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.

  • 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.

    Subscribe for Monthly Zines

    via Snail Mail! 🐌 📬

    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

  • Seeing Time ⏳

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

    This year I’m experimenting with spreadsheets and time charts as tools to visualize time. Here is how 2025 has been looking (as of March 24.)

    January

    I had a lot of loops to close in January and it felt like a ton of admin. This was my first month tracking my time. The pie chart was a game changer. I started it mid month and the wedges for web & self publishing dominated the chart. It took conscious effort to put more time into personal projects to balance the chart out.

    Pie Chart shows Writing 31%, Web 32%, Entwined & Ember 20%, Artist Residency in Motherhood 15%.
    This chart visualizes how much time I spent on each creative project.

    Writing & Research (31.9%)

    Most of this was my fantasy novel Mawd.

    Web (32.9%)

    Mostly Substack – my own newsletter & wrapping up Neurokind.

    Entwined & Ember (20.1%)

    Admin for self publishing these books.

    ARIM (15.1%)

    This is time spent on my Artist’s Residency in Motherhood making visual art for My Brain on Motherhood.

    February

    This month my biggest wedge was redesigning my website. But seeing how big the blue wedge was motivated me to make time for other things.

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

    Web (59.0%)

    Redesigning my website and migrating my newsletter to Buttondown.

    Zines (21.1%)

    Making Not About TETRIS and working on illustrations for a zine about the spectrum of neurodivergence. My scanner died this month and created a lot of headaches.

    Other (10.3%)

    Designed two self inking stamps (folks with zine subs will see these soon) and sewing patches on a denim jacket.

    Mawd (4.4%)

    Work on my fiction novel. I’m in an ideation phase.

    Picture Book (3.6%)

    Admin for self publishing How it Feels to Me.

    March

    My website wedge is still the largest (although I have a few days to go) based on shop and subscription migration headaches. I hope to continue making this wedge smaller over time.

    Pie chart wedges in order of size: web, zines, Mawd, other, ARIM, garden.

    Web (38.9.0%)

    Moving zine subs from Big Cartel to Stripe, redoing various opt ins, migrating Neurokind to Beehiiv, archiving March blog posts, and writing for blog & newsletter.

    Zines (21.1%)

    Making I’m Fine zine and a few Wheel of Time mini zines.

    Mawd (12.9%)

    Work on my fiction novel. Still in an ideation phase.

    Other (10.1%)

    Sewing patches & picture book admin (maybe that should be separated.)

    ARIM (9.2%)

    Working on Bloom Where You’re Planted.

    Gardening (4.8%)

    I debated over logging this, but it is important self regulating work and part of my creative ecosystem.

    Reducing Admin Time

    I also did a bar chart showing the different parts of the process to see that balance.

    Here you see Admin & Prep decreasing and time to Create growing from January to March.

    I’m 90% sure this shift would not have happened without this visual tool. It’s too easy to get pulled into neverending admin and website tweaks. This makes me more aware.

    Bar chart showing admin going down and create time going up from Jan to March

    Top Tip

    I found tracking the time itself really hard until I started using the Tap When app. (Not a sponsor.) I tap when I start and tap when I finish. No math!

    P.S. My spreadsheets are in no condition to officially share as a resource, but if you’d like to see the imperfect version I’m working with I’m happy to share the template for you to make your own. Just drop me a line or respond to a newsletter.

    Image Credit: Prague Astronomical Clock via Wiki Commons

    Read more: Seeing Time ⏳

  • Rand’s face took on a pained expression. “I don’t know.” He sounded embarrassed. “When I want fire, for a lamp or a fireplace, I just make it, but I do not know how. I don’t really need to think to do things with fire.” That almost stood to reason. Of the Five Powers, Fire and Earth had been strongest in men in the Age of Legends, and Air and Water in women; Spirit had been shared equally. Egwene hardly had to think to use Air or Water, once she had learned to do a thing in the first place. But the thought did not further their purpose.

    The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time Book 4)

    Rand is pretty much every author trying to explain how they write fiction.

    Read more: untitled post 156078826

  • Rare Roots – a resource to find native perennials by US State.

    Read more: untitled post 156078824
  • Screencap of Bluesky: Wheel Takes Podcast ‪@wheeltakespod.bsky.social‬ Everyone in the tower: "Elaida isn't actually allowed to do all this stuff, she's only getting away with it because nobody is standing up to her and telling her she can't" Me: *rereading in 2025 and screaming constantly* March 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM

    Source

    Read more: untitled post 156078794
  • Overhead shot of zine test prints and my green typewriter.

    Zines may seem simple, but it still takes time and iteration to get them just right. Especially for color. I took extra time this month because March’s zine features one of my exhibiting artworks. This is just a laser print, but with some minor adjustments it’s popping off the page.

    Read more: untitled post 156078207

  • Bloom Where You’re Planted

    A year or two before David was born my mom gifted me a weeping cherry tree for my birthday. It bloomed happily for a while and then a freeze split its bark and it became diseased and distressed.

    I did my best to save the tree, but last year it didn’t come back after winter. After a year of mentally preparing myself for this I decided to use the sinuous wood to make a sculpture and Nathan helped dig up as much of the root as possible.

    This month I’ve started stripping the bark.

    My title for this work is Bloom Where You’re Planted. As an autistic person this has always rankled because I am not always able to thrive in unsuitable environments.

    Here are some process photos.

    A time when the tree was happy.

    Photograph of cherry tree blossoms as screencaptured on Instagram stories.

    Before

    Sad tree half dead and half distressed.

    Dead tree in front of my studio.

    Shoutout to Nathan’s farm boy muscle. I never could have dug this up myself because of my connective tissue disorder.

    Progress

    After pruning and removing some branches I found it balanced nicely upside down.

    Dead tree sitting upside down on it's branches with it's root in the air. My gray green studio is seen behind.

    Cleaning

    David helped me clean the mud off the root. This project has been a family affair.

    My child and I are using a bucket of water to clean mud off the tree roots.
    Gloved hand washing mud off tree root with a scrub brush.
    Small blonde child cleaning muddy root with a toothbrush.
    My hand using a Swedish washcloth to remove a final layer of mud off a twisty tree root.

    Stripping Bark

    Closeup of cherry tree bark
    Closeup of cherry tree bark during removable process showing wood and cambium beneath.

    Removing the bark has been a very satisfying (if incredibly slow) process. Because of all the twists and turns in this particular tree I think I’m going to need some finer carving tools soon.

    Update: March 2025

    I am seated outdoors holding a mallet and hammer and chipping away at my sculpture. There is a bright blue sky behind me.
    Weeping cherry tree stands upside down with root in the air. The bark has begun to be stripped away.

    Read more: Bloom Where You’re Planted

  • “What does outside mean?”

    “Where you can sap the sun’s energy.”

    Read more: untitled post 156078792
  • Pink and blue stripes across a blue sky. Trees and a pond beneath.

    Went for an evening walk by myself. It was glorious.

    Read more: untitled post 156078788