Brush With Grief at Boulder Public Library
Explore grief through brushmaking, storytelling, and grounding in our mixed-age workshop.
Explore grief through brushmaking, storytelling, and grounding in this mixed-age Brush With Grief workshop.
We will meet in the Eldorado Room at Boulder Public Library, located under the stairwell by the elevators.
Brush With Grief is a hands-on creative grief workshop where participants use natural and meaningful materials to create a personal brush. The workshop offers a calm space to honor grief, memory, transition, pet loss, caregiving loss, or other meaningful life changes.
This is not an art class, and no creative experience is needed. The focus is on meaning, reflection, and personal expression, not artistic skill.
What to Expect
Land: Choose Materials
Participants begin by selecting natural materials that speak to them. Materials may include wood, fur, fiber, string, plants, and decorative elements. All basic materials are provided, and participants are welcome to bring a small meaningful item of their own if they would like to incorporate it.
Human: Show and Tell
Participants will have the option to share what they selected and the grief story, memory, or transition connected to those materials. Sharing is invited, not required. Quiet participation is welcome.
Sky: Brushmaking, Reflection, and Sharing
Participants will create a personal brush using the materials they selected. The brush becomes a symbolic object connected to grief, memory, and meaning. We will close with time for reflection and optional sharing.
Additional Details
- This workshop is open to mixed ages.
- All materials are provided.
- No art experience is needed.
- You do not need to identify as an artist or be comfortable talking in groups.
- You may attend for grief related to a loved one, pet, caregiving experience, relationship, identity shift, life transition, or other loss.
- The workshop is gentle, reflective, and community-centered.
Accessibility and Comfort
Participants are encouraged to move at their own pace. You may share as much or as little as you want. The workshop includes hands-on materials, quiet reflection, and optional group sharing.
Good to know
Highlights
- 2 hours
- under 18 with parent or legal guardian
- In person
- Free parking
- Doors at 12:50 PM
Refund Policy
Location
Main Library - Boulder Public Library District
1001 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, CO 80302
How do you want to get there?
Agenda
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Land: Welcome and Choose Materials
We begin with a warm welcome, brief introductions, name tags, and waivers if they have not already been completed. Participants will be introduced to the Brush With Grief process and invited to gather or select natural materials from the land, the library setting, or the materials provided.
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Human: Show What You Found and Tell Your Grief Story
Participants are invited to share the materials they selected and the grief story, memory, or transition connected to them. Sharing is optional. You are welcome to speak, listen, or simply be present. The facilitator will also introduce the background of Brush With Grief, discuss the natural materials used in the workshop, and demonstrate the brushmaking process.
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Sky: Brushmaking, Reflection, and Closing
Participants will create their own brushes using the materials they selected or brought with them. The facilitator will provide guidance and support as participants craft a personal brush connected to grief, memory, and meaning. The workshop closes with quiet reflection, optional sharing, and a gratitude mandala made with the completed brushes. Participants are invited to leave with their brush as a tangible symbol of their experience.