social justice | Sheila Collins

The Art of Dancing on Behalf of Peace Part 2

by Sheila Collins | Feb 29, 2024 | Celebrations, Dances, Duality, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Health and Wellness, Self-Care, social justice, Songs, The Art of Grieving

“What is she doing? My 3-year-old grandson William’s voice echoed throughout the large meeting space at my 31-year-old son Kenneth’s memorial service. Hearing that voice, and the question that I imaged many other people were asking themselves, I stopped what I was...

Are we willing to mourn?

by Sheila Collins | Apr 27, 2023 | Community, Dances, Duality, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, History, School Shootings, social justice, Songs, The Art of Grieving

Seven-year-old Daniel Barden’s father Mark came on ahead of the video I was trying to pull up this morning. I’ve seen him often though these past 11 years since his son was one of the 20 children killed when a 20-year-old with an assault-style weapon began shooting at...

Celebrating Democracy and Communities

by Sheila Collins | Nov 10, 2022 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Community, Duality, Environment, Gatherings, Personal Stories, social justice, the Big Body

It’s the morning after the midterm election and we don’t know yet who won and who lost in some races. But we celebrate anyway with several neighbors on this morning’s dog walk. The turnout at our polling place is worth celebrating–over 90 percent of eligible voters...

Doing Love Out Loud

by Sheila Collins | Oct 27, 2022 | Art & Life, Community, Duality, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, History, Our Children, Past Events, Personal Stories, ReImagine, Resilience, social justice, the Big Body

Today is the 4th anniversary of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in my hometown, Pittsburgh, PA. Eleven people were murdered in their house of worship, impacting hundreds and thousands of others in their families, neighborhoods, towns, and countries....

When Love Itself Seems to Die

by Sheila Collins | Oct 6, 2022 | Dances, Duality, Family, Grieving, social justice, Women, Girls & the Feminine

This month is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. National efforts to raise awareness of spousal, domestic, and dating violence began in 1987, though my awareness of this issue began in the early 80s. A woman professor, a mentor of mine, and a woman I very much admired...

Grieving Personal Losses and Those in our Cultural Body

by Sheila Collins | Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Duality, Environment, Grieving, Health, Health and Wellness, History, Personal Stories, social justice, The Art of Grieving, the Big Body, Women, Girls & the Feminine

The 8 x 8 ft POD was dropped off in my Pittsburgh driveway early Friday morning. Filled to the brim with what I had deemed essential “treasures,” from the California house we were selling, I knew the drill. We had till Monday to empty the container and find a place...

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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.

TOUGH INTO TRIUMPH

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