Our Dreams

Grief and loss are initially about undoing. When we have lost a loved one, we grieve the undoing of our relationship as we know it. We grieve the unknowing and the unhinging of our certainty about the working of the world. Art and creative expression are about doing and making and building. During times of grief, the act of expressing ourselves creatively allows for an externalization of our experience. During grief, people often experience intense internal messages about shame, loneliness, disconnection, sorrow, and anger. We see our experience of grief as a direct reflection on our sense of worth and community belonging. When we ARE grief, it is hard to integrate our experiences of loss and find meaning in our new roles and relationships. Art and creativity are about externalizing the internal experience. “When the problem becomes an entity that is separate from the person, and when people are not tied to restricting “truths” about their identity and negative “certainties” about their lives, new options for taking action to address the predicaments of their lives become available.” (White, 2007, p. 26) One problem for many people is that they don’t have tools or spaces for finding their own pathway toward meaning creation.

At the Griefwork Workshop, people are offered a space to externalize their grief experience, explore it, share it, and create responses to their grief. At its core, the Griefwork Workshop is a makerspace for people to process experiences related to grief and loss. Part art studio, part crafting room, part movement area, part classroom, part community room, folks are invited to step in to a space where there is support for the unfolding complexity of grief work. Open studio time allows people to work with various media to create collages, paintings, sculpture, illuminated poems, scrapbooks, beading projects, sewing projects, or any combination of media that might help them explore how grief shows up for them and how they show up for grief. With the support of creative grief specialists and grief support workers, participants are shown how to use tools, offered ideas, and supported with meaning-making discussions about their projects. Specific classes are taught to guide people through various media and grief reflections.

As the project grows, the space can grow to offer support for other creative outlets, like movement expression, musical expression, and healing arts like sound baths, yoga, tai chi, intuitive dance, and so many others. This open space can provide a place for support groups to meet, End-of-Life Doulas to support families with legacy projects, community gatherings, classes, or a quiet place for a grieving person to come and be among community.

The Griefwork Workshop is a place for people to come, belong, find agency and hope, and discover the creative work that may offer a new pathway to healing.