Art Your Grief Substack

Finger Painting

art your grief — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:18:12 GMT

This prompt is fairly simple and quick. It’s great because our inner critic doesn’t have much time to act or try to get in the way of creating. You can use this prompt over and over again using the same or different quotes. You could even do a series of papers using the same quote or all different ones.

A quote can be anything. Maybe something a loved one used to say. Maybe something that’s helpful to you to read or repeat. Maybe it’s a truth about grief or a feeling you’re experiencing.

The format of this prompt is a little different not as in depth as our typical prompts. I want to make this one available to everyone as I think it’s a really helpful one.

Feel free to Restack if you’d like, the more people that are helped by this the better!

Here is what you’ll need…

Find a quote
Thick small sheet of paper - watercolor paper or cardstock if you don’t want the paper to rip.
Paint - tempura or acrylic
Paper towel or rag - to wipe off fingers
Water cup - to dip fingers in if the paint needs more moisture.
Palette - paper plate or cardboard or an actual palette if you have one.

Prompt Guidance:

Find your quote you’d like to focus on for this prompt. Totally optional, but if you’d like you can print it out and make it a part of your work today.
Get out your paint and your paper.
With your quote in mind - choose what colors fit for you and squirt some out onto your paper plate or cardboard (or whatever you have for a palette).
While thinking about your quote - dip your fingers into your paint and spread the paint around your sheet of paper while marinating on the words and what your quote means to you.
Remember it doesn’t matter what this looks like in the end. It may take you 5-10 min. If you’d like to make more just take more sheets of paper and keep going.
As always please be gentle with yourself as this may seem small but often moving paint in this way and focusing on something meaningful is actually heavy lifting. Keep this in mind if things feel spicy in the rest of your day and for a couple of days.
Take a few minutes to consider how that prompt was for you. It may be one you keep around in your tool kit for a grief heavy moment or something to ground you in the future.
Thank you for doing this work with me. I’m grateful that you have trusted me to lead you in this important and sometimes very hard work.

I’m not a medical professional nor do I give medical advice. All that I teach here are things from my own experience with grief and art as well as my experience teaching Art Your Grief to my students. This work is powerful and I hope you find it useful for you.

*None of this work may be used for Ai or Ai training purposes. This is original work and may not be used or taken for other purposes other than in this form.

Giving a Difficult Visual Less Power in Our Bodies...

art your grief — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 04:53:50 GMT

Often when we are dealing with trauma and grief, there are certain objects that trigger an emotional response because of the meaning they hold for us.

I imagine you can think of several items that come to mind. I would encourage you to choose one that is less emotionally charged for your first try at this prompt.

The object may be something we see in reality or something we find only in our memory. I encourage you to steer clear of a traumatic flashback for this prompt. We have another prompt for that linked here: https://artyourgrief.substack.com/p/medical-trauma-prompt

We will work with our visual reminder (object or place) that we’d like to have less charge or power in our bodies. The hope is that after creating the object will hold a little less power in our body as we’ve gone towards it in a way that will be accessible and integrative.

The example I have in this prompt is of an orange couch that has been a difficult object for me in my living space because of the grief and trauma that I associate it with.

I see it everyday. I sometimes avoid the space it is in when I’m feeling especially tender or not wanting to think about the grief and trauma that I associate the couch with.

I’ve debated getting rid of the couch, before I do I wanted to find another way to work with it using art to see if it shifts the reactivity in my body.

Since creating with it, I stare at it less and I don’t find myself avoiding it. It has less emotional charge in my body and my hope is that this prompt will do the same for you.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Acrylic Paint
Water
Cup for water
Paintbrush (or whatever tool you’d like to use, you may want to use your hands instead of a paintbrush)
Your Surface: Watercolor Paper/Canvas/Canvas Paper/Multimedia Paper (I used a raw canvas hung on the wall however a small sketchbook with 140 lb weight paper would work well.)
Palette: paper plate or cardboard surface.

As with all of our prompts, I will walk your through step by step with my voice recording as well as written steps and photos for each step. My hope is that you will feel like we are doing this work together and that you can express and process in a way that feels helpful for you.

If you haven’t heard about our recent changes:

There are a few good changes for Subscribers that I wanted to update you on…

Free Subscribers will get occasional free posts there are several to choose from
Paid Subscribers ($8 a month) will have access to all prompts and can post comments and chat and share your creations with the Art Your Grief Fam.
Founding Members (Choose your price below or $240) will get a one time 30 min one on one session with me doing any of the prompts I’ve posted together.
Group Subscriptions: 2 or more make a group, you each get 15% off your subscription. If you have a grief buddy, you can do this work together or separately and discuss it together - or simply enjoy the discount while you each do it independently. If you choose a group founding member, you can have a one-on-one session with me with your buddy or we can do it separately.
I will offer the one on one sessions for founding members for as long as I can. For right now it is very doable

Any option you choose helps to go towards medical bills for my ongoing medical needs. I am improving, and my hope is still to come back in the ways I was before. In the meantime this is what I can do. Thank you for being here!

Voice Recording:

Splat Doodle

art your grief — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 20:06:23 GMT

Voice Recording Part 1:

If you’ve been wanting to try something that allows for some expression by way of movement in your body, this is a great prompt to try. Throwing paint in this way is something that I use consistently.

Whatever feelings that are kicking around internally surrounding grief, this one is typically a go to for all of them. For example, anger usually needs an outlet, and this is a safe and acceptable one to throw at your paper surface.

The grounding part after the paint dries is a completely different way of expressing and processing. This portion is usually calming and distracting in a way that allows the noise in our hearts and minds to settle a little.

My hope is that both of these two parts of expressing our grief using art will be helpful to you in some way. Please notice how each one feels for you. You may hate one and love the other - all important information to hold onto and keep in your Art Your Grief toolkit to use whenever you need it.

Updates & Benefits:

There are a few changes and benefits around here for Subscribers that I wanted to update you on…

Free Subscribers will get occasional free posts there are several to choose from
Paid Subscribers ($8 a month) will have access to all prompts and can post comments and chat and share your creations with the Art Your Grief Fam.
Founding Members (Choose your price below or $240) will get a one time 30 min one on one session with me doing any of the prompts I’ve posted together.
Group Subscriptions: 2 or more make a group, you each get 15% off your subscription. If you have a grief buddy, you can do this work together or separately and discuss it together - or simply enjoy the discount while you each do it independently. If you choose a group founding member, you can have a one-on-one session with me with your buddy or we can do it separately.
I will offer the one on one sessions for founding members for as long as I can. For right now it is very doable

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Paint (acrylic or tempura)
Water
Small plastic cup
Cotton Ball (2-3 balls)
Something to stir/mix paint and water together (ex: plastic fork/knife or palette knife)
Pen (something like a ballpoint pen or similar)
Paper (I used a small sketchbook with 140 lb weight paper).

