Art speaks wordlessly to our spirits... my hope with this collection is to speak healing and hope in the midst of grief. (When I began this collection in January I didn’t realize that there would be worldwide grieving due to the pandemic!)
I hope these art pieces will be an invitation to ‘get in the dirt’ of grief...express the pain of the losses. In metabolizing grief, you unlock the ability to grow, and even bloom. The mushrooms, as decomposers that bring richness to our soil, are in this collection to symbolize how processing grief unlocks the potential to grow through it. Whereas, our tendency is to distract ourselves from it or use substances to numb the pain. When the pain is too great to face, we need to feel less alone with it.
“Grief shared is grief diminished.”
-Rabbi Grollman
My hope is that this art will help people feel they are not alone with their grief but that it has been expressed in pigment and thread with glimmers that lead the way to finding meaning (this is the 6th stage of grief elaborated by David Kessler in his new book Finding Meaning: the Sixth Stage of Grief)
The presence of a work of art intentionally made can provide the sense that you are not bearing this pain alone. The artist’s expression is bearing witness that another heart that has felt pain deeply...and can be like road map that shows that meaning can be found, hope and beauty are possible even in the midst of great suffering.
The gift of a work of art to someone grieving can be a powerful way to acknowledge that this loss is worth commemorating, this grief worth honoring.
Get in the dirt. That’s where the gold is.
Storms may come. Let the rain fall. Trust the process. Watch for sparkles.
Don’t hold your grief alone... share the journey.
