It’s been exciting to see our Vashon-Maury Island’s independent newspaper, The Vashon Loop, relaunch and be back up and running again! As co-founder of the Creative Grief Studio, I’m always looking for ways we can bring more grief literacy to our communities. It is with the biggest thanks to the Valencias of the editorial team, and everyone working hard to make this newspaper happen again, that I’ve brought back the Grief+Creativity column. I’m thrilled to be back on board with at least five articles running through 2023.
In the new Issue #3 (November 2022), is the first Grief and Creativity column entitled, “Meeting Grief: Unmet Needs During the Pandemic Years.” We are trying to raise grief literacy – especially in the face of the pandemic – and consider how we might do so creatively. The full article is available in the Loop’s blog here: https://vashonloop.com/wordpress/index.php/2022/10/13/meeting-grief-unmet-needs-during-the-pandemic-years/
I will add that I’m so happy this artwork found a home with this article. She’s one of my Grief Beasts I befriended along the way in my art journal practice. I may have shared her somewhere, but for the most part, she’s just resting inside an art journal that has basically never see the light of day. So, I’m glad she’s got a little appearance here.
We’re hoping in the new year, with the balance of the articles, to talk more about grief literacy and how to raise the bar at the community level for changing the culture of grief. There’s so much out there that insists on leaving the grief conversation at the individualistic level. Yes, we are individuals having our own unique grief experiences, but there is a level of reality where we are ALWAYS, and in ALL WAYS embedded in the kinship systems of our lives from living situation to socio-cultural structures – and those systems do have some part in shaping our grief experiences. How do we get better at being aware of that? How do we go about changing community response to grief experience to provide something more helpful than “stages” or “tasks” of grief? How do we get more practiced at being able to really see gaps in services needed in our communities when grief comes?
Looking forward to exploring with you all! ❤️
By Kara Jones, CGS Founder