Grief Monsters

art your grief — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 01:21:38 GMT

Grief Monsters can be a very cathartic thing to try for both adults and kids. I would say kids 7 and up with help can do this project. You could do it with a kiddo griever you love or try it yourself.

I would encourage you consider a few things before getting started: what color would your grief monster be, what shape, would it have hair, what color eyes, how many eyes, will it have a body or just a head, etc.

I didn’t have a plan in mind for my grief monsters that I made only because I knew I would get stuck in my head if I made too much of a plan and then I may never get started. For me it is better just to start creating and if that’s you, you’re not alone.

Kiddo Examples:

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Paintbrush
- I used a small paint brush to get into the grooves as well as a bigger small brush to cover the other areas. I also used the bottom of the paintbrush handle.
Air-Dry Clay
- I used the tub of crayola but you won’t need that much for what we are doing. You could get by with a lot smaller of a size if you plan on making only one.
Paint
- I used watercolor paint for this. Crayola brand is pretty saturated so I like to use them especially with clay and it will seep into the clay and fade quite a bit. You could also use paint pens, however it likely will ruin the tip of the pen to use it on clay. You could use Acrylic paint but that could get really messy unless you regularly use acrylic and are super comfortable with using it.
Flat surface
- I used the table I was working on.
Optional: wax paper to cover your surface you’re working on or a paper plate. This helps your surface you’re working on not to be messy.
Optional: Pencil for making indents with.
Optional: Googly eyes if you’d prefer those.
I will be walking you through step by step, with images and video as well as with my voice guiding you through with a voice recording below.
You will learn clay techniques as we go, however there is no needed skills or experience. I will show and teach you all you need to know.
This can be a project you come back to again and again as our grief morphs and changes from day to day. A little grief monster a day, could be a thing.

Picasso Inspired Grief Portraits

art your grief — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:20:48 GMT

Often we have many conflicting and seemingly opposite feelings all at once. Maybe it’s anger, sadness, longing, relief, numbness, overwhelm all rolled into what can sometimes feel like thick heavy goo we can’t step our way out of.

For better or worse, often as grievers we find ourselves needing to mask how we really feel when around others. Unfortunately, it’s not always appropriate or safe to share how we are truly feeling with others. (It is important to find safe people that you can share with, often it’s those who have also experienced deep loss that get it).

We will be using these two common experiences grievers have: feeling so much at once and not being able to share how we are truly feeling depending on the time/place/company and to make things easier or “appropriate” we mask how we feel.

We will use Picasso’s cubist portraits as a stepping off point to show these two common experiences listed above.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Pen and/or Pencil
Paper (I used watercolor paper that’s listed on our supply lists in the above link but any paper will do)
Something to add color: acrylic paint pens, crayon, colored pencil, marker, etc.

Share Art Your Grief Substack

Below you will find step by step directions as well as my voice recorded walking you through each step. You’ll find examples and images to help walk you through each step if you are more of a visual learner and would like to hear or read less words. Thank you for being here and doing this important heavy lifting with me. It is not lost on me that what brought you here is loss and we are part of a club none of us want to be in, although everyone will be at some point. Sending love.

Writing To The One Who Left…

art your grief — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 22:46:10 GMT

This is a common theme that comes up and one that we would often process together with our art in Art Your Grief. We will be both writing and creating using line, color, shape, pattern, etc.

If the idea of doing this feels too raw or too hot to touch right now, please skip this until you’re in a place where it feels like this could be a helpful type of processing and form of grieving this secondary loss.

I did this work years ago when my therapist suggested I write a letter to the one who left when I was at my lowest. I never sent it. Sending the letter isn’t the goal, as always, it’s the processing and expression of how it feels that we are after and this is no different.

I have revised my letter recently because I ran into this person. I have typed my letter on the notes app. The process of writing words on paper and using art is far more helpful and healing for me than it is to type something out.

I remembered so many conversations with fellow grievers years ago about this very topic on how some people leave when our lives implode or when we need them most. I got to thinking this needs to be a prompt. Sadly this is so common and I am willing to bet that most of you have this story too or something similar. Maybe you’re the one that left and you want to process that. I decided this prompt needs to include color, form, line, etc.

This isn’t an easy prompt, but if you’re here its likely not because this work is easy. Please be sure you have good support before diving into this work. Especially as many of us have felt abandoned by our losses or because of childhood, etc. and this is another form of abandonment that may trigger many other things. I’m sending you all the love as you begin to do this work.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Pen
- The ones I used in both of my examples bled when I added water. I didn’t test them out first so it was a surprise. If you want yours not to bleed, use something like a micron pen or acrylic paint pen or something you know doesn’t shift when water is added to it.
Paper (I used watercolor paper that’s listed on our supply lists in the above link)
Painters Tape or Washi Tape
Hard edge: cardboard, edge of a magazine, book, etc.
Optional: If you use Watercolor you’ll need paint, paint brush & water cup & paper towel/rag
Optional: Cling Wrap/Saran Wrap
Media options: watercolor, colored pencil, marker, acrylic paint pen, tissue paper, glue, collage paper, sharpie, water soluble graphite, water soluble crayon, etc.
Art Your Grief Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Tracing Memories

art your grief — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 15:18:56 GMT

This prompt we are focusing in on a memory you have of a person, place, time, event, home, etc. It can be anything that can serve as a memory or a reminder of a memory for you. The goal isn’t to re-create this memory but to give the feeling of the memory.

This may look involved but I promise this is a simple prompt that we get to trace most everything and then color it in like a coloring book.

For me in the image above, I made two versions as one wasn’t as “light” feeling as the other. One got dark and busy. So I lightened this one up by using more simplistic materials and lighter colors to get the feel of the memory I was looking for.

It is still true we aren’t after making beautiful art, however it is also true that it makes sense to want to and try to give the feeling of the memory you are going for.

Here is an example of what it looks like in process…

Here is another version of the same printed photo of my memory. It got too busy and a bit dark for what I wanted to remember about the memory which I saw as light and airy with bright soft colors.

I used some scrap paper here with some paint on it to add to my memory. You can see how I used these dots below…

I wish I would have stopped here, as this gave the light and airy feeling I was going for to depict my memory and my person.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Pencil
Crayon
Hard tip pen like a ballpoint or regular pen
Paper (I used watercolor paper that’s listed on our supply lists in the above link)
Sharpie
Tape
Access to a printer to print your chosen photo out
Media to fill your image in with: crayon, colored pencil, marker, acrylic paint pen, watercolor, collage paper, etc.

Drawing Inside Circles

art your grief — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 03:20:45 GMT

This prompt can act as a symbolic container for what needs to be held or it can be simple and grounding without touching grief directly.

