Editor's Note: We at GreatNews.Life are pleased to recap this beautiful event that happened last summer, and applaud Center for Hospice Care and Hospice Foundation for their innovative approach to serving their communities and patients.
Everybody has their own way of dealing with grief. For participants of the After Images art counseling, a program of our Life Transition Center, art becomes an effective outlet. On July 24, the Hospice Foundation hosted their second Journeys in Healing event, an art show and auction featuring 11 pieces of art created in the After Images program.
According to program creator Dave Labrum, “The auction served as a bridge, a way for laypeople to understand how art can help people work through the grieving process.”
The Journeys in Healing event represented a chance to recognize the After Images program’s impact in its nearly 20-year history, as well as introducing it to an audience that may not have known about it before.
As Bereavement Coordinator Holly Farmer, MA, LMHC stated, “More than one client from the After Images art counseling program has said this program saved their life. Given that clients are not charged a fee for art counseling sessions, financial support from the community is incredibly important. The art that is made during the art counseling process is so powerful and can be incredibly beautiful. I am grateful to the clients that have donated an art piece, a part of their grief story, to the auction so this program can continue to be available to those in need.”
Program participants who donated art for the auction were asked to attend the event and talk with attendees, in some cases explaining the process they went through in creating the piece.
Artist Brenda Fox said, “Being a part of this event was a beautiful experience. Creating my piece for the auction became a huge part of the comfort I would eventually find in the remembrance of my son, Connor. It is such an honor to be able to share Connor’s colors with the world, and I am grateful that Center for Hospice Care allowed me to do just that.”
Labrum noted, “I was gratified to see wonderful investigation into the paintings and drawings at the auction – people celebrating the art makers’ creativity while being deeply affected emotionally by the content of their pieces.”
All proceeds from the event benefitted an endowment for the program. The auction itself was handled through GiveGrove, a local company that helps non-profit organizations with online auctions and other fundraising technology. Having the auction online allowed for bidding prior to the event, as well as being able to take bids from people who were unable to attend the event.
A special thank you to Max Black Custom Framing. Not only did they donate framing for the art, they also offered a special discount to anybody that purchased an original or replica print at the event.
