Rachel Schmidt, BSW, PLC
Rachel Schmidt, BSW, PLC
Welcome to Creative Acts of Grief
May this be a gentle place to slow down, reflect, and tend to your grief with kindness and compassion - a place to deepen your relationship with the natural world, find creative ways to reflect on life’s transitions, and discover new perspectives through nature, art, and story.
Together, we’ll make space for noticing and listening, and for finding meaning in the cycles of endings and beginnings.
A different way of being with grief
Sometimes what we feel has no easy words. Grief can hold sorrow, longing, anger, love, relief, tenderness, confusion, and so much more.
And grief isn’t only about death. We can grieve relationships, places, dreams, identities, and futures we once imagined. Sometimes we simply need a place to put what we’re carrying.
Creative Acts of Grief offers a slow, contemplative space to explore loss and change through nature, creativity, reflection, and conversation. You’ll be invited to spend time outdoors, walking, observing, noticing, and creating as we explore how to live with change and uncertainty.
We’ll also look to artists such as Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keeffe, exploring how artists have expressed loss, love, beauty, resilience, and transformation through image, colour, metaphor, and creative expression.
There is no particular place you need to arrive. This is not about moving through grief in a straight line. It is about making space for what is here, listening to what matters, and noticing what may be changing within you.
No art experience is needed.
Limited to 8 participants.
Series Overview
4 Month Online Series for Women
Month One — The Landscape of Grief
Learning to see grief through the natural world.
Slow observation.
The seasons of grief.
The forest as witness.
Creating a field journal.
Walking as contemplative practice.
Listening to the language of place.
Finding beauty alongside sorrow.
Learning to notice what is still alive.
Creative explorations
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Nature journaling
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Contemplative photography
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Collecting natural objects
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Mapping your inner landscape
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Field notes from the forest
Month Two — Remembering
The natural world helps us remember what love leaves behind.
Birds' nests and belonging.
Trees as keepers of memory.
Rivers and continuing bonds.
Gathering meaningful objects.
The stories held in landscapes.
Memory through image and symbol.
Creating rituals of remembrance.
Finding those we love in the living world.
Creative explorations
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Memory boxes using natural materials
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Botanical printing
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Found-object collage
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Nature altars
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Letters to those we love
Month Three — Nature's Wisdom
Learning from the cycles of decay, renewal, and transformation.
Composting and transformation.
Fallen trees and resilience.
Seeds, roots, and regeneration.
The patience of forests.
Impermanence and belonging.
What the seasons teach us about change.
Living with unanswered questions.
Trusting nature's slow rhythms.
Creative explorations
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Earth pigments
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Natural weaving
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Clay and stone
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Ephemeral land art
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Walking meditations
Month Four — Slowly Living Forward
Creating a life that honours both grief and joy.
Continuing bonds.
Daily creative rituals.
Living seasonally.
Returning to places that restore you.
Creating a personal practice of remembrance.
Building a body of contemplative work.
Belonging to the more-than-human world.
Carrying love forward through creativity.
Creative explorations
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Personal grief rituals
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A final contemplative art practice
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Artist's reflections
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Nature mandalas
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Creating your own seasonal practice
Throughout the Course
Each month includes:
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Guided contemplative practices in nature
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Creative invitations using natural materials
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Reflective writing
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Nature-based mindfulness
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Group conversations
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Monthly creative projects - a growing field journal documenting your relationship with grief, creativity, and the living world
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Monthly Sessions
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Friday, September 18, 2026
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Friday, October 16, 2026
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Friday, November 13, 2026
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Friday, December 18, 2026
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Times
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10:00 am – 12:00 pm Pacific Time
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1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern Time
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Joining from overseas? Your session will begin between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm, depending on your location and time zone.
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Starts September 2026
Dates
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$325 CAD + GST (approx. $242.18 USD, $212.82 Euros)
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Total Class Hours: 8
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Limited Seats: 8
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Registration Deadline: Sept 14, 2026
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Language: English
Cost
Facilitator
Rachel Schmidt holds a degree in Social Work and is an artist, award-winning documentary filmmaker, certified Psychosynthesis coach, and contemplative arts teacher. For more than 30 years, she has explored the relationship between creativity, psychology, grief, and the natural world, believing that healing often begins when we make space for reflection, beauty, and the deeper questions life asks of us.
From her forest studio in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada, Rachel works with women from across the world, creating contemplative experiences that weave together nature, creativity, and reflective practice. Through time spent outdoors, contemplative art, photography, journaling, and meaningful conversation, she gently guides women in developing practices that help them make meaning of loss, reconnect with beauty and goodness, and cultivate a more compassionate way of carrying grief.
Rachel believes that while grief changes us, we do not have to navigate it alone. The natural world, creativity, and community can become trusted companions, offering comfort, perspective, and quiet wisdom as we find our way forward.
Please contact me below if you have any questions, or if you would like to meet in person first over a virtual tea or a coffee date.
Rachel Schmidt, BSW, PLC
Reviews
Kind words from women
What made this series so meaningful was its gentleness. There was no pressure to move on, find the right words, or make sense of my grief before I was ready. Instead, Rachel created a compassionate space where I could slow down, spend time in nature, create, reflect, and simply be with what I was carrying. The combination of creativity, the natural world, and thoughtful reflection helped me move through some deeply painful loss. It gave me a way to process feelings I couldn't put into words and offered comfort, perspective, and hope when I needed it most.
Trish, 42
Rachel is an exceptional facilitator...warm, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the people she works with. She creates a space where everyone feels safe, seen, and genuinely valued. This is the kind of thoughtful care and presence our world needs more of. If you're considering joining one of her women's series, don't hesitate, you won't regret it.
Mel, 47
Rachel has a rare gift for listening beneath the words. She can gently reframe and distill what you're trying to express into something deeply heartfelt and meaningful, helping you feel truly heard, understood, and able to see your situation with fresh perspective. Her insights create the clarity needed for lasting, meaningful change.
I've never experienced another grief offering quite like this. Rachel gently weaves together the wisdom of the natural world, contemplative creativity, and thoughtful reflection in a way that helps you make sense of loss without trying to fix it. It's a beautiful, restorative experience that continues to support you long after the course is over.
Sarah, 52
Carrie, 51
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