From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.
  • Cilantro growing in a small wooden garden bed surrounded by cardboard.

    Have been experimenting with cardboard as (free) mulch to suppress weeds and 10/10 would recommend. It just has to be wedged or weighed down to avoid blowing away.

    Read more: untitled post 156078855

  • The Wheel of Time

    Growing up I was a hardcore fan freak of The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. It’s recently been reimagined as a television series and I’ve reconnected with the fandom and found so much joy in this vibrant and creative community.

    I wrote about my creative pilgrimage to Charleston, South Carolina where I saw Robert Jordan’s notes here:

    A wind rose in Charleston, South Carolina 🍃

    I also made this zine to sum up some of the reasons why we love The Wheel of Time. If you’re a fantasy nerd I think you’d really love it. I recommend jumping into the show first and you can always go back and read the books later.

    Read my other Wheel of Time posts here.

    Read more: The Wheel of Time
  • Vintage keychain in the shape of an antique key battered around the edges.

    The Secret Garden keychain that started my fascination with keys.

    As a young child I used to carry this to pine trees in our yard and imagine opening portals to other worlds.

    Read more: untitled post 156078565

  • Gardening Resources

    How to Plant Your First Garden 🌱 via Dark Properties

    Advice for Starting No Dig 🥕 via Charles Dowding

    Find Your Last Frost Date ❄️ via Almanac.com

    Read more: untitled post 156078847

  • “Fiction has an incredible transformative power. Just because it is quiet and gentle and mostly invisible to the eye does not mean it is not there, this inner strength.”

    Elif Shafak

    Source: Fiction changes us from within.

    Read more: untitled post 156078842

  • One of the many reasons I love The Wheel of Time.

    “There are a few basic themes that I think are pretty immutable, however. And the biggest one is: sometimes it is hard to understand people who were raised in a culture totally different from your own, but it is vital to try because we all fight together or we shatter.

    The show gets this 100%.”

    Bree via Bluesky

    Read more: untitled post 156078835

  • “The best time to establish alternative, non-algorithmic networks of communication & affinity was five years ago.

    The second best time is today!

    Over the years, I’ve distributed many zines through the mail. Those have been one-off productions, which is to say, pageants of minor chaos, always with the sense, as the last zine went out the door, of skidding into home plate.

    The best time to estab­lish alternative, non-algorithmic net­works of com­mu­ni­ca­tion — to forge durable links in phys­ical space — to insist upon the demo­c­ratic neces­sity of a muscular, uni­versal postal ser­vice — was five years ago.

    The second best time is today.”

    Robin Sloan

    Read more: untitled post 156078831
  • Green pipes in the shape of a gazebo with one clematis growing up the side. You can also see my green gardening stool, gloves, watering can, metal shovel, and an empty plant pot.

    I’ve always wanted one of those living willow houses. I finally realized it was beyond me and ordered this gazebo greenhouse kit – assembled it without the plastic exterior and grow vines on it.

    Last year I didn’t put down enough seeds, but this year we planted many more and I bought a clematis (the green vine you see here.)

    It may take some trial and error to get the right effect.

    Read more: untitled post 156078828

  • A Very Merry Unbirthday 🎶

    I’m still celebrating!

    Last week, on my actual birthday, one of my favorite chapters from the Wheel of Time was adapted to screen. So I am having a great month.

    As my gift to you, anyone who joins the zine subscription this month, will get a bonus Wheel of Time mini zine. 🥰

    If you want to print any of these zines to hype the show you can download them here.

    The “I’m Fine” Zine

    This month I wrote about creating safe spaces and regulating nervous systems in “unprecedented times.”

    You can read the digitized version here.

    An embroidery frame holds a cross stitch that reads "I'm Fine". Back cover shows the reverse of embroidery hoop which is a tangled mess of navy blue thread. Text at bottom says March 2025. A Kindle Curiosity Zine.

    The work on the cover has been exhibited in several different galleries and is part of the My Brain on Motherhood collection as part of my ARIM.

    Sculpture

    I’ve also spent a substantial amount of time this month working on a sculpture called Bloom Where You’re Planted from a dead cherry tree.

    You can read about the process here.

    Here I am cleaning mud off the root.

    My hand using a Swedish washcloth to remove a final layer of mud off a twisty tree root.

    Time Blind Supports

    I’m making a concerted effort to spend more time creating and less time on admin this year. One of the tools I’m using for this is logging my time with spreadsheets and charts.

    As someone with time blindness I can very easily sink time into something without realizing.

    Seeing time visually has made a huge difference for me!

    Pie chart. Web 59%, Zines 21%, Other 10-%, Mawd 4%, Picture book 3%.

    If you’re curious about this process you can click here to read more about what I’m doing and what impact it’s having.

    Bar chart showing admin going down and create time going up from Jan to March
    time spent on admin vs. creating in jan, feb & march (so far)

    The LOST podcast episode.

