Till Death Do Us Art: A Creative exploration of grief and loss

A reflection on our weekend event

We have just finished our second online Potting Shed event, but fifth overall since we started this venture three years ago. However, this one didn’t look as it might have done due to having to offer this remotely, which we acknowledge brings its own sense of relational loss. The organic free flowing ‘chat around the kettle’ that might normally offer further connection was not present, including other cultural norms such as meeting or leaving someone with a handshake or a hug. Fortunately, we do have a ‘chat function’ on zoom, which although is not a functional equivalent, is able to offer some a further relationship from afar. 

Since the birth of Potting Shed, our aim has always been to offer a space dedicated to self-care for mental health practitioners using a creative twist. This is offered alongside tools for participants to take into clinical practice. We feel that this has never been more needed than in a time where COVID-19’s grip on our everyday life is ever present. And for some, that hold might feel more pressurised than for others. This two-day weekend workshop centred grief and loss at its heart which feels as though it has become almost background noise to our current existence. We deep dived into exploring themes such as waiting, liminal spaces, responsibility, transition, change, reunion and reconnection to name but a few. 

Day one focused on some grief models and theory with some small case vignettes as to how this can be applied directly to client work. We spent some time thinking about how grief happens in context and discussed losses from death of a person, to loss of jobs, identity and environments. There was space for creativity and reflection within this as we invited participant’s to ‘build their own boat’ in the stormy seas they might find themselves in. Offering space between personal losses and those that also touch our clients.

 

Images shared with permission

Day two offered more connection, play and creativity and we read the Myth of Demeter and Persephone. This Greek story as reworked by Charlene Spretnak in ‘Lost Goddesses of Early Greece’, is a story of both loss but also built on the fundamental power of a mother’s love for her child. Which felt ever fitting as the second half of the workshop fell onto Valentines day. Again, we invited participants to create an image in response to listening to this story. Further themes emerged such as rituals and rights of passages, transition into the Underworld, Fertility and more.

Images shared with permission

 

Despite some of the challenges of working remotely such as Wi-Fi connection and lack of being able to physically being in a room with each other, it did also bring accessibility. We were able to connect people not only from all over the UK but also an opportunity for some international presence. We are reminded that we cannot do this work in isolation, that we are stronger as a community as we wade through the waters of our own grief and those of our clients who we endeavour to support. 

Overall, there is a sense that grief isn’t a place, but a journey. And as you look around the scenery of this passage, it will inevitably change, and so will your responses to this. Greif is not a sign of weakness nor a lack of faith; it is the price of love and investment. Grief touches on our most primitive defences and therefore needs to be offered space for this to be felt and thought about. As with all our events, we hope that the participants of this weekend’s workshop were given this space with safety and containment. As referenced in the myth of Persephone and Demeter, The Potting Shed were guides both into the murky depths of grief and loss, and then back out again with some new tools and thinking to take into practice

After the event we took some time to reflect, take a look at what we thought:

 

 

If you are interested in attending one of our workshops please don't hesitate to get in contact. 

Our next event  'Into the Woods; A Creative Exploration of Trauma' will be taking place again online on the 8th and 9th of May 2021. For more information please follow the link below.

Into The Woods tickets