After losing her father, artist Jasmine Nyende spent months wading through grief.
Creativity allowed her to reconnect with herself.
The experience completely disconnected them from their creativity.
Their most recent work is a performance workshop that teaches how to heal from grief through creativity.
But during the pandemic, it began hosting virtual events for people to join from anywhere.
Thisgrief-processingperformance workshop is one of many wellness experiences available during the TOAF LA festival.
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Tune in to see everything from sound baths to a spoken word performance byformerly incarcerated poet Ra Avis.
Well+Good: What is your connection between grief and creativity?
I couldnt get myself to my studio.
And thats when thecreativitystarted to come backthats when I started to see my magic in my hands.
Thats what this performance is about.
Its about how grief is one of those things that shocks you to your core.
Who am I without my father now?
Who am I without this person in my life who I love?
That I could wear and think about his shirt touching his skin that is now touching mine.
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When someone dies and leaves so much behind, thats what becomes the most overwhelming.
What was it like for you emotionally to cut up his old shirts?
Did you feel any hesitation?
Emotionally, it felt good, but it was also hard.
When you rip up clothes, the smell comes out.
I smelled him again.
It was simple things like that, that got me really emotional as I was making it.
I was like, Yeah, I forgot thats the kind of cologne he wears.
Or even the smell of smoke in my own jeans.
I was like, Wow, this is from before I was sober.
Why do these jeans still smell like weed?
It was like all these pasts coming in through all these different senses.
But theres also something cathartic about the ripping.
Those seams coming apart, but having to rebuild.
What is The Missionary Sex Position?
All I knew was I wanted to create something new from what I had.
Grief has no pattern, and healing is lead through intuition.
I do have to admit that Ive had years of practice with making clothing.
What I had to realize is that, in the messiness, we get overwhelmed.
Know that you dont have to make it alone.
There are so many people right now that can fully relate to your experience.
What is the biggest thing youre hoping theyre able to take away from your performance workshop?
In loss, were not thinking about what we can do.
Were thinking about how we can get through.
Even in the performance workshop, its not so much about teaching you how to make it.
And thats what I hope they take: That the healing is possible and its real.
And its waiting inside of you to just express itself.
Its something that definitely is so personal.
Even in this piece, I never had a play-by-play.
There is no pattern on how to get over someone.
You have to feel your way through it.
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