This prompt is great for all ages, you can see the kiddo version below.

You can use any shape you want, it doesn’t need to be circles. I like to use circles as I find they are easily accessible as most have containers of various sizes that can be used. All you need is something to draw with and a surface to draw on. It can be as detailed or as simple as you’d like it to be.

I will be walking you through each step if you’re not sure where to start or how to go about drawing inside of your circle. If you want to go off on your own and once we get started do your own thing as always, I encourage creative freedom.

This one is great for kiddos too, see the image below for an example of a kid version of this prompt.

Here they are all together…

Below is a time-lapse of creating the example directly above.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Pen
Paper (I used watercolor paper that’s listed on our supply lists in the above link)
Optional: Pencil and eraser
Optional: small acrylic white paint pen

What Does Grief Look Like...

art your grief — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:35:38 GMT

With this prompt you will learn how to take any image printed or magazine and transfer the image onto another sheet of paper to create with. This tool can be used over and over again with a variety of prompts.

This prompt is great for kids and adults alike. Kids may need some help depending on their age. This could be a fantastic prompt to do together in a grief heavy moment or when an anniversary is looming or when you know yourself or others need to express in some way and need something super accessible and low prep and clean up. As always you don’t need any art skills or experience to give this a go.

This can be as random as you’d like. I had no ideas in mind when I first started and let the magazines guide me. I never thought about my grief being like a beetle, but it fit in the moment. I never thought about my grief being like a dark room with black mirrors, but that fit another time. Try not to question why you are choosing what you do, likely it will come to you as you are creating (and it’s okay if it never does).

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Watercolor paper
Pencil
Paper with image on it: magazine or printed image
Tape (preferably washi or painters but scotch will work too).
Watercolor paint
Paintbrush
Optional: watercolor pencils, acrylic paint pen, ballpoint pen, etc.

Below is my voice guiding you through the entire prompt. There are written step by step directions as well as video and images to show examples of the process. You don’t need any art experience to do any of our Art Your Grief Prompts. Thank you for doing this important work with me.

Drop, Squirt, Splat, Poke, Swoosh, Tear, Cover, Uncover...

art your grief — Sat, 30 May 2026 00:07:25 GMT

Have you ever felt something so raw and deep that it made you shake? Maybe you know you need to move but going for a walk isn’t possible or feels overwhelming. How about wishing you could yell something and thinking of the release of saying it, sounds cathartic? Possibly a specific grief anniversary is looming or here, and you have lot of emotions surrounding it.

See video below, just before “Prompt Guidance.”

Voice Recording:

Reminders:

Before getting started remember to be gentle with yourself, before, during and after creating. It is difficult while grieving to try something new. Even without living with grief, creating can be a very vulnerable thing to do, so please keep this in mind and go easy on you as you proceed.
I highly encourage you to name your inner critic before getting started. Often when we create our inner critics creep out and get loud. If we name our inner critic - it often helps us continue to move forward with creating. My inner critic is named Gretchen, you’re welcome to borrow the name as yours as well. While I’m creating often I say, “I got this…you can leave Gretchen.”
When you notice your inner critic getting loud, notice and keep on creating.
Keep in mind that we are not tied to an end product or what the art will look like. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate the work when we are done…because that is not our goal. The goal is to help ground and/or connect and process emotions to help even if in a small way. Many find this particular prompt very cathartic way.
Take breaks if you need to. There is no time frame for when you need to complete any prompt we do in Art Your Grief. You can go at your own pace and there is no right or wrong way to do a prompt.
I encourage creative freedom. If you would like to tweak a prompt to fit your needs or supplies, please do! If you need help with what to use or what might work, please feel free to reach out.
If something surfaces that catches you off guard or feels overwhelming at all, I encourage you to pivot and do something entirely different. You can come back to the prompt later or ditch it completely if it isn’t a good fit. Not all prompts will be a good fit for you, that doesn’t mean it may not be at a later time. (It may be that bringing this work or what came up while creating it, to a therapist may be useful).
If ever a step doesn’t make sense or is unclear, I encourage you to reach out to me. I would love to help in any way that I can.
When you are done creating I encourage you to reflect on how the prompt was for you. How you felt before, during, and after the creating. If this step feels overwhelming, skip it. We are adding to your tool kit of prompts that might be helpful when in a grief heavy moment, or as reoccurring grounding opportunities.
I am not a medical professional nor do I give medical advice. I am teaching from what I have learned through doing this work myself for years as well as teaching it to others in the midst of grief.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Pencil or Pen
Paper (I used watercolor paper that’s listed on our supply lists in the above link).
Lined paper or any to write on
Glue stick or other glue
Paint (I used acrylic paint with a bit of water mixed in so it wasn’t so thick).
Optional materials: water dropper, cotton ball, sponge, push pin, toothpick, q-tip, etc.

Prompt Guidance:

