The Artists’
Grief Deck

Let it rain....

We all grieve differently and we carry our grief differently. Let’s explore our grief and the places in our bodies where we hold and carry that grief. Start with a body scan - take a couple of deep...

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...

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,...

Go outside. Find some nature. Find a bench. Watch ducks, squirrels, water. Observe your surroundings. Breathe. Enjoy nature....

Can you be happy at the crossroads of grief? Is it allowed? Do you feel guilty for being happy sometimes? Place your bare feet flat on Mother Earth, your hands on your heart and close your eyes. Inhal...

The outside must seem so scary, eh? I ask you to spare a minute or two to just stop whatever you are doing. Take this time for yourself. You are the culmination of your ancestors and their lived exper...

Distraction from grief is a healthy coping strategy. It is not necessary to experience grief intensely 100% of the time to move through your journey in a health manner. “Taking a break” from the g...

Healing is natural in a healthy grief process. Being able to enjoy time alone, laughing at a joke or funny movie, planning pleasant activities for the future, having a renewed sense of energy and purp...

It’s okay to fall apart in the midst of rebuilding your life. Fill in the blanks: I have learned how to____ since my loss. I have overcome_____ since my loss. Now say it out loud while looking at yo...

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

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....

Last year I learned that I shared my August 19th birthday with World Photography Day. As a fine art photographer, I take that as a magical sign. I have always chosen to live life lyrically - to observ...

Go for a walk. Find a piece of sidewalk that falls under the sun’s rays. Place your feet firmly on this patch of concrete. Close your eyes and keep your hands to your sides. Breathe. Stay here for a...

Find or create a likeness of your lost loved one. It could be a photograph, a small sculpture, an object that belonged to the person or something else. Choose something that represents them at their b...

If a quality or idea someone’s brought to our lives lives on is us, a part of that someone survives, and in remembering what we’ve learned from them, we re-member ourselves: learn how and who to b...

Everyone has a story to tell. Today, you have the chance to tell a part of your story in 6 words. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Take some quiet time in a peaceful space and think about wh...

After my mother died, I had the urge to plant something, to watch something grow. It felt good to sink my hands into the earth, feel the soil sift through my fingers. It felt tangible. Plant a tree, a...

Time is one thing we can never, ever get back. Having a chronic illness caused me to lose the experience of having a normal life by any stretch of the imagination from 2012-2016 and our current pandem...