SOUL ART By Allison Orthner

with Allison Orthner

Expressing GRIEF through ART

Grief. It’s not a pleasant topic. In fact, we try to avoid it. The reality is, however, that we will all face grief at some point in our lives to various degrees. Those who have experienced a deep grief journey will attest to the fact that you don’t ever “get over” it, but you can get through it to a “new normal.” There is always hope. One of the things I have learned through my own grief journey, is that creating art is soul-soothing.

“The main purpose of Soul ART is to dig deep into important matters of the heart and soul through simple art that anyone can do.”

OUR ANGEL IN HEAVEN

Stephanie Gammon Smithfield, North Carolina

SUPPLIES: Brea Reese heave body acrylic paints and glitter ink, Craft Smart acrylic paint, Sweet ’n Sassy stamps, hymnal page.

SCRAPS OF INFO

Stephanie created this canvas a few days after her dad passed away and used the hymn “Amazing Grace”, played at his funeral, to create the angel wings.

DRESSED IN GRIEF

Allison Orthner Calgary, Alberta

SUPPLIES: DecoArt Chalky Gesso, Decoupage Matte and Americana paints, Soul Art papers and graphics.

SCRAPS OF INFO

I put Christy’s name on the red balloon along with another childhood friend I lost and left room for more names to be added knowing that death and grief is a natural part of life.

It was a Sunday morning in August 2016 when I unexpectedly became a member of what I now call the “grief club” (the one no one wants to join). I lost my soul sister, Christy, and began a grief journey that I’m still walking, but have found much soothing for my soul over the years creating art in her honour. The Soul ART project “Dressed in Grief” is the result of reading an extremely helpful book on grief called The Little Black Funeral Dress by Shirley Thiessen. Shirley tells the story of how just hours before she learned of her 23-year-old son’s tragic passing, God led her to buy this little black dress with a royal purple lining. She wore it at his funeral and it became her sign that God cares deeply about our pain and is a source of comfort during grief.

The dress on my project was inspired by Shirley’s story and is very symbolic. I tore pieces of paper representing our torn hearts and the pain of loss, but also included strips of purple as “God’s royalty” and foils of gold as “God’s hope.” Both are reminders that God is in control of ALL, and He will help us find our way through the grief as He has for both Shirley and me.

Creating art during the grief journey can bring about great comfort and help heal the heart and soul.

Everyone grieves differently, and the journey can be tumultuous. If you are in the midst of grief, I encourage you to create something in honour of the loss and hopefully find some soothing for your soul.

We can hold space for both the pain of grief and the beauty of the relationship at the same time. Art helps us do this.

These pieces of art from two artists powerfully portray this truth. Each one has a grief story and shares how creating art brought comfort.

FIRST FIRST TIME TIME PUBLISHED PUBLISHED

I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN

Stephanie Gammon, Smithfield, North Carolina

SUPPLIES: Brea Reese acrylic paint and modeling paste, Craft Smart acrylic paint, Sweet ‘n Sassy stamps, Open Journey graphics, Gelli Arts plate and brayers, Ranger Dylusions creative journal.

SCRAPS OF INFO

Stephanie created this art journal page on the 1 year anniversary of losing her dad. She wrote a long letter to him getting out everything she wished she could tell him, then pressed a gelli plate covered in paint on top to cover up most of it symbolizing that she will have to wait until Heaven to express it face to face. “Writing everything out that I had trouble expressing was extremely therapeutic.”

FIRST FIRST TIME TIME PUBLISHED PUBLISHED

DRY BONES

Kitty Bonouvrie, Netherlands

SUPPLIES: Bruynzeel graphite pencil, Pigma Micron fineliner pen, Winsor &Newton watercolours.

SCRAPS OF INFO

Kitty’s personal grief journey stems from a difficult childhood and after the recent passing of her pastor friend, a young father of 4, Kitty created this powerful art in her Bible. She chose Ezekiel where it talks of “dry bones without hope” and God’s response to “put breath in you and you will come to life”. It represents both her own grief as well as the grief of her friend who lost her husband and the power of God to bring hope and healing to both in spite of the pain.

DIY Wrapping

You are leaving shortly for a holiday party and realize you forgot to buy wrapping paper! Disaster? Not for a crafter! Always ready to expand how far our craft supplies can go, a blank piece of paper and a few stamps can transform an oopsie into an opportunity for custom wrapping paper! From simple repeated monochromatic images to multi-step embossed and colourized images, DIY wrapping paper can add a special touch to any occasion! And of course, you don’t need to be forgetful to jump on this trend!

MIXED MEDIA SHOEBOX

Kerry Engel, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Ranger Dylusions Gel Printing Plate, Dina Wakley Media acrylic paint, Distress Collage Matte Medium and Tim Holtz Distress ink, Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz stencils, Therm O Web Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo and Foil Transfer Sheets, Tonic Studios Nuvo alcohol markers, recycled brown packaging paper, cotton fabric and unknown Christmas bells.

Scan the QR Code to watch as Kerry creates a similar gift box from start to finish.

PINK FLORAL WRAPPING PAPER

Rhonda Burback, Calgary, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Melissa Frances paper, Altenew stamps, VersaMark and Stampin’ Up! ink, Stampendous embossing powder, Martha Stewart ribbon, Stampin’ Up! Aqua Painter. SCRAPS OF INFO “I used a Stampin’ Up! Aqua Painter to apply ink to the flowers and leaves resulting in a watercoloured look.” ~ Rhonda Burback

VINTAGE CAR WRAPPING PAPER

Rhonda Burback, Calgary, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Tim Holtz Idea-ology paper, Cornish Heritage Farms and Stampin’ Up! stamps, Memento ink, seam binding from Rhonda’s mom stash.

WRAPPING PAPER

Debra Ruffing, Washington, Pennsylvania

SUPPLIES: Bazzill Basics Paper cardstock, Sugarloaf and Inkadinkado stamps, ColorBox ink, Berwick ribbon, Provo Craft Cricut cut files, Creatology jingle bells.

SCRAPS OF INFO

“I stamped with two different Christmas stamps on the paper, using red and green inks. I wrapped a gift box using the paper and added paper-pieced jingle bell and two metal jingle bells tied on with matching curling ribbon.” ~ Debra Ruffing

Nicole Wright, Calgary, Alberta

SUPPLIES: Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz stamps. Ranger Archival ink and Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks, unknown bone folder, waterbrush, hole punch, kraft paper bag, tags, boxes and binding ribbon.

STAMP YOUR GIFT BAGS

1. Fold the top of your paper bag back approximately 1″ , using a bone folder. Punch a hole in the centre. 2. Use Ranger Archival jet black ink to stamp your holiday images randomly on the front and back of the bag. 3. Colour the stamped images using Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks. 4. Use a waterbrush pen to blend the Scribble Stick colours. Have fun, and create coordinating tags, cards, and holiday boxes.