6 Months of Grief Project: Day 75

Work Drag

This is Day 75 of my #6MonthsOfGrief Project. To learn more about this practice, feel free to visit Day One, where I explain this project in more detail.

Being an artist, putting together my work drag every day is a form of expression for me. Thanks to some very skilled shopping friends, I was able to score a lot of new, fun clothes to wear to the office. My workplace is actually very easy and casual - it's not necessary to get super dressed up at all, but it's something I really enjoy doing. My life has changed so dramatically in so many ways, and I think being able to express myself this way is helping with the sudden changes. 

With my new schedule and this Grief Project, I don't have a lot of time to paint or work on my radio show right now, so this is a relatively easy creative outlet for me. That being said, it's quite challenging to find cute clothes for fat ladies and whenever I see a fellow fat human rocking some excellent style, I admire them greatly because I know how difficult it is. I also like being part of this tribe.

There is a shady glade behind the building where I work, sandwiched in between various industrial businesses. I try to take a daily photo back there to send to my shopping friends, so they can see what I've put together. There is a surprising amount of nature back there - I always see quail and squirrels, and for a little while I can look at trees and feel sun on my face, before heading back into cubicle land. It's a nice break to go sit under the trees and do my silly outfit pose to send to my friends. Maybe I'll start sharing more "outfit of the day" pictures on my Instagram feed.

Finding these moments of creative play and calm is also part of the grief journey.

_____________________

I am very aware that this project can bring up a lot around yours or other's grief and loss, I will always follow every post with some online grief support resources that have helped me. Please feel free to let me know of online support that you have found healing in your grief, as well:

Art with Grief:

• Photographer [Sarah Treanor] Takes Moving Self-Portraits to Cope with Her Fiance's Death by Jillian Wong
• When the Fall Comes, a film about Grief by Adriana Marchione
• Self-Portraits: Expressing Emotion Through Art on What's Your Grief?
• The Hard Romance of Grief by Mark Liebenow
• The poetry of John O’Donohue

Resources for Widows:

• Widowed Village
• Camp Widow

• Soaring Spirits International

Living with Grief Resources:

• Modern Loss's excellent resource list
• Grief Bibliography on Grief Healing

• Teresa “TL” Bruce's What to Say When Someone Dies
• They Brought Cookies: For A New Widow, Empathy Eases Death's Pain by Ann Finkbeiner on NPR
• A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

• Megan Devine’s Refuge in Grief

• The Geography of Sorrow: Francis Weller on Navigating Our Loses, interviewed by Tim McKee in Sun Magazine

• How to Be a Friend in Deed by Bruce Feiler in the New York Times

• 12 Things to Know About the First Year of Grieving Someone You Can’t Live Without by Laurie Costanza in Elephant Magazine

And remember, I am sharing this project on a variety of platforms, including my Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook feeds, as well as my Pinterest page on Grief. I use the hashtag #6MonthsOfGrief, so it can easily be found on any platform. Please share this project with anyone you think might need it.


Thank you, and see you tomorrow.

6 Months of Grief Project: Day 24

Striped Legs for Leap Day

This is Day 24 of my #6MonthsOfGrief Project. To learn more about this practice, feel free to visit Day One, where I explain this project in more detail.

Today is Leap Day and that's always been a really special day for me. It's like we get one magic day that doesn't exist in any other year that is not divisible by four. It's a day where time is fluid. It's a day that hides in the ethers, showing up to give one extra day to exist. I feel like today, my grief can rest in a more relaxed and playful space, because today doesn't really exist. It doesn't get counted in our years of life. It is literally an EXTRA day. Today I bought new striped tights. Today I'm taking a road trip up north to soak in hot water. Today my grief is quieter and softer and even a bit sillier. Is that okay? Do I get to take a respite from my grief?

I am very aware that this project can bring up a lot around yours or other's grief and loss, I will always follow every post with some online grief support resources that have helped me. Please feel free to let me know of online support that you have found healing in your grief, as well:

Art with Grief:

• Photographer [Sarah Treanor] Takes Moving Self-Portraits to Cope with Her Fiance's Death by Jillian Wong

• Self-Portraits: Expressing Emotion Through Art on What's Your Grief?

• The Hard Romance of Grief by Mark Liebenow

• The poetry of John O’Donohue

Resources for Widows:

• Camp Widow

• Soaring Spirits International

Living with Grief Resources:

• Grief Bibliography on Grief Healing

• Teresa “TL” Bruce's What to Say When Someone Dies
• They Brought Cookies: For A New Widow, Empathy Eases Death's Pain by Ann Finkbeiner on NPR
• A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

• Megan Devine’s Refuge in Grief

• The Geography of Sorrow: Francis Weller on Navigating Our Loses, interviewed by Tim McKee in Sun Magazine

• How to Be a Friend in Deed by Bruce Feiler in the New York Times

• 12 Things to Know About the First Year of Grieving Someone You Can’t Live Without by Laurie Costanza in Elephant Magazine

And remember, I am sharing this project on a variety of platforms, including my Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook feeds, as well as my Pinterest page on Grief. I use the hashtag #6MonthsOfGrief, so it can easily be found on any platform. Please share this project with anyone you think might need it.

Thank you, and see you tomorrow.

Be Your Own Beloved #21

Every day, I am taking a self-portrait in conjunction with Vivienne McMaster's Be Your Own Beloved e-course. Sometimes it takes me longer - like a week or more, but I'm dedicated to finishing this project!

Witchy Nerd Gets New Glasses

Today's assignment is to capture a photo that celebrates our individuality. This made me laugh with delight because this process of self-portrait-taking has really helped me connect with my unique voice. I have been laughing myself silly coming up with crazy scenarios to take pictures of and delighting in how strange and clownlike I can be. I used to be really embarrassed of how silly and strange I can get, but this process has taught me so much about loving myself at a deeper more authentic level.

I recently needed to get new glasses and I have been dreaming about getting cat's eye glasses again. I wore them for fun in my early 20's and then I never felt brave enough to do it again. Through my process of learning to embrace my quirky weirdness, I went ahead and got new, granny-style, cat's eye glasses. I love them! I love them so much, I actually can't stop taking pictures of myself wearing them! So when I read Vivienne's assignment for today, I knew exactly which picture I wanted to choose. "Witchy Nerd" has been my new, self-chosen moniker of late. It fits what I'm interested in right now and how I feel in my new glasses!