Margo is joined by Sophia Cosmas to discuss the subject of artmaking as a response to grief stemming from her own personal experiences. Sophia observed that over the last 20 years, with five significant losses, her grief has been compounded, but her response has, each time, been to immerse herself in intensive art making. In her experience grief takes innumerable forms and is not something that is "gotten over", "worked through" or necessarily ever resolved. She aims to create and to celebrate the perfect imperfection of life by being fully immersed in process learning and problem solving. Artmaking as a metaphor for life living itself. She finds inspiration everywhere but is heavily influenced by her Hellenic ancestry.

Margo and Sophia discuss:

• The complicated relationship between grief and loss
• Her experience with significant loss and why she doesn’t fear death
• The importance in allowing people to have their own process in creativity and grief and finding active ways to mourn
• How she holds boundaries within her work and honors the people she’s lost
• The evolution of practice and getting past “I can’t”
• Art Making as a Response to Grief: Sophia’s formal exploration of the relationship between creation and loss
• The value of being in control of our own perceptions

With an artistic voice heavily accented by her heritage, Sophia is self-taught and self-directed. She is happily rejecting the concept of "perfection" and says “life is a quality I always seek to capture in my artwork.” Her practice now encompasses painting, drawing, collage, digital design and ceramics (hand building). Sophia works from a home studio and one of her greatest achievements has been learning to adapt her endeavors to accommodate her physical limitations.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

Drawing with your non-dominant hand

Connect with Sophia:

www.sophandson.com

www.instagram.com/sophcosmas_art