Entering the Darkness, Finding the Light
Grief Painter™: Shelle
Facilitator: Faith Harrison, Katherine Sargent
Facilitator: Faith Harrison, Katherine Sargent
Shelle came to paint a memorial to her parents and a beloved pet.
Shelle's Words
At the completion of the process and looking at the finished painting; the huge relief I felt, a weight had been dissolved, a feeling of letting go but also of accepting and being okay. The process/stage of letting go, letting myself FEEL, expressing it verbally, letting myself express the various feelings/emotions thru my hands with paint on the canvas.
I am so very thankful for this time, this process and I can see the many wonderful things that can happen from going thru each of the stages. Both of you were so open, accepting and kind yet gently firm with the process and keeping it flowing yet allowing the person to go thru whatever was necessary at that moment during that particular stage of the process. The environment was warm and the space was open for creating whatever it was that needed to be painted on canvas.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone whether going thru grief, anger or fear. Having these feelings painted on canvas is amazing and it definitely moved things that were stuck within myself further down the path enabling me to open up to the beginnings of something new by letting go of those that were old.
My painting had several “horse” like figures within and when looking the horse up in my medicine card book it was very powerful; a poem from the book that encompasses my painting:
I am so very thankful for this time, this process and I can see the many wonderful things that can happen from going thru each of the stages. Both of you were so open, accepting and kind yet gently firm with the process and keeping it flowing yet allowing the person to go thru whatever was necessary at that moment during that particular stage of the process. The environment was warm and the space was open for creating whatever it was that needed to be painted on canvas.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone whether going thru grief, anger or fear. Having these feelings painted on canvas is amazing and it definitely moved things that were stuck within myself further down the path enabling me to open up to the beginnings of something new by letting go of those that were old.
My painting had several “horse” like figures within and when looking the horse up in my medicine card book it was very powerful; a poem from the book that encompasses my painting:
Mighty Horse
Power to run
Across the open plains,
Or to bring the vision,
Of the shields,
Dancing in purple dream rain.
Power to run
Across the open plains,
Or to bring the vision,
Of the shields,
Dancing in purple dream rain.
Black Stallion is what I see in the horse figures:
“I am from the Void where Answer lives.
Ride on my back and know the power of entering the Darkness and finding the Light.”
Ride on my back and know the power of entering the Darkness and finding the Light.”