The journey of grieving and healing takes unexpected twists and turns. Painful triggers can appear just when we think we’re making progress. It was after one of these moments in my normally well-organized life that I created this piece. Just when I thought I was on the right track, I encountered an unexpected dead end. This loss added to the grief of my husband’s passing, making the situation feel overwhelming for a while.

After shedding many tears, writing in my journal, confiding with understanding listeners, and taking long walks alone, I emerged feeling worn out but with renewed strength. With time and reflection, I understood that my heart would heal again. Eventually, I realized that this painful experience had taught me valuable lessons about myself. I fully embraced the resilience I gained through the grieving process.

Creating art once again helped me through this difficult period. When creating the canvas above, I used somber watercolor shades for the background and added a sprinkle of silver glitter to symbolize my faith in healing. The heart is cut from a lovely textured paper. I fashioned the flowers from bits of paper, ribbon, and beads, adding the bandaids from my medicine chest. Although I didn’t feel it then, I displayed the heart to remind me of the promise of healing.