You’re invited to join me in my grief ritual of making paper leaves, in honor of those we have lost.
No artistic experience is necessary! Anyone can experience the healing benefits of making art.
In this workshop, you’ll…
- Learn more about the Ghost Tike project
- Learn about the mental health benefits of engaging in creative activities
- Learn how to make your own leaves in honor of those we have lost
- Share your leaves with others
After the workshop, you either keep or send your leaves to be included in Ghost Tike Part 2: A Collective Memorial
Caito Stewart is a gifted artist with a compelling story. Her leaf crafting workshop was helpful and cathartic for me in processing my grief. The work she is doing to make both art and grief more communal is important and necessary.
– Lauren Bender, Covid Grief Network
Thank you Caito for offering your leaf crafting workshop! As a grief professional, I appreciated how you recognize how using art can help us cope with grief and loss in our lives. I also appreciated how you made everyone feel comfortable creating and sharing, and helped people understand that you do not have to be an artist to use art as a coping strategy. Thank you!
-Carrie Bauer, Bereavement & Youth Coordinator at HopeWest
Caito Stewart uses her artistic gifts and skill along with her personal experiences to create a moving workshop experience that encourages participants to connect with their grief. I was slightly intimated the first time I attended, self-conscious about my lack of artistic ability. As soon as Caito began, all self-consciousness melted away. The leaves I created, while no great masterpiece, were a work of my heart. I left the workshop feeling grateful, inspired, and wanting to do more. I recommend Caito’s work to all who are dealing with grief in any form.
-Kristabeth Atwood, M.Div.
Rites of Passage, LLC
I’ve heard Caito introduce the Ghost Tike project a few times now and I’m struck that each time, I’ve gathered something new from it — The project’s origin story is layered with meaning and rich with emotions and so it’s no wonder that it brings up a different area of self reflection or a new fragment of knowledge with each encounter. There is a power and momentum in its retelling. I’m just beginning to feel like I can share my grief with others, or even look at it myself. In other words, I don’t have much to compare the Ghost Tike Workshop experience to, but I know that it helped me to have a colored pencil in my hand and piece of paper in front of me and to know that I was creating something lovely that was larger than my own individual feelings of sadness and loss. The process of crafting together was a very gentle and non intimidating way for me to first enter into a collaborative grief space — I’m grateful to Caito for continuing to create these spaces for people to safely explore their grief.
-Jesse Holcomb
I absolutely loved your workshop. It was so beautiful and well executed, which was really helpful for someone like me who is not necessarily artistically inclined. I came to it thinking I’d learn more about ritual and grief practices generally but I actually was surprised by how creating the leaves resonated with me personally. The meditative process of tracing, coloring, and cutting out the leaves along with the music really provided a space for memories and emotions to bubble up that I wasn’t expecting. It made me realize how I don’t really have designated space for ritual in my routine right now and how beneficial carving out that time can be. Thank you so much for sharing your own story and using your own grief to generate creativity and connection with others. Really amazing.
-Abby Mengers
UPCOMING Workshops and Events:
You can join me in my leaf crafting ritual at the following upcoming events:
Leaf Crafting Workshop: A Creative Approach to Grief
Tuesday, October 12th, 2021
7:00pm – 8:15pm EST
Click here to register through Reimagine.
PAST EVENTS:
May 2021
Art in Odd Places 2021: NORMAL
Performance Art festival
Date and Time:
Friday May 14, Saturday May 15, Sunday May 16
11am-5pm
Location:
In front of Aum Shanti Bookshop, 230 East 14th Street
Leaf crafting materials, masks, and hand sanitizer will be provided by Caito.
April 2021
Emergent Poise: ‘Assertion of Life‘
Exhibition by Pratt MFA 2020 Artist Collective
Date and Time: Friday April 23, Saturday April 24, Sunday April 25, Monday April 26
1-3pm
Location: 321 Canal Street, New York, NY
Leaf crafting materials, masks, and hand sanitizer will be provided by Caito.
Living with Loss: Gathering for the Grieving
Thursday, April 1st, 5:30pm-7:00pm EST
Offered to attendees of this bereavement support group event, regularly hosted by Rites of Passage, LLC on the Reimagine platform. Anyone who is grieving or living with loss can join. Click here to register.
March 2021
Thursday, March 25th, 6:00pm – 7:15pm EST
‘Ghost Tike’ A Collective Memorial: A Creative Approach to Grief
Click here to get register through Green-Wood Cemetery.
February 2021
October 2020
Thursday, October 29th:
This event is being held in partnership with Covid Grief Network as part of the Reimagine Fall 2020 Creating Space Festival.
Click here or on the image below to register.
November 2020
Thursday, November 19th, 6:30pm – 8:00pm.
In collaboration with Covid Grief Network and NYC Motherless Daughters. Register here.
Monday, November 23rd, 6:30pm – 8:00pm.
Register here.
December 2020
Tuesday, December 1st, 6:30pm – 8:00pm.
In partnership with NYC Motherless Daughters. Register here.
Monday, December 7th, 6:30pm – 8:00pm.
In collaboration with Covid Grief Network and NYC Motherless Daughters. Register here.
Private Events
Interested in doing a private Leaf Crafting event for your organization, bereavement group, or family and friends?
Email me: caitostewart at gmail.com.
Click below to get timely updates on upcoming events!