The Grace Project

06/01/2026

Love is not diminished by scars.
These two women are married. They have walked through breast cancer together, honoring the promise of "in sickness and in health." Through fear, uncertainty, healing, and hope, they have continued to choose each other every day.
Pride is often celebrated through visibility, which is itself an act of courage. To be seen and accepted as you are... to love and be loved... is one of the most fundamental expressions of our shared humanity.
Our scars tell stories, but they do not define our worth. This portrait speaks to tenderness, resilience, devotion, and that quiet strength that comes from being deeply loved.
This Pride Month, I honor every LGBTQ+ person whose journey has included illness, loss, healing, caregiving, and survival. Your stories matter. Your love matters. Your bodies deserve respect. And your lives deserve to be seen.
Happy Pride Month. ❤️🏳️‍🌈

05/25/2026

Here are the words of my dear friend Kim deceased . "In my prime, I carried an M-16 perilously close to the east and west German border, waiting for the cold war to warm up. Let’s double down on this: do some research and find out the ratio of women to men in the United States army in the early to late 80s. Also do some research and see what sorts of jobs were open to us! You’re fu***ng welcome.
In my prime, I chased bad guys, caught them, and took them to jail. In my prime, I helped to save a man’s life after he drowned.  In my prime, I pedaled my Trek through miles of dirty and muddy trails, fell and cracked some ribs, then kept on riding. In my prime, I went back to work three weeks after having a breast amputated due to cancer. in my prime, I hiked 26 miles through the New Mexico desert. (Lisa, Darin). In my prime, I walked for three days during a tropical depression in Georgia to raise money for breast cancer research (Tiffanie). In my prime, I tried to hike part of the Appalachian trail.  in my prime, I loved hard, I lost hard, and I was brave enough to love again. To be clear, I was a bad ass and I’m proud of that. To be even clearer, I’m still a bad ass…. just a different kind.
In this prime, I remain optimistic and joyful in the face of my impending death,  a death that will come much sooner than I would prefer.  In this prime, I find beauty in everything. I find joy and peace in seemingly nothing.  In this prime,  I hug more often, and I express my love to people more often and more willingly.

In this prime, I look forward to trying an experimental drug that might extend others’ lives.  In this prime, I try very hard to be brave, while also understanding that bravery can come with tears. In this prime, I think about death with curiosity, not fear.
In this prime I’ve learned that being a badass is easy….just be authentic and don’t be an as***le for no good reason.I’ll always be a badass, and I’ll always be in my prime." - Kim Bowerman, 1964 - 2023

05/22/2026

When your body feels unfamiliar,
When pain, scars, exhaustion, and fear make you feel disconnected,
go gently toward the things that still know how to hold you.
Lean against a tree and remember that strength does not always look unbroken.
Sit beside a river and let it remind you that even troubled waters keep moving forward.
Let the wind speak your name softly back to you, as if the earth itself is reminding you that you are still here, still worthy, still beautiful.
Nature does not ask us to be perfect to belong.
The trees do not bloom without weathering storms.
The river does not apologize for its currents.
And you do not need to earn peace through suffering.
Breathe deeply.
Trust that healing is not only found in medicine, but also in sunlight on your skin, wind through your hair, bare feet on the earth, and moments of stillness where your spirit can finally exhale.
Your body has carried you through so much.
Speak to it with tenderness.

05/18/2026

One of my photographs was recently selected for the next round of judging at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize.
Chosen from more than 70,000 portraits submitted from around the world, it has now advanced to the next stage of judging… and I am still trying to wrap my head around that.
Meanwhile… my nonprofit bank account is nearly empty.
That strange contradiction is the reality for many artists doing long-term social documentary work.
For more than 15 years, The Grace Project has created portraits honoring survival, scars, illness, resilience, and human dignity. No participant is ever charged to be photographed.
If this work has ever moved you, inspired you, or made you feel seen, I would be deeply grateful for support as I head into another year around the sun. (birthday month incoming!!).
Every donation helps keep the cameras rolling, the prints being made, and these stories preserved.
Thank you for helping me protect this archive of humanity.
With love and gratitude,
Charise Isis

Send a message to learn more

05/01/2026

NO PANTS DAY…
A day to take up space
and be witnessed without apology.
Our bodies are beautiful.
Own it.

04/28/2026

Grace project portrait featured in SHOTS Magazine.

04/17/2026

I donated a piece to the New York Foundation for the Arts Hall of Fame Auction this year…
If you’ve ever wanted to collect my work, this is a really meaningful way to do it.
NYFA has played an integral role in the life of The Grace Project. I was part of their fiscal sponsorship program early on (before the project became its own nonprofit), that support helped me build something that now holds the portraits of well over 1000 individuals. I also received a NYFA artist grant in 2022, which I used to purchase the camera I still use today to create all of these portraits.
NYFA supports artists in tangible ways… funding, mentorship, infrastructure… things that actually allow meaningful work to exist in the world.
Supporting NYFA in their mission is about sustaining a creative ecosystem that makes projects like mine possible.
If this photograph speaks to you, I would love for it to land with someone in this community.
It would also live beautifully in a doctor’s office, healing space… or in a collection or home that embraces beauty and vulnerability as inseparable.
Bid here:
https://event.auctria.com/350d2155-8910-4177-bf76-cf29cb6c8940/a780d600ec2e11e9ae081db830846aa5?2bd25550ec3411e9ae081db830846aa5%2FselectedItem=69903ff5-ca6d-4250-9327-d93e9ce09750

03/26/2026

Vonnie was thinking about love. I had asked her to think about the people who shaped her and held her, those she treasured deeply. The sadness in her expression comes from that place… pure love, pure beauty.
Vonnie was joy. The kind of laughter that filled a room. The kind of person you wanted to linger with a little longer… or end up at the very back of a bus, stranded in the snow for 10 hours, gobbling edibles and giggling with (true story).
Metastatic breast cancer challenged her body further than anyone should ever have to endure, but it never took her light.
Now she is free from pain… shining with the stars, reflecting back all of the love she gave and received.

03/20/2026

Spring Equinox
Light and dark held in equal breath.
A deep inhale before everything opens.
We have held ourselves in the dark of winter,
Now turning toward the light
Claiming the space it takes to emerge.
Happy Spring.

02/14/2026

Love is the essence of every Grace Project photograph. Happy Valentine's Day to you all.