The Artists’
Grief Deck

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...

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...

Exercise is an important component to staying healthy and is a natural mood-elevator. What are your favorite physical activities? How could you incorporate more movement into your daily life? Can you...

During this great global quarantine, our behavior has been shaped by the contamination of the world. We have separated ourselves from others in order to escape the virus outside, which is invisible, s...

close your eyes and look out the window of your mind. tell me, how fares the sky? is it dull or bright? heavy or light? be there sun or rain or fog or? — no matter what you find, just brea...

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...

I grieve not only for the losses of the present but also for what could have been. If I stay too long in my head imagining the things I won't ever have, I can lose myself in a spiral downward. When I...

In grief we feel the intense loss of a loved one. It can help us to remember that love is an infinite resource. The love we feel extends not only to those people, animals, or spirits who are with us,...

Sometimes our thoughts can tangle us up, and we need a way to break the cycle. Try drawing with both your hands to make you stop thinking and to help you relieve your emotions and stress onto a paper....

Set up a clean space at a flat work surface, and grab two things: a favorite pen or marker. a stack of blank paper. In the first attempts at this practice, it can be helpful to set a timer. Start with...

Did I become a butterfly when I dreamed, or did the butterfly become me when it dreamed? In any case, butterflies are not confused, and even if they are, they are a small being, and so am I....

Patiently wait for the tears to come. When they arrive, soften your belly and welcome them. Capture the image of your face while it is still wet and flushed. Visit this image often. Spend time observi...

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...

Healthy thinking leads to healthy emotions. By listening to how you talk to yourself, you can determine whether your internal statements lead to anxiety and defeat (“I can’t do this") or encourage...

Whenever you are feeling blue, use self affirmations to remind yourself how amazing you truly are. 1) Create a relaxing environment for yourself. Sip your favorite tea, light a candle, put on your fav...

While visiting the 9/11 memorial in NYC outside in the rain, I ran my fingers over the engraved names in the memorial walls surrounding the fountains outlining the towers. I thought/prayed for each st...

lie back and rest on the razors edge of earth and sky look up to the clouds now let go...

-Forgotten Memories In April of 2016 I lost my mother Caroline. This piece captures what I fell like when I can’t remember certain aspects of a memory with my Mum and how I feel as though the proces...

The 5 of Water in the ECOtarot deck is pictured here. The water cards are related to emotions and the 5 cards are cards that relate to loss. This loss is something that must be passed through in order...