2026 Creative Goals
a little more housekeeping
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I know most of y’all are here for more interesting essays about the art and process, and more of those are on the way, but I’m feeling very list-y this evening and wanted to get some more housekeeping-style thoughts out to those who want to know about such things.
2026 Creative Goals
I started 2026 with essentially two creative goals for the enterprise that is Sadie’s Stitches, and they are to
re-establish an online presence after several years’ hiatus from making and selling art
establish a structure and rhythm of making and selling art that works with my disabled body’s needs, and a legible aesthetic/vibe
and now that we’ve really got our teeth into the year, the vision is starting to come into focus. As I’ve mentioned or otherwise alluded to, this is not my first rodeo, but I am approaching my craft differently and with a very different perspective this time around. This time I’m putting down roots, and 2026 is for setting up structures and planting seeds to that end.
Sadie’s Stitches currently only exists online as this Substack and my website (and a Pinterest that I don’t think I’m using correctly) although I used to be on Instagram and all the other sites, and there are probably other various skeletal remains of previous iterations floating around the internet. I will not be rejoining any of those sites, especially not Instagram, and I’ll write more about why another time. But for now suffice it to say, we’re moving past that model of professionalism. I truly believe independent artists can and should create professional careers without breaking ourselves into the shape of the tech world and pandering to its perverts, and this is what I aim to do. I think we need to broaden what we mean by professional or do away with the category altogether if it is capable of and primarily used for hiding and enabling abusers. If the human-shaped slime in the Epstein files are being protected under the banner of professionalism, then I don’t think that’s part of where we’re going. I may not be what a gallery scout considers especially “professional,” but I am honest, hardworking, and doggone it, people like me.
I like Substack because it’s a practical way for me to cultivate a newsletter for those who want to know about myself and my work, and it has the adjacent social media for engaging with my “audience” or “community” or my choir, if you feel me, my pod if you’re a fellow mermaid. I don’t have rose-colored glasses about it being any kind of superior platform, it’s just what works for me right now, and I’ve met some genuinely lovely weirdos out here in the stacks. I also like that anyone from anywhere can subscribe to my specific newsletter without having to engage with the Substack galaxy. So this is kind of an extension of my website and a place for people to keep up with and engage with me. I do plan to do more marketing and advertising in the future, perhaps, but for now this is keeping my plate full.
And speaking of a full plate, I originally hoped to have a monthly output cycle mirroring the monthly nature of Substack subscriptions but quickly realized that was just not possible. So as I mentioned previously, shop updates and collection releases will be quarterly with the seasons (solstices and equinoxes), and I will publish a couple of articles between each update. So quarterly art, monthly(ish) write-ups about behind the scenes process details, disability stuff, inspiration and influences, etc. This is what you can expect if you subscribe to me, and paid subscribers get access to the comments sections on posts, the private chat, and discount codes when I share my collections.
Some smaller, more specific goals and needs for 2026:
continue stocking up on supplies, including: paper craft and packaging materials, embroidery hoops and frames, fabric, thread, and beads. I especially need to find a local source for felt by the yard, and there are some local craft shops I haven’t been able to afford to visit in a while that I’d like to peruse this summer.
continue exploring line work drawing and embroidery through botanical illustrations
further explore texture and color by recreating some old favorites and colorful versions of the flowers, fruits, and fauna of my illustrations
continue expanding my tradition of thread work and textile work through bead stringing and necklace making
Some upcoming essay topics:
continued parts to my series on my creative process (see parts one and two) which goes behind the scenes of my art making and gives insight into how I navigate these goals within the limits and peculiarities of my health, including more details about my intellectual and literary inspirations, how I create a vision board for a collection, how I invite the influence of serendipity by using thrifted, local materials, and more
a write-up about mermaids, beads, and how embroidery and necklace making (and hair and braids) are related (to me)
what I’m reading/watching/listening to seasonal series
tarot and divination seasonal series
more about “my disability journey,” including response-style write-ups that highlight and celebrate other writers on Substack who are making my life so incredibly rich right now with their work and friendship
There’s a lot that I want to do and say and be, and I’m so grateful to those of you following along and becoming part of my tapestry. Thank you for reading along and encouraging me when I’m feeling tender, that is ultimately what all of this is all about. ❊
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.
- Oscar Wilde
You can peruse my website and find my embroideries here.