Check in with yourself. Do you have a general sense of how you are feeling? Here is a feeling wheel I like because it’s colorful and has a range of feelings/emotions. If using a feeling wheel seems daunting you, skip this part it’s not needed. You can write a feeling word or several on a random sheet or on the back of your art, or write it down in your “Art Your Grief Sketchbook” if you have one you don’t need one - some students find it helpful to have to keep all their prompts in one place. If finding feelings is not where you’re at, that’s okay. We are all going to be at different places at different times in our grief. Please skip this and move onto the next step if it doesn’t feel like the right fit for you or it simply feels too tall of an ask to find a feeling word, I’ve been there and I think most grievers have.
Grab a sheet of paper that you can write or jot a few thoughts down on. I used lined paper that I had in a journal but you can use anything, even a post-it.
Do any of these fit for you?
1. Have you ever felt something so raw and deep that it made you shake?
2. Maybe you know you need to move but going for a walk isn’t possible or feels overwhelming.
3. How about wishing you could yell something and thinking of the release of saying it, sounds cathartic?
4. Possibly a specific grief anniversary is looming or here, and you have lot of emotions surrounding it.
5. Maybe something else entirely…
Go ahead and on the paper you just pulled out for jotting a few thoughts down on…write whatever is on your heart or what comes to mind. It can even be “This prompt is so stupid and I’m doing it anyway on the off chance it may help me.” Whatever it is, once you are done…rip it out. There is no length requirement whatever you would like. I think I wrote about a paragraph.
Next you are going to rip the words you just wrote up into little bits. If you’d like to use scissors instead to cut it up you can do that too. Set the pile of ripped up pieces to the side.
Grab a sheet of paper (I used watercolor paper but you don’t need to). I used 1/2 of a 9” x 12” sheet of watercolor paper. If you’d like to do the same, fold your paper in half. You can use scissors to cut or tear the paper like I do. If you choose to tear the paper, (tearing can be very cathartic) please wet all seams front and back with water before tearing.
We are going to now take our ripped up bits of words we put aside and drop them onto our 1/2 sheet of watercolor paper so be sure that you watercolor paper is under the bits you’ve ripped up. Take a couple at a time or use another method of just throw them onto the watercolor paper. (I dropped a few at a time and glued them on whatever way they fell).
If you haven’t already, wherever the bits of torn paper landed, go ahead and glue them down with a glue stick or whatever glue you have. Some of mine landed backwards and I glued them down this way. Remember it is not about the beauty or look of what we create we are after the process to express what we are feeling.
Go ahead and get out the paint you are planning to use. I used acrylic paint and I watered it down a bit so it was less thick. I stirred it with my dropper I used later.
For this next bit use what you have on hand. Go ahead and gather what you have for this part - what you will use to paint that is not a paintbrush. I used a dropper, cotton ball, push pin, and sponge. (A toothpick or q-tip or even a stick would make some interesting marks).
I first used my dropper and plopped some paint down in random spots on my watercolor paper with the bits of words I glued on.
1. Then I used my cotton ball and dipped that into my paint and threw it at my page with the words glued onto it.
2. I used a sponge that was dry and swooshed some paint around on top and around the words. It didn’t work all that well so I got the sponge wet and tried again and ended up covering everything but I wanted the words to still show a bit and it to be darker and lighter in some areas so the water really helped with that before my acrylic paint dried from my first swoosh of the sponge.
3. I took my push pin and made some holes in my watercolor paper. This is a lot easier to do when the paint is dry or before you put the paint on. I find it is an interesting look after paint is applied that I enjoy. Do what fits best for you.
Consider some reflection and writing. Consider how you felt before, during and after this prompt? Was it helpful? Difficult? Do you think you’ll come back to this one?
Please be gentle with yourself as you move through the rest of the day as things may feel tender. Consider doing something that will be helpful for you to do, talk to a friend, take a shower, go for a walk, whatever you think might be holding if needed. Thank you for doing this work with me. I’d love to hear how this prompt was for you.

All spoken content, voice-overs, audio recordings on this platform are original, human-generated. Unauthorized use, extraction, or processing of my voice for AI training, voice cloning, machine learning, or synthetic reproduction is strictly prohibited without my express written consent.

Bring Your Person (or Loss) With You...

art your grief — Thu, 14 May 2026 21:10:45 GMT

Often we think of our person and think, I should tell them ______, only to realize we can’t like we used to. Or think of our person when we see something we know they would enjoy. Going down the aisle at the grocery store and seeing their favorite snack or jam, and wishing they were here to share it with you. This is a way to express some of these things that come up through out our days.

We will use an image of your loved one or something that has to do with your loss. (Do what fits, and leave what doesn’t). We will create with the image using the prompts below there are 10. Each prompt has many ideas and things to try within them, so there are many many ideas for you to consider - far more than 10.

They can be used over and over again if this is a prompt that is a good one to keep in your Art Your Grief tool kit for when a grief heavy moment hits or when you know some processing or touching your grief in a different way using art may be helpful.

Lets take a peek at some examples…

Itty-Bitty Blind Contour

art your grief — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:39:03 GMT

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Here is a voice recording below to walk you through this prompt as well as steps below and images to guide you as you create with me. Thank you for doing this important work with me.

Grounding Doodle

art your grief — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 19:32:07 GMT

You don’t need any fancy supplies for this prompt. In the top image I used a pen and in the image directly above I used pencil and a marker. You don’t need much at all to make this prompt happen, so if you’re at work or in a meeting or somewhere in public, this is an accessible prompt to make.

**This is not in our audio…however is another version of this prompt that doesn’t really need directions or walking step by step through it unless you’re teaching it to a kid they may need some help. This is a great one for kids below. I wanted to put this here incase it’s helpful to anyone. It’s fairly simple, you’d just make lines from one side to the other in various places and they will cross over one another and then you doodle different designs of your choice in the spaces. You can use any medium you’d like. I used acrylic paint pens for this one).

Reminders:

Before getting started remember to be gentle with yourself, before, during and after creating. It is difficult while grieving to try something new. Even without living with grief, creating can be a very vulnerable thing to do, so please keep this in mind and go easy on you as you proceed.
I highly encourage you to name your inner critic before getting started. Often when we create our inner critics creep out and get loud. If we name our inner critic - it often helps us continue to move forward with creating. My inner critic is named Gretchen, you’re welcome to borrow the name as yours as well. While I’m creating often I say, “I got this…you can leave Gretchen.”
When you notice your inner critic getting loud, notice and keep on creating.
Keep in mind that we are not tied to an end product or what the art will look like. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate the work when we are done…because that is not our goal. The goal is to help ground and/or connect and process emotions to help even if in a small way. Many find this particular prompt very cathartic way.
Take breaks if you need to. There is no time frame for when you need to complete any prompt we do in Art Your Grief. You can go at your own pace and there is no right or wrong way to do a prompt.
I encourage creative freedom. If you would like to tweak a prompt to fit your needs or supplies, please do! If you need help with what to use or what might work, please feel free to reach out.
If something surfaces that catches you off guard or feels overwhelming at all, I encourage you to pivot and do something entirely different. You can come back to the prompt later or ditch it completely if it isn’t a good fit. Not all prompts will be a good fit for you, that doesn’t mean it may not be at a later time. (It may be that bringing this work or what came up while creating it, to a therapist may be useful).
If ever a step doesn’t make sense or is unclear, I encourage you to reach out to me. I would love to help in any way that I can.
When you are done creating I encourage you to reflect on how the prompt was for you. How you felt before, during, and after the creating. If this step feels overwhelming, skip it. We are adding to your tool kit of prompts that might be helpful when in a grief heavy moment, or as reoccurring grounding opportunities.
I am not a medical professional nor do I give medical advice. I am teaching from what I have learned through doing this work myself for years as well as teaching it to others in the midst of grief.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Pencil or Pen
Paper (I used watercolor paper that’s listed on our supply lists in the above link).
Optional materials: marker, acrylic paint pen, crayon, watercolor, etc.

