Love falls like water
The Compassionate Culture Network is an Ireland wide programme which brings together artist-facilitators and local community members. The aim is to explore how creativity helps establish places where people can talk openly about grief and loss. Each project is linked to local supporters like bereavement networks, HSE, families and friends, with projects building from local circumstances and opportunity.
Myself and fellow artist and facilitator Tess Leak ran the 2023 Bantry, West Cork project. Over the course of 12 weeks. We worked with a group of nine community participants to explore and share experiences through Haiku poetry, nature based collaborative art, song, story telling and discussion.
Although the sessions were process orientated (focusing on the journey rather than any specific destination, output or outcome) the group created such beautiful work that we decided to make a book titled: Love falls like water - (see below).
View the book via the Irish Hospice Foundation pdf link , flip book or image gallery below.
Feedback from participants included:
“Privilege beyond words and opportunity of a lifetime. Sometimes it really hurt and I rarely acknowledged that emotion. Haiku was very grounding for summarising events of life”
“Mutual respect and kindness among artists and participants was the glue”
“A community of sadness….the staff [facilitators] are magic…outdoors fantastic”
“Touched and moved-Friday has been an important stand out day in my week”
“I allowed myself to be vulnerable in front of others”
“Helped me not be afraid of my emotions and allowed me to [also feel] happy”
“To be able to write about loss”
“Feeling of comfort”
“Knowing that I am not alone and feel accepted and loved”
“Gave me time to learn from others”
“I think it is a good idea to be with other people and learn from other people’s experiences”
“Good to express in words, thoughts, feelings and memories”
“Trust. How worthwhile and soothing it is to listen to others and their experiences in a non-judgemental manner.”
“I let go of some stuff that happened when I was younger…being made to feel small and not too bright”.
“Dump negativity and bad memories of years gone by”.
