dear friends,

I am not a night person, but lately I’ve been finding so much comfort in working in the dark, sometimes until 3 am. after days of noise, thoughts, people, plans, talk, there is a soothing silence that settles in my body after 10pm.

I like working best when everyone in the house (whichever house I’m in) is asleep. even if I spend my days running around, it feels as though the entire night still belongs to me. I feel rich in time, and I want to spend it indulgently — on the projects and things I love.

or, if my day was haphazard, pleasurable, or tumultuous, then sometimes I’ll spend my nights responsibly — doing client work, sorting chaos into jars. my nights must balance my days. this is my interpretation of autumn equinox.

it feels like sacred time, stolen time; time I took, which can’t be taken away from me, only given to sleep. I feel dreamy at night; a little rebellious, a little bad. I blame my new work habits, in part, to 4 years of living in a night-people Mediterranean country, where the days are mostly golden, and coffee and black tea is still consumed after 10pm.

the first time I realized I could drink coffee at 10 and feel sleepy by 1, I felt suddenly invincible. what is there to stop me, from dreaming-creating all night?? if I have a potion, then I have a choice. the night no longer slipped from my fingers, like sand; the night gave itself to me, like the reins of the chariot, pulled by black horses. I impose my will. and I also let it carry me.

*

🍄 there are strange things happening in my life that I will tell you about, in a few weeks, or months. the gist seems to be that certainty and stability is never etched in stone — it is always a story you tell yourself; therefore fragile, therefore fluid. if you listen closely, life makes itself very interesting for your benefit, even if the ordeal itself feels like walking through fire. this is medicinal, too. you forge a different kind of strength. these lessons I’m re-learning feel so apt and timely for this first season opening of labyrinth library.

🗺️ survival or renewal: an illustrated zine for the united nations

I spent the last two weeks making this 43 page illustrated zine for an visionary group of people within the UN, who go by the name - the department of the possible. it was inspiring, fun, and very much birthed from my nocturnal shift.

survival or renewal: an illustrated zine for the united nations — kening zhu

a zine about reimagining the united nations

⚡ labyrinth library — sign-ups close saturday 9/27

I decided that I won’t be teaching any new courses this autumn. instead, I’ll be pouring my energy into labyrinth library (and, to my 1:1 liminal leap clients)

due to dealing with some bureaucracy/life chaos, I’ve decided to delay the start of labyrinth by 1 week. we’ll begin the 12 week container next Monday 9/29, and it’ll run until Dec 21st.

you can still sign up to join Labyrinth until end of day, this Saturday, September 27th.

🌕 OTHER THINGS I MADE RECENTLY

🌀 soothing movement in the liminal (a zine)

a tiny pocket zine I made for myself — 10 practices on how to un-paralyze yourself during transitional times

soothing movement in the liminal - a zine — kening zhu

antidotes for paralysis in dark tunnel seasons

🌹 virgo III — bruise violet

the painful pleasure of a violet bruise, a rose, a crumbling (created in collaboration for LJ’s atmospheres).

bruise violet, virgo iii — kening zhu

ripeness nearing rot, beauty & melancholy

🔮 CURATIONS FROM THE ARCHIVES

this week’s curations are inspired by un-paralyzing yourself, the turning inwards of autumn, and making art no matter what.

silence: an index of needs

cultivating inner silnece as a need (2020)

silence | an index of needs — kening zhu

cultivating silence in noisy places

finding momentum after paralysis

reframing the work of moving from paralysis (2020)

finding momentum — kening zhu

the secret to change and motion

a moody creative’s guide to work overwhelm

this piece was a turning point for me from chaos → stability (not that it’s a binary) (2023)

a moody creative's guide to overwhelm in work — kening zhu

on growing a creative business as an emotionally-driven artist — dealing with moods and energy, creative procrastination, paralysis, inertia, constipation, and guilt.

make art in the void

one of my perennial favorites (2024)

make art in the void — kening zhu

share your work like no one cares.

make art for no audience

a principle I live and create by, expanding on the previous (2024)

make art for no audience — kening zhu

letting go of the pressure to build an audience

MY DEAR FRIEND IS RELEASING A BOOK

my friend Amelia Hruby of Softer Sounds is releasing a book coming out on October 1st — called, “Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media”.

“In a world full of distraction, how do we reclaim our fragmented attention to make the things we're here to create? Your Attention is Sacred is a manifesto for creative people who are ready to break free from the attention economy.”

🌊 NOTHING ELSE TODAY

except the feeling of craving material, physical, routine things — an autumnal running path, reading paper books of poetry, cleaning out my closet, organizing my budget, expanding my jewelry collection, making sourdough bread, or fermented turnip juice, feeling like my 6th house Aries moon, needing some calendars to cross off, some creative work-outs to keep me stimulated, or exercise challenges to balance out the onslaught of Scorpionic chaos.

🪼

until soon,

wishing you a sweet end of september.

or see you, next week, in labyrinth <3

kening

🍃 podcast: botanical studies of internet magic

🏔️ courses: house on the webs | creative systems | sharing space camp

🪷 work with me 1:1 in liminal leap, or intensive sessions

🌔 otherworldly: a web alchemy studio

💧 send me a gift: water my world