2019 Group Exhibition, Existence: Wittenberg University Art Department Senior Thesis Show, Thompson Gallery, Koch Hall, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH

For my Senior Studio Art thesis, I chose to create a series of resources that college students can use to understand and cope with the grief of loss while away from home. In order for my project to be a cohesive set of resources I invented the fictional company “Finding Hope Within Grief" with the motto “Navigating the rocky waters of grief of loss in college”. I choose this title because one of the things that has helped me through my own personal journey of grief has been my hope. A hope that I will survive despite my loss. The blue wave is seen throughout my project as a representation that our process of grief is not a stable incline or decline, but rather a series of ups and downs that we must navigate through. 

I decided to create a poster series as one of the resources provided by this fictional company. They are designed to be found in the waiting areas of Counseling centers and doctors' offices.  This set of six posters are meant to be an introduction to the five stages of grief According to the Kubler-Ross Method. Each poster contains the logo and web address FindingHopeWithinGrief.com, as well as a quote that encapsulates that stage of grief. Each poster also contains a big dot half tone image of a college student displaying the emotion that goes with each stage of grief. 

Another resource that I designed for my project is a pamphlet. It is designed be found on coffee or end tables in the waiting rooms of counseling centers or in resource centers of churches. The pamphlet is meant to be a simple introduction to the stages of grief according to the Kubler Ross method and the descriptions and visuals are kept simple and brief. The small size is meant to allow people to stash it away in a pocket and take with them. 

The third resource I created for my project is a website. This resource is referenced on all six posters and the pamphlet. Each stage of Grief according to the Kubler Ross Model has its own page on the website that includes:  A description of the stage, Signs that you are dealing with that stage, Coping mechanisms for dealing with the stage, and a short story of my personal experience with that stage of grief. I included this because a major part of my process for this project was to explore my own grief.  On the resource Page of the website I included information for Resources on Wittenberg University’s Campus including the counseling center, and pastor's office as well as outside web resources and book resources that can help college students cope with their grief.