As I worked through my grief and loneliness, feelings of vulnerability, uncertainty, and anxiety seemed to be my constant companions. Could I ever feel comfortable in a life without my husband? What sort of life would that be? This piece was inspired by the metaphor of a garden growing hopefully to enclose my anxiety and doubts. Thinking of this positive imagery helped me to cope with the distress I was feeling.I used tiny gemstones, glitter and many scraps of paper…
Suffering a loss can sometimes result in personal growth and resilience, offering unexpected opportunities for self-discovery. Rather than labeling these newly revealed possibilities as “gifts,” I prefer to view them as offerings. Unlike a gift, an offering provides the bereaved with more freedom to select what is helpful at any given moment, without the expectation of acceptance. I combined black Japanese lace paper representing grief with colorful iridescent paper representing hope shining through to create this canvas background. I’ve been…
I created this small canvas at the start of one summer. I longed for days, and vacations gone by. For me, grieving is not only about missing my husband, but also missing a state of mind and the way I felt in the world when he was still here. I recreated a scene on canvas based on an old photo of a favorite vacation spot. To convey the sense of distance I felt from those perfect days, I painted a…
I created this canvas in response to the deep sadness I was feeling while grieving. I needed to believe that something positive would eventually emerge from it. To depict my emotions, I painted the letters onto a pale blue background, and added “tears” by dribbling paint onto the canvas. To symbolize my hope, I incorporated blades of grass growing from the sparkling soil created using sand and gold glitter. I yearned to believe in the potential for new growth emerging…
The background of this artwork is cut from a watercolor wash that I experimented with many years ago. Using this paper from my past gave me a sense of continuity and promise. Despite the mix of emotions I felt while putting the canvas together, using this paper helped me feel a sense of connection to my past and my future. The twine was collected from my basement. The flower is crafted from a variety of papers with tiny beads creating…