Chanelle Jefferson Creates Visual Art with “The Grief Project”

Credit: chenellejefferson.com / The Grief Project

One visual artist in Canada has been soliciting other’s grief stories to create uniquely beautiful visual art — her own offering of healing.

Nova Scotia-based artist Chanelle Jefferson first experienced grief when her parents divorced. As she explained on her website: “Because I didn’t experience the most common form of Grief — death… The loss of my father wasn’t recognized and I felt unsupported through my grieving process. As I healed from trauma and this loss, I found myself in nature over and over again.”

Chanelle Jefferson painting in nature.
Credit: chanellejefferson.com

Jefferson returned to themes of nature when witnessing the grief of others — first, by visiting the garden tended by a friend’s sister who’d died. “It was there that I was once again reminded of how nature carries us through life and also provides us healing,” she wrote.

Credit: chanellejefferson.com / The Grief Project

The experience inspired Jefferson to create “The Grief Project,” which has since inspired more than 20 pieces based on the stories of others. She described it as “a way to bring light to our losses, to plant beautiful seeds, to find community and solace and ultimately, to see the beauty and gratitude within this universal pain that is incredibly unique to each individual.”

Credit: chanellejefferson.com / The Grief Project

Individuals are welcome to share their own stories of grief. If Jefferson selects your story as inspiration for an art piece, you will be invited to the reveal party in Nova Scotia. You can learn more, or join the waitlist with your own story, here.

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