The Artists’
Grief Deck

When I lost my mom it was devastating and it was a hard thing to take in. Something that helped me cope was to talk to a picture of her and hold her ashes. This made me feel close to her and that she...

When you've lost someone, it can be very hard to ground yourself and accept that they're really gone. While it's absolutely fine to cry over someone you've lost, overdoing it isn't healthy. A great w...

The work that grief demands ought to be done every day. That work demands attention and love. The only way to navigate the world as we carry the weight of grief is to hold it with love. That’s also...

Connect with an ancestor, either by genealogy or culture or choice. It may help to imagine or conjure their image, or perhaps you may just feel their warmth or light. What might you thank them for? Wh...

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...

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...

Some waves are huge! Others, barely a ripple. [breathe] Close your eyes. Where in your body do you feel it? Watch a sensation with gentle curiosity. [breathe] Let it build... peak… subside… … Re...

Sometimes large waves of grief overcome me during the oddest parts of the day, while I’m at work or walking to the subway. I don’t always have an outlet in those moments. Life doesn’t always mak...

Let it rain....

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...

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...

In winter, breathe in the cold, and let the rain shower and cleanse your soul. In summer, bathe in the warmth, and let the light pool and cleanse your soul. That is nature: to be alone, but no...

Meditation: "In the future the dead is all of us - jumped out of the earth to dance again. Every step a reminder of rhythm. Woven into our clothes gleam - dragonfly winged - I remember the good ghosts...

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...

Sometimes we feel our life is an only one way road. Immersed in suffering and loving we believe there is only one construction. May be we can repair or rebuild part of the road and ourselves. Try to g...

“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...

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...

What were your loved one’s superpowers? In what special ways did they show up in your life or in the world? Imagine them in one of their best superhero moments, sharing their unique gifts for the be...

Take a Cue From Poetry What is your favorite poem? Put it in your own words. In the original poem below, I substitute the word hope for grief from the first line of Emily Dickinson’s poem “‘Hope...