Grief is hard. It can’t be ignored, cause intense emotions, keep us up at night and make it difficult to get through each day. We hosted our Grief Awareness Event to help our community know you are not alone in grieving. We shared about artistic forms of grief and how it helped us overcome debilitating emotions.
During the event, co-founder Rawan Ita-Diaz shared her self-created template, which she painted in black. The logo, a ribbon, represents someone or something we care about while symbolizing support and awareness. The color represents despair. She did an amazing job painting it!
We talked about grief being expressed through art starting as early as the 1600’s. Rembrandt, a Dutch painter, was especially known for painting emotion in his work. He painted genuinely and true to form. He did not exaggerate and in the early half of his life, painted with attention to detail. Rembrandt grieved during his life. His wife’s health suffered after giving birth to three babies who died within four weeks of their birth, and their last, fourth son, Titus. She became very ill and after a few months, died from tuberculosis. Rembrandt captured her sickness and his loneliness when he painted during this time.
Rawan talked about her grief and how art helped her express emotion and experience catharsis. Rawan’s grief started when she was hit by a car in 2017. Causing pain and impaired mobility, Rawan expressed her grief of losing her old self through painting pieces like ‘Faded‘ and ‘Shiver‘. Her relationship with grief grew when her dad died in 2019 after a short-lived battle with cancer. Rawan’s dad had encouraged her after the car accident to paint. She couldn’t imagine painting again after her dad’s death.
Rawan’s first commissioned piece after her dad died was ‘Overcomer’, the Lion. It was her dad’s favorite animal. She cried and released sorrow, anger, and deep sadness. It helped her get back into art even though her dad had passed away. Passion and emotion can be seen throughout each stroke in this piece. This cathartic experience helped Rawan improve as an artist while finding a way to cope with grief.
Art Spread Guest Speaker, Eva, talked about how art helped her grieve in the form of writing. Eva lost her son when he was four months old. She authored a book, “Beauty Grows in the Dark.” She wrote about how important it was not to be isolated in times of grief and how picking up new hobbies or art could make a difference.
Rawan and attendee, Olivia Diaz, read letters by loved ones who were grieving the loss of a child and grandparents. We related to feelings of not having the chance to see someone again and how hard it was to miss someone and live each day despite experiencing those feelings.
Chanel Ita also spoke about missing her grandpa. He was her best friend and passed away 6 months ago from cancer. She has very difficult days and wishes he was still here. Her bond with her grandfather was closer than anyone else. In his memory, she got a tattoo using his handwriting of “I love you.” While time helped heal, time could not heal everything.
We hope you enjoyed our conversation that connected art with healing. We are here to help you through your grief. Please reach out whenever you need to talk to someone or simply want someone to listen. Read our blog for tips and encouragement. Comment below with your own experiences.
You can watch our Grief Awareness Event on Youtube! Be sure to like, comment and subscribe.
I appreciate the safe space to share my grief. I know many could relate to it, especially the individual that read my letter. I appreciate the courage of all the other speakers and to those that joined as well.
This event helped me learn a lot about myself and about my loved ones who are grieving. It’s moments like these that we really get to feel the way others feel. The way everyone was so open about their loss created a special connection between all of us. I love the tips shared and look forward to incorporating them into my lifestyle. What an impactful day it was 🤍
“People tend to believe that grief shrinks over time, what really happens is that we grow around our grief”
Chanel, this is a powerful quote. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Hearing about your grandfather’s handwritten reminder on your arm touched so many of us. We know talking about your grief for the first time is very difficult so we are grateful that you trusted us to help you do that. All the best to you and your family.