Photo taken at one of the installations of Half Life, a site-installation project by the former Scotland-based arts/design/performance group NVA. The project asked us to think about and engage with questions about place, history, death, nature, art-making, architecture, maps, and archaeology.

Grieving and healing are inextricably linked. Opening to grief leads to an improvement in one’s quality of life, and closing to grief causes more pain, sorrow, and further suffering in the short and long terms. Reaching out to others for support, aid, camaraderie, and inspiration is a sign of great strength and courage. Experimenting with creative approaches to grieving can enrich one’s healing journey.

Dominant culture in the United States (and likely in many other places) does not want anything to do with grief. The word itself scares people away! Yet, many, many people are grieving something heavy (or multiple crises) on a daily basis, and the work to alleviate the stigma of grief is necessary, timely, and healing in itself. It’s also a form of resistance. Grief offers us opportunities to lead more meaningful, connected, and reflective lives.

Grief may emerge from various experiences: the death of a loved one, racial and social injustices, chronic health problems, a terminal diagnosis, struggles with infertility and/or pregnancy loss, the death or decline of a loved one, forced migration, job loss and financial precarity, the decline of social institutions, the end of a serious relationship, the pain felt from environmental catastrophe and the suffering of animals, and on and on….

We want to assist you with your grief work, not only so that you can heal yourself but so that you, too, can walk alongside and assist fellow grievers.

Grief Work Offerings:

Creative Grief Mentorship (see below)

Creative Approaches to Grief Worksop (Fall Dates TBD)
Grief Pen Pal Network (Next cohort: August 2026)
Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss Training
(August and October 2026)
Grief Mapping Online Class (self-paced)
To Grieve Podcast

A rugosa rose reaches toward feverfew during the Spring in Finlay’s Garden. Rose is well-known for its affinity with the heart and as a support for the nervous system - both of which might need some extra care during times of grief.

Creative Grief Work Mentorship

Interested in having creative & compassionate partners with whom to process your grief? We see ourselves in this mentoring relationship primarily as your supporters. Through attentive listening, creative proposals, and heart-led responses, we meet you where you are in your grieving journey and accompany you for the next leg of it.

How We Work with You:

After an initial conversation (by phone, video chat, or in person), we draft a Grief Work Proposal. This document includes 4 recommended activities based on your interests, hobbies, and goals. During an agreed-upon timeline (say, 2 months), we make ourselves available to meet with you after you complete each activity in order to process what you did, how you did it, and any insights about your grief that became apparent during the process.

Your Personalized Grief Work Proposal may include:
- Suggestions for reading, listening, writing, and/or viewing based on your experience and interests;
- Recommendations for physical activities/exercises that you can do to help open your heart, feel grounded, and connect to your intuitive knowing;
- Detailed ritual activities that aim to honor and process your loss(es), mark a transitional time in your life, and deepen your self-awareness and self-compassion;
- Art-making activities based on your interests
When we Meet with You after each activity, we may:
- Ask Questions aimed at opening up and deepening your experience from another angle;
- Share Additional Resources (texts, art projects, podcasts, meditation exercises, etc.) to deepen your insight and/or inspire you in your grief work
- Introduce Practical Strategies regarding, for example, interacting with others, expressing your needs, and carving out time and space for healing;
- Offer Verbal and/or Written Responses to your grief work that offer another perspective on what you have learned thus far along your grief journey;
In addition to these 4 sessions, we offer:
- Unlimited Email Support during our scheduled time working together, which you can use to solicit advice, brainstorm ideas, etc.
- a 50% Discount on Joanne’s Grief Mapping online class for you or a friend