The Artists’
Grief Deck

Tell your story in colours and shapes: Gather some paper and art supplies -- anything you like. How would you draw the story of your loss without using any identifiable images, just shapes and colours...

What is the moment you hold in memory when you were the most alive with your beloved? Dwell in the knowing of that aliveness. Remember the light that day, the way the air felt around you. The sounds,...

What are two things you learned from the person who died? Three ways I am like the person who died are… Three ways I am different from the person who died are…...

Grief comes in waves. One day you're fine, the next you can barely breathe. The smallest thing can trigger a flood of emotions and memories, and it can be overwhelming. In my own grieving, I'm often t...

Look at the sky.

Look at the sky out your window.

Look for all the variations of color and light you can see. Maybe there are clouds and they are moving...

Recall the people you love who you have lost in your life who have added deeply to who you are. Then write a “blessing equation.” For example: “John + Shannon + Leslie + Chondra = ME” Take som...

Write your cheer. Design your moves. Try it out!...

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...

“Flowers in April” addresses the grieving process of losing a loved one and the search of closure. The owl in the painting represents silence of solitude to the people who passed away during the p...

Anger, resentment and unforgiveness are heavy burdens to carry and, if not dealt with, can sabotage your grief journey. Writing a letter to the one who has wronged you can be incredibly healing. Take...

Take a long bath. Soak yourself into the warm water, and close your eyes. Feel the water touching your skin, After you finish, Wrap yourself with your favorite bath towel....

Helping others will help yourself.

Focusing on others can be a great way to enable healing.

Consider doing random acts of kindness: donating supplies to an animal shelter, delivering flowers to a nursing home...

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...

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...

Worries seem to swirl around us sometimes. Some clang loudly, some whisper. Take a few deep breaths and call up one of your worries or concerns. Hold it for a moment in your imagination, then let it l...

We’re taught at a young age in school that form is in flux. Water can change its physical state from solid to liquid to gas a million times and never lose any part of itself. We forget this fact in...

Deep down, our human animal knows how to grieve. Trust yourself. Grief is a personal process, and your grief is as unique as you are. No one has the right to tell you how to walk your grief journey....

What you've lost is no longer with you, but your memories of it are. Hold them inside of you and keep them alive. Keep yourself alive. Breathe. Hold that breath in, let it go. In, and out, and in agai...

Find a space you feel the most comfort in, whether it’s alone or with a loved one. Lie down on your back, close your eyes, and slowly breathe in and out, four times each. Focus on memory. Take yours...