The Artists’
Grief Deck

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

Go outside, find a quiet spot to be still…and stop. Stop and observe the small details we are ignorant to as we struggle through the day. Sit upon a rock and watch the patterns the birds paint in th...

The solace of nature welcomes you....

This image reenacts the final weeks of my mother's life, holding vigil in her room, surrounded by condolence flowers, waiting for death to relieve her pain. Having experienced the anticipatory grief o...

I am mourning the loss of my newfound rabbit love, who only tolerated me. She escaped, in heat, to what I hope are adventures, but I am afraid – as I cope with fears of Covid, a zoologic pandemic it...

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...

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...

Material objects often carry emotional and memorial value. What is an object that helps you remember your loved one? How would you describe this object? Is it soft? Hard? What other meanings does that...

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...

A ritual you can initiate following the loss of a loved one to process grief and also honor your loved one, is to carry on a cherished tradition of theirs. This tradition can be something benevolent s...

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...

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...

A Walking Meditation Take a quiet walk toward an outdoor place you enjoy such as a park, beach, or woods. As you walk, pick up any small stones that catch your eye. Stop long enough to examine each st...

You find a deer mouse lifeless at your doorstep and bury it in the yard. Place your pencil on the page where you imagine the grave. Now begin to trace the contour of the mouse: the skeleton, the pulmo...

Spell out the person or groups name vertically. Use each letter of the name and come up with a word that begins with that letter and describes you loved one(s). L ovely I ncomparable L ife of the part...

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...

One question I have about death is… I wish I could ask the person who died…...

Acceptance – accepting that our loved one is physically gone and recognizing that this new reality is the permanent reality - is immensely difficult. While they may not be physically with us, they w...

My mother always said tears are cleansing for the soul. But sometimes the tears just won't come. Sit in a quiet place that can get wet. Wear something white. Put on music that calms you. Perhaps, ligh...