    Last month, in all my excitement about The Wheel of Time, I completely forgot to tell you I published a ramble podcast. I’ll be doing these on an ad hoc basis moving forward. (If you enjoy listening let me know!)

    I haven’t managed to migrated podcast episodes off Substack yet.

    Listen here for now.

    This is essentially a brain dump I recorded in January reflecting on my creative ecosystem, closing loops, and my intentions for moving into a new year.

    When I migrate off Substack I’m thinking of calling this a “Brain Dump Podcast” to remind myself it’s okay to be messy. Here’s some possible podcast art. Not my normal color palette, but maybe my kid’s love of all things rainbow is rubbing off on me.

    Drawing of brain with colorful paint splatters over the top

    Wait, there’s more!

    Of everything I’m sharing I spent the most time and energy on this.

    If you’ve struggled to learn a second language later in life – it may not be for the reasons you think. I’d love to know what neurodivergent folks think of this post.

    Learning a Second Language as a Neurodivergent Student (Child or Adult!)

    I also wrote some thoughts about From Where You Dream. A book about storytelling from your unconscious.

    From Where You Dream
    Time Travel banner. Hand drawn illustrtation of TARDIS in space surrounded by swirling lines and stars.

    Just two posts in the TARDIS time hop this month.

    If you have time to check out my 360 VR work I’d love to know what you think.

    This Time in 2023

    Making 360 VR with a 3 year old collaborator ✨
    More Reaching Than Rooting

    While I was at it I also created a landing page for free resources and printables.

    https://sarahshotts.com/free
    Ways to Support drawing of a white rabbit hopping into flowers

    The Compost Heap is handmade without the use of AI. 🐝

    Support doing things the old fashioned way by joining my Patrons ($5) and I’ll send paper copies of my zines with the coolest postage stamps I can find.

    Overhead shot of zine test prints and my green typewriter.
    Test PRINTS FOR MARCH’S “I’m Fine” ZINE

    Not into snail mail?

    Here are other ways you can support.

    • Share my blog with a friend. (It’s free!)
    • Buy a book or zine from my (new!) shop.
    • Link to me in your newsletter.
    • Art swap! Let me know if you’d like to swap your art for a zine.
    • Send me an email and let me know what resonates.
    Drawing of a tin can telephone and the words Let's chat

    If you’re reading this in your email inbox you can just hit reply to message me directly. I’d love to hear what you think. It makes it worth the time I put in.

    Thanks for being here.

    I appreciate you.

    Sarah signed with a swoopy S

    P.S. One downside to emailing each month instead of weekly is that there is SO MUCH to cover. I’ve almost given up on sharing links because I have too many to narrow down. But the 15 hours a month I’ve recovered to spend on other projects seems worth the trade off.

    If you want a suggestion… Watch the Wheel of Time. 😉

    A misty location with two figures suspended within three silver rings

    Read more: A Very Merry Unbirthday 🎶

  • I’m Fine

    SURVIVAL TIPS FOR UNPRECEDENTED TIMES Make time for things that regulate your nervous system. 1. Go for a walk. 2. Compose a photograph. 3. Write a letter. 4. Blow bubbles. 5. Paint. 6. Plant seeds. 7. Read a book. 8. Breathe slowly. 9. Bake. 10. Curl up in a blanket burrito. 11. Watch the clouds. 12. Hold hands. 13. Dance. 14. Watch a children's 15. Doodle. film. 16. Start a compost heap. 17. Brew a pot of tea. 18. Write a poell. 19. Squeeze clay or dough or putty. 20. Build blocks. 21. Learn something new. 22. Text a friend. 23. Trace your hand. 24. Buy a box of crayons. 25. Go stargazing. 26. Make a collage. 27. Listen to music. 28. Draw a rainbow. 29. Watch a bird or an insect. 30. Take a hot bath.
    MAKE SAFE SPACES FOR YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM 1. Choose a specific time & space (alternate account, RSS app, separate enails or devices) to consciously engage with current events. 2. Make another space (account, RSS, email or device) exclusively for interests that light you up. 3. Don't cross the streams. This creates a space for your nervous system to reset. Social media has tricked us into muddying our own creative watering wells and we've forgotten what safe spaces feel like. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF If you want to show up for causes you care about you need to look after yourself & to protect your capacity. What is one small kindness you can show yourself today? How can you weave kindnesses to yourself & others into your days?
    Back cover shows the reverse of embroidery hoop which is a tangled mess of navy blue thread. Text at bottom says March 2025. A Kindle Curiosity Zine.

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    Open airmail envelope with blue and green stripes

    Browse the Zine Archive

    Want to see more? Click here to enter the zine archive.

    Photograph of two black and white zines. The top says "I'm a brand not a human" with a photo of a typewriter. The bottom has a collage with typewritten words and an image of a spiderweb.
    Read more: I’m Fine