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.
Artist: Dianna Fontes
Acrylic on canvas 24 x 24 inches
“She loved her owl blanket and her pacifier. She also loved dogs, dancing, swimming, and smiling. Before she could walk, she would crawl to the ocean. It didn’t scare her to hear and see the waves crashing around her.”
– Lily Jo’s mom
