USING ART FOR AMBIGUOUS LOSS AND GRIEF
Here are some tips and common questions about using art to help express your ambiguous loss and grief.
Chloë Swinton is a qualified therapist, who also holds a BA Hons degree in art. She features her black and white photography on this website, and is currently working on a funded art project allowing her to express her own experience of ambiguous loss through a series of lino prints. In therapy sessions, Chloë offers to facilitate creativity with others to help them convey how they are feeling, find perspective and explore ways to support themselves.
During Ambiguous Loss Awareness Day in 2024, we ran a Creative Expressions of Ambiguous Loss project. You can see five of the featured artworks by clicking on the button below.
- Why use art for grief? Because it can be a useful medium to help you cope with the uncertainty of your loss. Many people journal, write poetry or are drawn to create art to help support them therapeutically day to day with their emotions. Learning to manage your feelings is usually an empowering experience that puts you in the driver’s seat when things feel challenging.
You don’t have to be a professional or established artist to create something that has meaning or expression for you, or do you need a therapist to sit next to you. Creating art can help you make sense of the loss, and find new perspectives and understanding. Using this method of expression can be a calming and mindful activity, and help you regulate your emotions. - What type of medium should I use? This is really up to you! What is your preferred method, or what would you like to try? It may depend on what you have available but simply a pen or pencil and piece of paper is enough. Perhaps you have some paints, or like to use printing as a medium. Simply using crayons and using mark-making on the paper can be enough. You could create a collage or used mixed media.
Are you a keen photographer who has an eye for capturing feelings in your images, or like digital art. Perhaps you could go big or 3D, and create a sculpture from clay or wire or some pebble art on the beach. All crafts have a place, and it may be through knitting or needle work that you express your grief and what this looks like to you. Try using an object or materials from the natural world. If none of this is your thing, how about using words? It could be a verse, a poem, lyrics to a song, a short haiku. The possibilities are endless… Can you let your grief dictate the medium?
- How can I feel inspired? What normally inspires you? Do you need to be inspired? This is about your own process of expression. Art doesn’t have to be pretty! It’s about dipping into the grief that you feel with ambiguous loss and allowing whatever evolves onto the page. Try playing some music that resonates deeply for you to create a stir. Sometimes sitting in the natural world or going for a walk somewhere green or blue, can help initiate creativity. Grief is a very personal experience. If it doesn’t feel like it flows, maybe that is the ambiguous nature or stuckness of the loss showing up. Perhaps finding a quote that holds meaning for you will help.
- Can I have a prompt? Think about how ambiguous loss affects you. What part is highlighted most to you right now in your situation? You may wish to explore aspects of ambiguous loss such as sadness, not knowing, shock, being in limbo, hopelessness, rollercoaster of emotions, anger, hope or longing. How about seeing what comes to you from this visualisation when connected to grief:
“In the breeze of a winter’s morning at the beach, I sit uneasily on the wet sand gazing across the vast ocean, watching the waves turn, crashing and exploding, creating a deep grumble amongst the pebbles. The icy water laps at my toes as the sky turns a heavy shade of grey and thunder rolls in…”
- What if I feel overwhelmed while creating art? It’s great to let the emotions flow if you can, and it can feel quite cathartic, but also exhausting at times. If you find you are getting too activated, you may wish to ground yourself by going for a walk in the natural world, or sitting mindfully in your garden or somewhere that feels safe and secure. Look around you and you identify: 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste. Perhaps calling a friend would help you, or grabbing a cup of tea for comfort. Bringing to mind a serene and relaxing image of the seaside on a sunny warm day may help balance how you feel. If your ambiguous loss has been traumatic, reach out for professional support. You are always welcome to join our Ambiguous Loss Support Group on Facebook and share with others who will understand.
Chloë Swinton is a qualified therapist, who also holds a BA Hons degree in art. She features her black and white photography on this website, and is currently working on a funded art project allowing her to express her own experience of ambiguous loss through a series of lino prints. In therapy sessions, Chloë offers to facilitate creativity with others to help them convey how they are feeling, find perspective and explore ways to support themselves.
During Ambiguous Loss Awareness Day in 2024, we ran a Creative Expressions of Ambiguous Loss project. You can see five of the featured artworks by clicking on the button below.
“Art is not always about pretty things. It's about who we are, what happened to us, and how our lives are affected.” ~ Elizabeth Broun