Prompt Guidance:

Check in with yourself. Do you have a general sense of how you are feeling? Here is a feeling wheel I like because it’s colorful and has a range of feelings/emotions. If using a feeling wheel seems daunting you, skip this part it’s not needed. You can write a feeling word or several on a random sheet or on the back of your art, or write it down in your “Art Your Grief Sketchbook” if you have one you don’t need one - some students find it helpful to have to keep all their prompts in one place. If finding feelings is not where you’re at, that’s okay. We are all going to be at different places at different times in our grief. Please skip this and move onto the next step if it doesn’t feel like the right fit for you or it simply feels too tall of an ask to find a feeling word, I’ve been there and I think most grievers have.
Grab a sheet of paper (I used watercolor paper but you don’t need to). I used a 1/4 of a 9” x 12” sheet of watercolor paper. If you’d like to do the same, fold your paper into four equal sections by folding your paper in half twice.
1. You can use scissors to cut into equal 4 rectangles or tear the paper like I do. If you choose to tear the paper, (tearing can be very cathartic) please wet all seams front and back with water before tearing.
Using a pencil (or pen - nothing fancy I used a random pencil I had laying around) I drew a line that started and ended on two different sides. You are going to do the same. Try not to think too much about it. Yours doesn’t need to look anything like mine, the goal is your own processing so that will likely have a different look than mine. Start on one edge with your pencil or pen and create a line that crosses itself somehow (or a couple times) and ends on another edge of the page. If it seems too stressful to choose what to do, just do something similar to the one below if that is at all helpful for you. Sometimes in grief making decisions feels impossible. If you chose some feeling words in Step 1, you could consider those feeling words as you create your line - for example: is it jagged, straight, curved, sluggish, etc.
4. For this step we are adding some dimension to our lines. As you can see below I wasn’t concerned with an exact straight line or making it the same in every place. Go ahead and with your pen or pencil, make some dimension with your line by following the first line you created. It’s up to you if you’d like to make it thinner or thicker in some places. I didn’t pay attention to that at all, I just went for it. Again, for me the more I think, the more “Gretchen” gets loud about what I’m doing or not doing and sometimes that stops the creation all together. If that’s you too, I’d encourage you to not think about it and just do it.

I made a line inside my first line, it’s very thin and trails off. I didn’t have a plan just was playing and doodling. You can add another line inside yours as well if you’d like or leave that part out. This next part you’ll add a darker and area with your pen or pencil. I chose the “bottom” of my line form to do this to make it simple. If you’re not sure where to start, I’d say just choose the bottom of your line too. This is called adding “weight” to our line in art so that we are creating variety with our lines. You don’t at all need to know that but as we go you will pick up on art terms and techniques.
6. This step we will be adding a shape to the background behind our line. I chose oval-ish shapes. They are my go to. You can choose whatever you’d like. The more precise the shape the harder it is to re-create it, for example a rectangle or triangle. That’s not to say don’t do those, just know that that could be tricky if you want them to be straight. That’s why I choose wobbly forms, again, my “Gretchen” has less to say about wobbly forms. Once you choose your shape, add in large, medium, and small versions of this shape in the background. Notice mine look a little rough or “hairy”, that’s how I don’t fully commit. You can try that too, I find it easier to do than a definite line. You can clean it up later if it bothers you. I cleaned mine up later in the process.

For this step we are adding in repeated forms in the background. I chose to make thick strips or lines in the background. We will be adding details within them, so whatever you choose make them large enough to do some doodling in. Again if you’re stuck and not sure what to do go ahead and try what I did. Remember there are no rules really, you can do your own thing at any time. With this addition we now have a foreground (our line), middle ground (repeated shape) , and background (repeated strips or lines or something else).
8. With this step, we will be filling in one of those strips or lines (or other form you chose) in the background with doodles. I wanted to make little half ovals that looked a little like scales. With my pencil I added those in. Late I broke the border of my strip because I liked that look, so you can switch it up at any time.

Here we added in more doodles inside another strip or line in our background. I played around with line and made different sections and in each area and either filled it in with dark pencil completely, or added lines, or left it empty with an outline.
10. I added in some curvy lines to split up one of the strips at the bottom and will then fill it in with different doodles.

Here I added in dark areas with my pencil, oval-ish shapes, and lines. You can fill yours in any way you’d like. You could make them all the same if you wanted.

Here I added squiggly lines to the bottom strip and filled in some of them with pencil and some I made some lines. Feel free to just try different things and whatever feels like the best fit for you. You’re welcome to try anything you’d like and you can try something I’ve done too.
12. Now that the strips in the background are all filled in, we are going to darken the outsides of our shapes. I used pencil to do this. This is where I cleaned up my “hairy/sketchy” looking shapes. There were a few places I didn’t like, that I added some ovals on top of and filled them in with pencil. You can do this too or fill yours in completely, whatever you’d like. I wanted to make only outlines on mine that were quite thick so they would show up.

This last part I added a bit of color using a marker inside my oval-ish shapes. I filled some in and put a outline on one of them (top right).
If you want to take this even further you could for sure add even more doodles or add in some value or shading. If you take a peek at the image below, this one I worked on for weeks as something I just came back to over and over again. I wanted to make what was below shapes look shaded so that whatever was on top would look more three dimensional. For me that was fun. I used scribble, dots, hatching lines, etc. to create some shading. You could use a pencil gently just to give it a little shading and see what you think, if it at all stresses you out - skip this and don’t worry about it. I didn’t touch shading at all with the upper image.
Consider some reflection and writing. Consider how you felt before, during and after this prompt? Was it helpful? Difficult? Do you think you’ll come back to this one?
Please be gentle with yourself as you move through the rest of the day as things may feel tender. Consider doing something that will be helpful for you to do, talk to a friend, take a shower, go for a walk, whatever you think might be holding if needed. Thank you for doing this work with me. I’d love to hear how this prompt was for you.

What I wish I could say...

art your grief — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:39:30 GMT

With this prompt you’ll learn how to pull images and lift them off to use on your own collage using tape. I will walk you through step by step instructions written out as well as images, videos, and my voice recording leading you through the steps as well. Our purpose isn’t to create works of art but you will learn different techniques as we create together in our prompts.

This prompt is focused on processing what your heart is longing to say, even if you’re not sure what those words are.

Sending love to you as you venture into this work. Thank you for trusting me to guide you through this vulnerable process.

Medical Trauma Prompt

art your grief — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:54:10 GMT

This prompt is for those with medical trauma who need the “ick” to have a place to be outside of their bodies. Our mind and bodies are so connected and often when our bodies and our minds are traumatized, we get stuck in a loop replaying or revisiting this trauma in some way. If you have experienced medical trauma and you’re needing to have a safe space to touch it, we can do this work together within in this prompt. If you have flashbacks or images you just cannot clear, please know this is common with medical trauma (really any trauma) and know that you are not alone. I have them too and although this work doesn’t get rid of the memories, it helps give them less power by allowing them to come up and out of us. To have another place to exist and in so doing, often I find that it doesn’t take as much space in my head anymore. It isn’t as loud and I can lower my shoulders and un-clench my jaw, even if just a little. Even a little bit of relief and help, matters. My hope is that this will help you too.

Scroll down to have my voice recording read all of this prompt to you. It is right below Supplies for paid subscribers.

Before moving forward with this prompt, please be sure you have support and a way to pivot if needed. Please let a safe person know you’re doing this work or have them there in the other room while you do or right next to you. For me I like to be alone but I often have someone with me when I begin work like this. A therapist is a great person or another griever or close friend or family member.

