A Neon Sign

Over the next several weeks, we are excited to feature the artwork alongside excerpts of the stories from the thirteen families that participated in our 2021 Give Grief a Voice cohort. 

The Give Grief a Voice project provides families who have lost a young child an artistic representation of their child’s life. A professional writer interviews the child’s family in order to ghostwrite the child’s story. Then, a commissioned artist turns the words of the story into a piece of art that the family keeps. 

Buzzy’s Bees fundraises to cover all costs for writing and art – there is no charge to participating families. Both the writers and artists are paid per story.

If you have suddenly or unexpectedly lost a young child (stillbirth – 12yo) and are interested in participating, please fill out an application here. If you are a writer or artist interested in being a part of the program, contact Kelly Tilford at kelly@buzzysbees.com. You can donate to the project here and see photos from the event we hosted for the families here


A Neon Sign
Artist: Lea K. Tawd
Acrylic on wood panel, 18 x 24 inches

“Instead of being alone, I have imagined the ancestors – the grandmothers and great grandmothers with their love and wisdom there with me, helping to hold the space and weight of life and of death. It’s helped me a lot to have that revised mental image.”

  – Hattie Grace’s Mom