Using an introductory tool from the Creative Grief Studio, we’ll do an initial creative exploration of your grief experience. Any loss you wish to explore, be it death or non-death related, is welcome. No previous artmaking experience necessary, and in fact, this workshop requires only blank paper, pen or pencil, and a willingness to have some creative discussions. Please note, while this is a trauma and somatic informed creative workshop, it is not therapy nor crisis service, so please also be response-able for whatever additional care you think you might need around this kind of exploration. We’ll offer ideas for how you can take your discoveries from the session forward into more creative exploration if you wish, and we’ll be offering a one-hour, optional check-in a week later on Zoom if you wish to stop by and share with us how the creativity and grief process have evolved for you during the week.

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THIS WORKSHOP BY EMAILING: tina@womenholdthekey.com

Once signed up, you will be notified with more details and the link to join the event.

About Kara:

Kara LC Jones (CAIC, CRMT, BA)

I’m white, American born, cisgender woman with Italian/Sicilian heritage, and though I know all the curse words in Italian, truly, I only speak English. Since 1996, I’ve been in a monogamous, heterosexual commitment with a cisgender man who is Black and German. (Truth be told, I also know a few curse words in German, too.)

With the help of academic scholarships, grants, and way too many loans, I managed to get a solid college education, but like most of my generation, that means I have debts I will take to my grave. I have experienced homelessness, but for the past 20 years we have been steady renters living in a community we were lovingly introduced to by a friend on Vashon Island, Washington.

While I was initially raised Roman Catholic, that changed when my mother divorced my father and the church ex-communicated us. I’ve never really trusted any religious organization since then. I do identify as a student of Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice though.

My biggest grief experiences came with the deaths of three babies at birth. I’m a mom who has living and dead children, mom in a blended family, and now a grandma, too.

My continued exploration of grief comes in around chronic illness. I have multiple chronic illness diagnoses (ME/CFS, PCOS, MCAS, SVT and idiopathic angioedema etc), though some of what is happening with my health is still a mystery. Given our lousy healthcare system here in America, I’m not entirely sure the root cause will ever be found. Anxiety and depression are part of my experiences at times, too, as the mystery part of being chronically alive can get to me. For the most part, I pass as abled which has both advantages and disadvantages.

I’m a Certified Appreciative Inquiry and Whole Systems Coach, and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, holding double degrees in Literary and Cultural Theory and Creative Writing. I also have a minor degree from Chatham College in Early Childhood Development. I interned for three years at Family Communications (FCI) on production of Mister Rogers Neighborhood back in the day. I co-founded both the Creative Grief Studio and KotaPress. I have authored several books including Mrs. Duck and the Woman, Flash Of Life, and 1000 Permissions Granted. I have contributed to publications such as They Were Still Born, Journal of Family Social Work, Living With Grief, Elegy, and more. For more about my heARTwork, see GriefAndCreativity.com.