Gatherings | Sheila Collins

How the Arts Help Us Grieve

by Sheila Collins | Aug 24, 2023 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Community, Duality, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Personal Stories, Rituals

I’m in that stage of life when family gatherings are more likely to occur around funerals and memorial services than weddings, holidays, or birth celebrations. We family members promised one another at the recent gathering for my sister’s funeral that we’ll plan and...

Eulogy for a sister Mary Jane Smith

by Sheila Collins | Aug 16, 2023 | Community, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Health and Wellness, Personal Stories, Spirtuality, The Art of Grieving

I insisted on speaking on behalf of my sister Mary Jane because I am the only one in the room who was there at the beginning. For me, her life began a t the votive candle counter in a Roman Catholic Church. I’m 5 years old and the lights sparkle as mother supports me...

London Artist Tours a brightly colored Kiosk for Dancing Grief Raves

by Sheila Collins | Jul 13, 2023 | Art & Life, Community, Dances, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Good Will Come, Grieving, The Art of Grieving

Talk about the art of grieving! Graphic artist Annie Frost Nicholson lost several members of her family in a tragic helicopter accident in New York in 2011. This changed her approach to creativity which was her outlet to process her grief. She channeled her own...

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

by Sheila Collins | Jun 29, 2023 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Community, Dances, Family, Gatherings, Health and Wellness, Improvisation, Personal Stories, Play, Story-telling

Last week was the first in person Leaders’ Gathering for the InterPlay organization I have been a member of for over 30 years. Nearly 50 people from across the country, and a few from across the world, (Africa and Australia) met in a conference center in Greensboro...

Why Pride Parades are Good for Our Communities’ Mental Health

by Sheila Collins | May 31, 2023 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Community, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Health and Wellness, History, Our Children, Personal Stories

On a return flight to Pittsburgh earlier this week I listened again to the audio version of my now 10-year-old memoir, Warrior Mother, Fierce Love, Unbearable Loss, and Rituals that Heal. This refreshed my memory of what a struggle my youngest son Ken had with...

What’s Ecstasy have to do with Grief?

by Sheila Collins | May 25, 2023 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Christianity, Community, Family, Gatherings, History, Our Children, Personal Stories, Women, Girls & the Feminine

In this spring season of graduations my husband and I are just back from what we called our “memory lane” motor tour–12 hours driving time each way to Springfield MO. for our granddaughter Vitoria’s graduation with a PhD in Physical Therapy. Turns out there...

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Learn the Many, Magical Ways Art Transforms Grieving!

(No art skills required.)

Loss is inevitable, yet too often we bury our grief, pretending we're OK when we're not.

In my new book (COMING SOON), I'll share some uncommon notions about grief and how the arts, and art-making, have transformative powers that take us to the heart of the matter.

How the Arts Help Us Grieve

Eulogy for a sister Mary Jane Smith

London Artist Tours a brightly colored Kiosk for Dancing Grief Raves

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

Why Pride Parades are Good for Our Communities’ Mental Health

What’s Ecstasy have to do with Grief?

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