the Big Body | Sheila Collins

Poetry and Grief’s Gift

by Sheila Collins | Aug 30, 2023 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Community, Gatherings, Grieving, the Big Body

Yesterday was National Grief Awareness Day in the U.S. It’s goal–to encourage open communication on loss and bereavement, and better inform the public on the facts of grief. As a grief advocate, I am always on the lookout for art tools that help us understand grief...

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....

Pre-Election Anticipatory Grief in the Big Social Body

by Sheila Collins | Oct 20, 2022 | Community, Duality, Environment, History, Our Children, the Big Body

My phone’s text messaging function has never been so busy. Some messages start with an apology– “I know we text you a LOT, but we wouldn’t if it wasn’t SO important.” The tone of others sound like the sky is falling–“the fate of our senate majority rests in PA” or”...

The Arts and the Queen’s Funeral – Part Two

by Sheila Collins | Sep 21, 2022 | Community, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, History, Rituals, Story-telling, The Art of Grieving, the Big Body, Uncategorized, Women, Girls & the Feminine

In honor of Queen Elizabeth II, the world experienced how the arts can be used to celebrate life, and in this case, perhaps unite the world — even for a moment. A funeral’s purpose is to create an experience for the participants and witnesses. The arts are...

Lessons for the Art of Grieving from a Queen’s Funeral

by Sheila Collins | Sep 15, 2022 | Art & Life, Celebrations, Community, Environment, Family, Gatherings, Grieving, Songs, The Art of Grieving, the Big Body, Women, Girls & the Feminine

Queen Elizabeth’s four adult children walk slowly behind her casket as it moves through the main street of Edinburgh Scotland. Throngs of British subjects and their guests stand in respectful silence. The only audible sound–the clomping horses’ hooves on the street’s...

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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.

Poetry and Grief’s Gift

Pre-Election Anticipatory Grief in the Big Social Body

The Arts and the Queen’s Funeral – Part Two

Lessons for the Art of Grieving from a Queen’s Funeral

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