Sometimes moving toward instead of away is the way through. (And not always…so trust your instincts and what fits for you).

A while back I needed to go toward my medical trauma and I painted the above image on the raw canvas wall in my studio. I use this wall frequently in Art Your Grief work and if you’d like to make something similar for ongoing processing, check out my prompt called: Large Scale Painting linked here. This work doesn’t need to be big at all. I actually recommend starting small and if big feels like the right fit, go for it.

My focus was processing and getting these images out of my head because I could not stop seeing what I lived. I wasn’t trying to think on it - quite the opposite - but it kept replaying over and over again when I least expected it.

This is common with grief and trauma. In the past moving towards the grief and trauma with art has helped me immensely. I have done this several times with other traumatic events and medical trauma and each time I have found it to be helpful even though it can be incredibly hard.

I feel the pull again to move toward, instead of away in hopes to help my body process more medical ick that’s occurred since I painted the large red raw canvas (first image in this prompt).

For me this process helps and I’m hopeful it works for some of you too. I need to make room and space for the images that keep popping up - as a way to clear them a bit. My body remembers but while touching the trauma with art, my body had a different response when I do this processing. After I’ve done this work I have far less flashbacks or they stop popping up randomly altogether. I can now think on what happened to my body without getting overwhelmed or spinning on it.

My hope is it will work again and that it will work for some of you. Keep in mind that not all prompts are for everyone. And the timing of when you do them really matters. If it feels too hot to touch or impossible, listen to yourself on that and come back to this prompt at another time. I couldn’t have done this work any sooner than I am doing it right now and I’m having to take many breaks to let it sit and turn the art around so I don’t have to see it in between working on it.

Reminders:

Before beginning this prompt, a friendly reminder to be extra gentle with yourself - before, during, and after creating. Our inner critic often becomes the loudest when we create - especially if what we are doing is new to us and it feels at all daunting. Keep in mind this is heavy lifting and we can be gentle and curious as we go instead of letting our inner critic steer.
I encourage you to name your inner critic if you haven’t already done so. The name for my inner critic is Gretchen and that name is on loan if you need a name and aren’t coming up with one. (My apologies to any Gretchen’s out there, I’m sure you are lovely).
When you find that your inner critic has shown up, simply acknowledge Gretchen and keep on creating.
Please keep in mind that we are not here to create a product, rather we are here for the process of creating and expressing all that comes along with grief.
Please allow for taking breaks. There is no need to get through a prompt in any certain amount of time. If at all you feel overwhelmed or that the prompt isn’t a good fit for you, I encourage you to take care of you - and pivot.
I encourage artistic freedom and to change a prompt in any way that feels like a good fit.
If you need help as you get going or running into an issue with supplies or the directions in any way, I would love to hear from you.
When you feel done with this particular prompt, I encourage you to reflect back on it and note how you felt before, during, and after creating.
I am not a medical professional and don’t give medical advice. All that is within my prompts are things that I have tried and have worked for me and have been helpful for others. Please consider consulting a medical professional to see if this type of work is a good fit for you right now.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies that we frequently use for Art Your Grief, head over to my Art Your Grief page and scroll all the way to the bottom for several lists that fit your needs and budget. Here is the link for that list.
For this prompt you will be using what you have on hand to create with - there is no need to fancy supplies. I encourage you to look at this list of supplies below and grab what you already have - you do not need to have a lot of things for this prompt.
Possible media to use, you choose what you’d like from the list below:
- Any type of paint: acrylic, watercolor, gesso, etc.
- Any type of drawing media: pencil, pen, charcoal, oil pastel, acrylic paint pen, ink, etc.
- Any type of collage: magazines, printed images, newspaper, sheet music, mailers, scrap art paper, etc.
  - If you choose these you’ll need glue to stick it down or tape.
Possible tools to create with:
- Once these are used they either need to be cleaned extremely well…or used only as painting items (so you don’t want to eat off of them afterwards)
  - fly swatter
  - thread and needle
  - bubble wrap
  - toothbrush
  - palette knife
  - cardboard
  - gift card or old credit card
  - squirt bottle
  - spatula
  - cardboard toilet paper roll to create circle shapes
  - cotton balls
  - Q-tips
  - tooth pick
  - wooden skewers
  - twig or stick
  - plastic wrap
  - painters tape
  - sponge
  - rag
  - duster
  - mop
  - string dipped in paint
  - feather
  - balloon
  - anything else you can come up with that hasn’t been listed

First Prompt Mash Up

art your grief — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:46:52 GMT

Please use the above audio to guide you through this prompt. You will need to start and stop it as you do each step as you create. Thank you for doing this work with me!

This is a grounding prompt and more about the process than processing a grief specific thing. Often our prompts can be used for both deeper processing and connection to grief as well as grounding and creating a meditative space to connect in a different way to ourselves. I hear often that folks feel like time stops and they can finally take a deep breath. It’s also a way that many have found calms the mind and stops the racing thoughts and replays or the what if’s that seem endless in grief. Sending love as you venture into this work. Thank you for trusting me to guide you through. As always please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

I am not a medical professional nor do I give medical advice. I am teaching from what I have learned through doing this work myself for years as well as teaching it to others in the midst of grief.

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This is a prompt that is great for kids and adults (as well as the Black Crayola Marker Prompt). Check out the example below to give you an idea of what we are making together. If you haven’t done the first prompt: Black Crayola Marker Prompt yet, take a peek here. This link will take you directly there to check it out.

You’ll either need to revisit it and find your creation you made or create a new one. This is a prompt that I never get tired of. I could do it every morning with a cup of tea and feel like I am creating something new every time.

Reminders:

