A lot of people find inspiration, motivation or just comfort in reading quotes. Sometimes, I am one of these people, but most of the quotes I have liked are lines out of stories because I like to read so much. Recently, however, I started a new board on my Pinterest account for grief encouragement quotes and saved a few that I found spoke to me. Grief can be difficult to find comforting words for because what helps one person may be totally annoying to another. And sometimes, one helped you one day may not help as much a few months later. That’s life, I suppose, but grief makes it more complicated, I think, since it can so heavily alter your brain, as well as your heart.
Anyway, I was reading through some of these quotes and decided to make a collage out of the ones I liked best. Collages are really fun to make for a lot of people because all you need to do is cut out pictures and arrange them together in an eye pleasing sort of way. Eye pleasing for you, that is. There’s nothing too complicated or tedious about collages and both children and adults can enjoy this together. It makes a great art therapy activity. It’s also good for anyone who is scared of trying to create art because you work with words and images that already exist. All you have to do is arrange them.
Purpose
Many people enjoy reading quotes because they are a very good way of condensing a whole lot of feeling and wisdom into just a few words. They can also be perspective altering and may awaken a part of you that needs validation and understanding. So to find your favorites and arrange them into a collage is a way of cheering yourself on. As we know, grief journeys are very personal and individual and often make us feel a great deal of loneliness, as well as fear. You probably meet or know others who don’t always say or do things that are helpful to you because your journey is your own and not theirs. It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s just how it is and often can’t be avoided.
Making a collage where you surround yourself with words that do help you can be a way to not only comfort you but it can show other people what comforts you. For instance, if someone asked you what you like to hear to help your grief, you could simply hand them your collage and show them an example of what that is. It tells yourself and others what you believe to be the reality of grief. This activity might feel something like a Vision Board because you are creating something that showcases what makes you feel better. You can hang it somewhere where you see it every day if you find that to be even more encouraging.
Materials
- Magazines that you are able to cut up (good ones are usually home design/decor, nature, travel and cooking)
- 8 X 10 piece of paper (can use construction paper or posterboard, these hold up better for gluing)
- Separate paper for cutting up
- Black marker or pen
- Scissors
- Glue or rubber cement
Instructions
- The first thing you want to do is pick your quotes. You can google online for some quotes ideas. I have also listed some
below. Some of them I used for my own collage. Read through them and see if any speak to you. But feel free to look elsewhere. The important thing is to find the ones that you connect with the most right now. - After you’ve picked out your quotes, you’re going to go through your magazines and find and cut out imagery that also speaks to you and/or compliments the quotes you have selected. Lots of people usually have a stack of magazines sitting around or know someone who does. If not, and you have a printer, you can always find images online and print them out. I have also made a list below for the types of images that might be nice selections if they’re available in your particular magazines. Ultimately, you have to work with what’s there but if you have some ideas in mind, it can help. You can also just stick to one or two colors to make it more simple and possibly bolder and impactful. Monochrome imagery can especially have this effect. Or you can try a theme, such as nature or animals and only use images that match your chosen theme.
- Using your scissors, cut your separate paper into slips.
- With your black marker or pen, write down the quotes you have picked out. If you prefer and are able, you can print out your quotes with a pretty font just to give it a neater look.
- Arrange your quotes and the images you chose until the arrangement clicks with you.
Quote Ideas
- There’s no wrong way to grieve.
- “Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve. – Earl Grollman
- It takes as long as it takes. Be kind to yourself.
- May there be comfort in knowing that someone so special will never be forgotten. – Julie Hebert
- Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone.
- If you don’t feel your best today, allow yourself that space. You don’t have to process this all at once.
- Grief never ends…but it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith…it is the price of love.
- Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim. – Vicki Harrison
- You will survive and you will find purpose in the chaos. Moving on doesn’t mean letting go. – Mary Van Haute
- “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
- “Come back. Even as a shadow, even as a dream.” – Euripides
- “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” – Leo Tolstoy
- “Grief is just love with no place to go.” – Jamie Anderson
- “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” – Helen Keller
- “Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.” – Jose N. Harris
- “There are three needs of the griever: To find the words for the loss, to say the words aloud and to know that the words have been heard.” – Victoria Alexander
- “The song is ended but the melody lingers on.” – Irving Berlin
- “Tenderly, may time heal your sorrow. Gently, may your friends ease your pain. Softly, may peace replace heartaches. And my warmest memories remain.”
- “In the garden of memory, in the palace of dreams … that is where you and I shall meet.” – Lewis Carroll
Image Ideas
- Candles
- Gardens
- Mountains
- Trees
- Outer Space (Stars, Galaxies, Comets, etc…)
- Forests
- Mirrors
- Books
- Water (Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, Waterfalls, etc…)
- Lights (Lampposts, city lights, etc…)
- Sunlight
- Moonlight
- Rainbows
- Rocks
- Meadows
- Cozy living spaces (Bedrooms, living rooms, family rooms, etc…)
- Animals (Real or Fantasy)
My Collage
For my collage, I wanted it to be extremely simple. I didn’t want too much stuff on it and I wanted a theme. When I went through the old magazines, I found a lot of pictures that related to outer space. I thought this was perfect for the subject of grief because that’s what it usually feels like to me. This neverending vacuum where everything floats around in complete silence. Occasionally, there’s an explosion (which can represent grief triggers) but there can also be something that looks warm and beautiful. I also used this washi tape that I had around the edges as a sort of a frame. The tape had celestial themes so it fit the theme of the collage perfectly.
I ended up only choosing five quotes to place on my collage because that’s just what felt right to me. You can click on the picture to see them closer. I just needed as little clutter as possible and to fully illustrate my current state of mind. This week I happen to be feeling an extra need for silence and simplicity so I think that’s what’s reflected here.
Simplicity can also be good for grief in general. It’s not a time where the mind wants anything to be the slightest bit more complicated than it needs to be. Grief has a way of stripping everything down to what’s really necessary and important.
If you found this activity helpful in any way or would just like to share your own collage, I’d love to see your own results. Just send it on over to nikki@grievingarts.com.
Take care, know that you are important, and heard and supported here.