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: Jessica Johns
Liquid watercolor and ink on paper, 33 x 27 inches
“The house also became full of plants. After Beckham passed away I just needed to keep something alive. I needed to know that I could take care of something and have it grow, blossom, and stay healthy. It became a little bit of an obsession. I think you have had to live through the loss of a child to truly understand it.”
– Lacie De Souza