Before getting started remember to be gentle with yourself, before, during and after creating. It is difficult while grieving to try something new. Even without living with grief, creating can be a very vulnerable thing to do, so please keep this in mind and go easy on you as you proceed.
I highly encourage you to name your inner critic before getting started. Often when we create our inner critics creep out and get loud. If we name our inner critic - it often helps us continue to move forward with creating. My inner critic is named Gretchen, you’re welcome to borrow the name as yours as well. While I’m creating often I say, “I got this…you can leave Gretchen.”
When you notice your inner critic getting loud, notice and keep on creating.
Keep in mind that we are not tied to an end product or what the art will look like. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate the work when we are done…because that is not our goal. The goal is to help ground and/or connect and process emotions to help even if in a small way. Many find this particular prompt very cathartic way to use movement to create.
Take breaks if you need to. There is no time frame for when you need to complete any prompt we do in Art Your Grief. You can go at your own pace and there is no right or wrong way to do a prompt.
I encourage creative freedom. If you would like to tweak a prompt to fit your needs or supplies, please do! If you need help with what to use or what might work, please feel free to reach out.
If something surfaces that catches you off guard or feels overwhelming at all, I encourage you to pivot and do something entirely different. You can come back to the prompt later or ditch it completely if it isn’t a good fit. Not all prompts will be a good fit for you, that doesn’t mean it may not be at a later time. (It may be that bringing this work or what came up while creating it, to a therapist).
If ever a step doesn’t make sense or is unclear, I encourage you to reach out to me. I would love to help in any way that I can.
When you are done creating I encourage you to reflect on how the prompt was for you. How you felt before, during, and after the creating. If this step feels overwhelming, skip it. We are adding to your tool kit of prompts that might be helpful when in a grief heavy moment, or as reoccurring grounding opportunities.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Watercolor paper
Black Crayola Marker (not washable the original)
White colored pencil
Water cup
Paint brush - medium size
Paper towel or rag
Salt
Scissors
Glue stick
Optional: rhinestones or something sparkly or something to add embellishments
Optional: Saran wrap or any type of plastic wrap that is used in the kitchen

Prompt Guidance:

Follow the directions in our Black Crayola Marker Prompt here. Once you have this done, set it aside and let dry if wet. If you’ve never done the original prompt or even if you have I encourage you to make another one, as a prompt is never the same for us twice, it hits different each time we use it as we are different from moment to moment. I encourage you also to use both salt and saran wrap when you create the original prompt. Here are some examples below of that original prompt.
Take out your finished above prompt. You’ll need a black pen to use. I used an acrylic paint pen for this next part (a posca black marker) to make some marks. You can use the black crayola marker or a sharpie or a different type of pen.
You’ll need a white colored pencil (chalk, acrylic paint pen, gel pen will also work).
1. Find a darker area and use your white pencil over the top of it to make some marks that you will repeat. I chose to make a circle around the darker dots on the image below.

Grab your scissors and you’ll be cutting up this sheet of paper. Before you cut, decide what shape you’d like to create: rectangles, circles, triangles, shards, teardrop, heart, strips of paper, blobs (my personal fav). Begin cutting out your shape in various sizes.
Feel free to recycle or throw away your scraps you won’t be using.
Use the entire sheet of paper to cut out your chosen shape. Once you have cut out your shapes and have used the entire sheet of paper, put your shapes in a pile to use soon.
6. Grab a sheet of watercolor paper. This will be your background to adhere your shapes onto. I’d recommend using a quarter sheet of paper. So as per usual with our prompts I would encourage you to fold your paper in half and wet along the fold front and back and then tear along the fold. Half the two sheets you just made and fold along the edges and wet among the fold front and back and then tear along the fold you should have four quarter sheets.
Optional: I wanted a square shape so I folded my 1/4 sheets (I used two) a bit until it looked square-ish.
I began randomly placing my shapes onto the background paper not thinking too much about it but telling myself I am in control and can choose whatever I’d like to. In grief we often lose the ability to chose and any sense of control is lost. If it fits for you, take this moment to consider what you want without overthinking it. I rearranged these a few times until I filled the space.
If you don’t like the way it looks, change it. Just keep in mind that the product isn’t our goal here, simply creating and having a place to use another part of our brain and maybe even shutting off our brains a little to ground is the goal.
1. You can add more color or draw on the background with the crayola marker and even put water on it with a paintbrush and see what happens…let that dry and then with your glue stick glue on your shapes onto the surface.
2. If you like the surface as is, go ahead and glue on your shapes onto the surface. I liked the way it looked to go off of the border of the background watercolor paper, so I glued them on that way. I thought they looked like pebbles and I wanted them to be a bit random. Do what feels right and if you have no idea, that’s normal and okay just start gluing things down.
3. Before going onto the next part make sure everything is dry and in place so you don’t have shifting if you’re planning on adding more in the next step.
Optional: For the last part consider if you want to add on anything else. I accidentally purchased these tiny flat back rhinestones. So I took some glue on the flat back side and added them randomly to places on my creation just because. You could add another type of paper, tissue paper, magazine paper, words, whatever you’d like.
.
I hope that this prompt gave you a space to choose. In grief we don’t get to choose much of anything and with art we have some freedom that we don’t typically have anywhere else.
Please take a few minutes to reflect on how you felt before, during, and after creating this prompt. If that feels like too much, skip this step.
1. Is this a prompt you’d like to revisit in a grief heavy moment? Did anything surprise you as you were creating? Please write down any more reflections you’d like to add.
2. When creating were you aware of any feelings or sensations in your body? (For example at the beginning I felt stiff and rigid and anxious to start. While I was cutting up the paper I noticed a calm come over my body and I was able to zone out a bit. Then at the end I felt sad and calm and the anxiety had passed). The above isn’t the expectation, there is none and there is no right or wrong way to do this or what comes up.
Thank you for doing this work with me. I know just how much it takes to start and some days it feels like too much when grief is so raw and everything is fuzzy. Thank you for making time and space for this work and its my hope that as you continue to do this work with us, that you find it to be helpful even if in the smallest way it matters. Please be gentle with yourself through out today and the next few days. Creating art while in the midst of grief is vulnerable and brave.
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Imprints On Our Hearts

art your grief — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 23:35:55 GMT

This is definitely a prompt where you can touch the spicy parts of our grief. If that’s not where you’re at, save this one for another time or simply focus on the creating part and skip all grief related steps within the prompt. You can go as deep or as surface as you’d like with this one.

This prompt is also a great one to do alongside a kiddo if you’d like to have them give it a go. If you don’t want to touch the grief parts with a kid, skip it. Here is a time-lapse below of the above image, created by a kiddo.

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Dew Drops & Feathers

art your grief — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 20:26:01 GMT

Heart Doodles

art your grief — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:58:27 GMT

Use the voice recording above to guide you through this prompt and feel free to pause at any time to go at your own pace. The video above is of the whole process of this prompt from start to finish.

This prompt is a great for processing emotions that often accompany grief. It can be a helpful exercise with or without naming these emotions. It’s enough that they are there and we can use them (knowingly or not) in this work. They are there no matter what, so they will be expressed with the art made.

This is a simple prompt that can be done anywhere and used over and over again, using a different shape or sticking with a heart. Each time you come back to it my hope is that it becomes a helpful tool and feels like a holding space.

If you’re not sure what you need, try not to overthink it - and just start. There is no “correct way” to approach any of our Art Your Grief prompts, each of us will approach and experience them differently.

Each of our prompts can be used over and over again when needed as another tool to add to your grief tool kit. Sometimes we notice the feelings coming up as we create and sometimes we are completely unaware. Both serve an important purpose to ground and/or to process.

As a reminder, I am not a medical professional nor do give medical professional advice. All that I put on art your grief is from my own lived in experience.

