say maintaining a person means showing up for her, being there and bearing witness to her person and her struggles.
I like what you like.
Going with her to drink her fav matcha.
Doing something different, together.
I’ll meet you in the middle.
We did a little t-shirt printing project together, it’s a space where our different selves may overlap and share a creative flourish.
As with the meeting of minds and creative intersections, one of my fav parts of humanity is when we teach each other and help each other grow. A big Thank You to all the creators who have taught and inspired me greatly, you make the world a better place.
To anyone who is reading this, thank you for being here. I hope you are coping well and that the new year brings you many new good moments <3