The Artists’
Grief Deck

Pretend a newspaper reporter is interviewing you to learn about grief and loss and your job is to teach them. What would you want them to know about what it’s like to be you since your loved one die...

Grief is a four-dimensional possession. It fills some part of this room, and it also reaches back in time and toward the future. First study how 3D objects are enclosed: how 2D cloth or paper can be l...

When a wave of grief strikes, fight the urge to run away. Remain on the shore and allow the wave to wash over you. Remind yourself that you won’t drown, and that the wave, like a tide, will go out a...

I comfort myself by… I find hope in… My friends give me…...

In the early days of grieving, some depressive symptoms are certainly present and normal. However, going forward, significant depression, exhibited in such ways as an inability to experience pleasure,...

Find something that you think your loved one would have loved and love it for them. It doesn’t have to be anything special or perfect. Maybe it is a simple object in your home, outside in nature, or...

Although we are living in a sad moment, imagination helps me to endure the pandemic and isolation. Being at home, I imagined places, cities, beaches, river banks, isles, little towns in the mountains,...

Music has always been a powerful and multifaceted tool that I have used to navigate myself through all kinds of grief and trauma. Oftentimes, we may be afraid to listen to the songs that remind us of our loved ones who have passed away, because what if the memories come back to..

The passing of seasons can be painful. You may want time to stay still so that you won’t get farther and farther away from your loved one being alive. What’s something that you associate with each...

Sadness can dull your colorful spirit. Embrace the experience to learn something about the shapes and hues that ignite your soul. Soon, your ways of seeing will change. With the eye of an artist, you...

1. Take a small decorative box like a chocolates box or a gift box. 2. Make the box into a little altar to your loved one or group, put a candle in it and go to the beach. 3. Light the candle, put the...

Find an old picture of a memory with a person that has died. Use any materials you have (pencil, paints, clay, etc) to recreate this moment with this person. Revisit this memory by sitting still and l...

Losing people can leave us with unresolved feelings. Write a letter to your lost one(s). This can be someone you knew, or someone you never met (such as an ancestor)Tell them what you wish you could t...

Read your favorite stories aloud and believe with all of your heart your loved one is listening closely to every page....

Gather paper, markers or pencils. This can also be done with collage materials. Make sure you have colors and images that remind you of your loved one(s). Make a map of your heart. Where is your grief...

Food is a powerful coping mechanism for grief. We gather around tables for comforting meals, or deliver casseroles to grieving loved ones. In grief, it's tempting to indulge in sugary, fatty foods for...

Scribble with crayons on multiple newspaper sheets. Crumple up each newspaper sheet into a ball. Find a dartboard or target outside to throw each of these balls at and let your physical energy transfe...

With a journal you can write out your thoughts, feelings, fears, and emotions. You can be uncensored, unfiltered, and unapologetic. There is no fear of repercussions, only the allowance for you to get...

My great grandmother was one of the most special, wonderful people in my life. She would fly from New Zealand to Australia every year for my birthday, and she would stay in my room, telling me countle...