Reminders:

Before getting started please remember to be gentle with yourself, before, during and after creating. It is difficult while grieving to try something new. Even without living with grief, creating can be a very vulnerable thing to do, so please keep this in mind and go easy on you as you proceed.
I highly encourage you to name your inner critic before getting started. Often when we create our inner critics creep out and get loud. If we name our inner critic - it often helps us continue to move forward with creating. My inner critic is named Gretchen, you’re welcome to borrow the name as yours as well. While I’m creating often I say, “I got this…you can leave Gretchen.”
When you notice your inner critic getting loud, notice and keep on creating.
Keep in mind that we are not tied to an end product or what the art will look like. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate the work when we are done…because that is not our goal. The goal is to help ground and/or connect and process emotions to help even if in a small way. Many find this particular prompt very cathartic way to use movement to create.
Take breaks if you need to. There is no time frame for when you need to complete any prompt we do in Art Your Grief. You can go at your own pace and there is no right or wrong way to do a prompt.
I encourage creative freedom. If you would like to tweak a prompt to fit your needs or supplies, please do! If you need help with what to use or what might work, please feel free to reach out.
If something surfaces that catches you off guard or feels overwhelming at all, I encourage you to pivot and do something entirely different. You can come back to the prompt later or ditch it completely if it isn’t a good fit. Not all prompts will be a good fit for you, that doesn’t mean it may not be at a later time. (It may be that bringing this work or what came up while creating it, to a therapist).
If ever a step doesn’t make sense or is unclear, I encourage you to reach out to me. I would love to help in any way that I can.
When you are done creating I encourage you to reflect on how the prompt was for you. How you felt before, during, and after the creating. If this step feels overwhelming, skip it. We are adding to your tool kit of prompts that might be helpful when in a grief heavy moment, or as reoccurring grounding opportunities.

Supplies:

For a full list of supplies we typically use in Art Your Grief you can go to the link here, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page linked (to see several lists that meet your needs).

Something to draw on any type of paper will do. I used watercolor paper as listed in our grief list that I linked

A pen, pencil - anything to draw with. Anything you have on hand is great. I used a ballpoint pen and pens.
Water (a cup you can dip your fingers into is ideal)
Optional materials: glue if you’d like to make a collage with the various hearts you’ve created and scissors if you’d like to cut instead of fold and tear your sheet of paper into 4 equal small sheets.

Prompt Guidance:

If you’d like to process a particular feeling/emotion/experience related to your grief, consider what it is you’d like to focus on. If it’s a feeling or emotion, consider taking a look at a feeling wheel and identify what feeling(s) are coming up for you if you need some help coming up with how you’re feeling Here is a feeling wheel I like because it has a range of feelings/emotions. If using a feeling wheel seems daunting or stressful, no need to use it. Feeling wheels are for those wanting to identify the feeling/emotion but are having a hard time naming them. Not knowing how we are feeling is common in grief. This prompt can be done without identifying a feeling/emotion. if connecting w/emotion/feeling it’s too hot to touch, please don’t.
Grab a sheet of paper you’d like to use for your surface. I used watercolor paper, any type will do the trick.
Take your sheet of paper and you can fold it in half, it doesn’t matter how. Then fold the sheet in half again. You should now have 4 equal sections of your paper between the folds.
1. I used watercolor paper 9” x 12” - for the exact brand check out our materials lists on my website when you click on the art your grief page, scroll all the way to the bottom for lists within your budget.
On every fold with water, wet the “seams” on both sides (front and back of the seam). Keeping the seams wet will make the seam weak enough for us to very gently tear in the next step.
Then as the paper is still wet, gently tear the edges along the seam to make 4 equal sheets of paper from your original sheet. You can also use scissors if you prefer.
Grab one of the 4 sheets of paper you just created.
1. On the back of the paper, jot down a feeling, emotion, or experience related to your grief that you came up with in step one. If you can’t think of anything (its completely normal to not know or draw a blank) skip this step. Or go back to the feeling wheel if you think that would be helpful in step one above.
2. Flip to the front side of the paper.
3. Considering the feeling/emotion/experience you wrote down while thinking of what type of line, mark, shape, color to use…if you didn’t come up with anything still consider what feels right for this moment for you.
  1. Consider what type of line you’d like to use: jagged, curved, straight, organic, static, dotted, spiraled, long, short, detached, chaotic, etc.
  2. Consider what colors fit for you: go with what you feel like using. If no colors fit stick with black pen or pencil.
  3. Consider what shapes fit for you: heart, circle, square, triangle, oval, wobbly shape, tear drop, puddle shape, no shape, etc.
  4. Decide if you will use all three above and if there are different types of line, colors, shape, materials you’d like to pull in. For examples an optional supply was collage material to add to your creations.
Considering the above begin a doodle using a heart or another shape that feels more appropriate for you (circle, triangle, oval, etc. if it feels too scripted and you just want to go for it, I encourage you to lead with your intuition and inner knowing of what you need in this moment. Once you complete one, you can go back to step 6 and create another. If you feel done after one, go ahead and stop. If you feel like it would be beneficial to try in different ways I encourage you to do so.
When you are done with this prompt, consider what you liked and didn’t like about this prompt. Are there any parts that made you uncomfortable. Is there anything that was helpful in this prompt? Consider if this is a prompt you want to come back to. If you’d like to take this a step further you can journal or take what came up for you into therapy if you think that might be helpful for you.
Keep in mind that this was heavy lifting. Any time we touch grief on purpose and create it is a vulnerable thing and often is spicy for the remainder of the day. Please be gentle to yourself as you go through your day and remind yourself that this was good and hard work. Thank you for giving this a try.

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Glass Pebbles

art your grief — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 23:39:28 GMT

This prompt is great for adults and kids 8 and up. Kids will need some help so a group project together would be ideal if working with kids.

One of the pebbles in the first photo, I made when I was a kid. After one of my loved ones died, I made pebbles for my family members. It was helpful for me as a kiddo and I find myself enjoying doing it as an adult as well. My hope is that you’ll find it cathartic to create. (I am not a medical professional nor do give medical professional advice. All that I put on art your grief is from my own lived in experience).

I hope you’ll find this prompt useful for whatever you are needing. Try not to overthink it - and just start. There is no “correct way” to approach any of our Art Your Grief prompts, each of us will approach and experience them differently.

Creating provides space to exhale, sometimes when our bodies can’t. Creating can also help us step into spicy places and allow us to notice what is going on externally and internally. It can also be used as a way to check out - sometimes with pain this is exactly what’s needed to distract while in physical pain.

My hope is that each prompt can be tucked away to use again and again when needed as another tool to add to your tool kit. Sometimes we notice the feelings coming up as we create and sometimes we are completely unaware. Both serve an important purpose to ground and/or to process.