Summer can be a strange season for grief.

From the outside, everything looks alive: longer days, green fields, gardens, travel, weddings, family gatherings, and time outside. But for many people, summer also brings reminders of who is missing, what has changed, and what life used to feel like.

A holiday passes.
A family trip feels different.
A pet is no longer walking beside you.
A relationship has ended.
A caregiving season has changed.
A loved one is not here for the long warm evenings.

Brush With Grief is coming to Medicine Horse in Longmont on Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 1:00–3:00 PM. This summer workshop offers a simple, creative way to honor grief, memory, and transition in a grounded community setting.

A summer grief workshop in Longmont, Colorado

Brush With Grief is a creative grief workshop where participants make a symbolic brush using natural materials, found objects, and small meaningful items.

The brush becomes a personal object of remembrance. It may hold memory, love, transition, sadness, gratitude, unfinished words, or a story that cannot be fully explained.

This is not about being “good at art.”
This is not about making something perfect.
This is about making something honest.

No art experience is needed. All materials are provided.

Why summer matters

Grief does not stop because the weather is warm.

In fact, summer can bring grief closer to the surface. There may be empty chairs at gatherings, quiet anniversaries, missed traditions, or the ache of seeing life continue when something important has changed.

For caregivers, summer can also mark a shift in responsibility, exhaustion, or reflection. For people grieving a pet, warm weather may bring memories of walks, routines, and outdoor time together. For people moving through life transitions, summer can make change feel more visible.

Brush With Grief offers a place to slow down and give some of that grief a form.

Why Medicine Horse?

Medicine Horse is a Longmont nonprofit celebrating 25 years of helping people heal, connect, and grow through meaningful experiences with horses, nature, and community.

Holding this workshop at Medicine Horse brings the work into a setting connected to land, care, animals, and relationship. It is a fitting place to pause during the busy summer season and make something meaningful with your hands.

What you will make

Participants will create a symbolic brush using natural materials and personal objects. You may use the materials provided, or you may bring a small item to include in your brush.

You are welcome to bring:

• Fur from a pet’s brush
• Feathers
• Ribbon
• Fabric
• Dried plants
• A charm
• A button
• A small keepsake
• Another meaningful natural or personal item

Only bring something you are comfortable attaching to your brush.

Who this workshop is for

This workshop may be a good fit if you are:

• Grieving a loved one
• Mourning a pet
• Carrying caregiver grief
• Moving through a life transition
• Processing the end of a relationship
• Honoring a season of life that has ended
• Looking for a creative way to remember
• Wanting a gentle community experience

You do not have to explain your grief perfectly. You do not have to share more than you want to. You can simply come, make, reflect, and leave with an object connected to your story.

Event Details

Brush With Grief at Medicine Horse
Saturday, June 27, 2026
1:00–3:00 PM
Medicine Horse Longmont, Colorado
Cost: $35

Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1990582472761

All materials are provided. Bringing a meaningful item is optional.

A seasonal invitation

As summer begins, you may be noticing what is growing, what has changed, and what is no longer here.

Brush With Grief offers a simple way to honor that.

You will leave with a one-of-a-kind brush made from natural materials, memory, and meaning.

Space is limited. Registration is open now.

Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1990582472761