02/10/2024
Pieces of Me:
Landscapes of Loss and Mourning
“I’ve been quiet lately, shifting from creating new work to using my artistic practice as a way to deeply connect with nature, making it a space to process and navigate grief.
Over the past four months, following a number of personal losses, I traveled to northern Spain and found myself at the summit of the Picos de Europa. There, I lay down on the mountain, surrounded by thick fog. There was no horizon in sight - just the weight of what had been lost. In this space, I came to understand that it is okay not to see the way forward. Sometimes, simply being in the present is enough.
Surrendering to grief, much like surrendering to chronic pain, strips away who we think we are. In that stillness, I’ve found the importance of feeling deeply, allowing both pain and sorrow to move through me, rather than resisting them.
Grief is an untamed part of the human experience, often hidden but always present. Whether through illness or loss, there is a mourning of what once was. Only by embracing this sorrow can we begin to find kindness - for ourselves, others, and the world around us.
In this journey, nature has become a constant companion. Just as the seasons shift, we too move through cycles of life, death, and renewal. Even in moments of feeling lost, the land reminds us that we are held and that new growth is always possible.
Through both grief and chronic illness, I’ve learned that we are not separate from the world. As we connect to our deepest sorrow, we come closer to the wildness of the world itself. These experiences strip us to our core, but in that space, we rediscover who we truly are.
This time has taught me that self-care is not about escaping pain or grief. It is about returning - to nature, to ourselves, and to the present moment. In surrendering to what is, we learn that, even without a clear horizon, we will eventually rise again”. - SheWolf
