The Creative Grief Studio Bids “Farewell” to Co-Founder, Cath Duncan
Cath Ducan and Kara LC Jones launched the Creative Grief Studio together in 2011. They were two bereaved mothers who found each other online, and brought together their personal experiences with grief and loss, alongside their many years of professional experience in coaching, counselling, and creativity to create the online Certification in Creative Grief Support. And all these years later now, Cath has stepped down from the demands of self-employment to be able to focus more on her own health, her family and community life, and her own creative play.
The Herstory
“It’s been a wonderful 8 years together,” says Cath. “We got lucky in finding each other. This has been such a great experience of business partnership. And to think that we found each other online, and formed our LLC together, set up our website and basic business systems, and created and facilitated our first version of the Certification in Creative Grief Support … all before we had even met each other in person.” Cath was living in Calgary, Canada and Kara in Arizona, USA, when they launched The Creative Grief Studio. “Despite the considerable geographical distance, it all came together, and though we both have worked very hard over these past years, it’s been a lot of fun, too. And a lot of feeling supported, and really feeling a sense of belonging in our partnership with each other, and in the community and culture that we have created together,” says Cath. “Clearly it was a special connection from the get-go, and it’s been a powerful kind of partnership in which we shared values but brought very different and complementary experiences and skill sets to the table. It seems fitting that the number 8 (our years leading CGS together) is a number that’s a power of 2 (2 cubed)!”
“We were incredibly fortunate to find each other at just the right time,” Kara adds. “I think it’s been such exponential growth as we tended the ideas we had and brought a community together to explore grief and creativity. And we learned so much from each other along the way, too. Just the other day, I found myself setting a boundary in a situation which otherwise would have been difficult for me. And in my head I thought, “Oh! I learned that from Cath!” I’m so grateful on so many levels, both professional and personal. And while I’m very happy to see Cath able to tend and grow in this new direction, I will of course say, too, that there is some grief and I’ll miss the daily interaction piece of our relationship very much!”
Going Forward
While Cath has stepped down from co-leading the Creative Grief Studio, her literal and figurative voice will still be very present in the course content of the Certification in Creative Grief Support, and she’ll still be around, as part of the Creative Grief Studio community. So in those senses, it’s not really “Goodbye.” Kara and the rest of the Creative Grief Studio team wish Cath well for this next phase of life.
You’ll still be able to find Cath online on Instagram and Facebook, where she’ll continue to occasionally post grief-related articles of interest. And Cath’s Remembering For Good Grief Journal will still be available for purchase from her website.
As for what’s next for The Creative Grief Studio in 2020, Kara says, “We’ve spent several years teaching and refining our core Certification in Creative Grief Support program, and the content has gotten better, and clearer, and more juicy with each iteration.” It’s enormously rewarding to have participants say things like, “This course has been so liberating,” and, “It feels so good to feel so inspired about my work,” and, “I can’t wait to share this with my client!”
We really want to be able to share this core Certification in Creative Grief Support program with many more people who we know will love it as much as all of our alumni have. And so we are spending some time working ‘behind the scenes’ on our infrastructures and communication strategies in partnership with marketing professional Jonathan Boyer.
Our Teaching Team are also continuing to connect with each other and with our alumni to bring our short courses and some other wonderful new ideas to the table. A huge THANK YOU to Tamara, Lori, Yvonne, Gail S, Gail D, and Carol for working so hard these past couple years to give Cath more and more space, eventually allowing for her to make this exit. Kara added, “Their dedication puts both Cath and I at peace in the knowledge that The Creative Grief Studio has everything it needs in this solid, skilled, and passionate team. I’m so looking forward to continuing to explore and learn and create together with you all in 2020 and beyond!!”