Providing Comfort Through Art

The article, “Four Butterflies: End of Life Stories of Transition and Transformation,” by Marcia Brennan, is incredibly inspiring. It describes her experience as an Artist in Residence at a palliative care center at The University of Texas, and how she collaborates with another artist, Lynn Randolph, to create visual art and poetry that reflects patients’ individual narratives.

The transformative power of this artistic process is described through four examples. With their creations, the artists help the individuals to connect with others and move toward closure. The article refers to “four butterflies” as the four stories of change, reflection, and spirituality.

​The first is about a woman near the end of her life who wants a sketch of her scarred body to share with others as a symbol of universal humanity. Marcia creates the sketch as Lynn writes a poem that reflects the woman’s story. ​

In the second story about a man with a troubled past who had committed criminal activities and was imprisoned for many years, the artist creates a portrait titled “For Goodness Sake” of him praying for forgiveness after he shares with her how he was recently enlightened, by his daughter’s forgiveness, to the meaning of his grandmother’s advice that we should do things for the sake of goodness. I love that the artist and poet listen carefully to their stories and bring comfort through creations that reflect an understanding of the patient’s thoughts and needs; each of us strives to be known, and art is a wonderful tool for connecting with others and our spirituality.

The third story is of a Native American woman with less than a month to live. She wanted artistry that would highlight her memories and heritage. After hearing her story, Lynn created a portrait of the woman’s face in the center of a dream-catcher. The picture also showed wolves representing her family's clan symbol and an eternal fire beneath. The color blue was used since it was the woman’s favorite color. It was a beautiful way to show biographical, natural imagery, and sacred symbolism in the context of the woman's Native American traditions.

The final story is about a terminal cancer patient who identified strongly with butterflies because it seemed that they would show up at difficult times in her life. This idea resonates with me as there have been many times that I felt the same, especially when my mother passed away and a Monarch butterfly landed directly on the windshield in front of my tearful face, staying longer than I would have expected, seemingly as a message of solace and strength. For this woman at the end of her life, the artist created a colored pencil portrait of her encircled with butterflies with one on her shoulder and the poet wrote about transformation from the caterpillar to the butterfly, as a metaphor for spiritual change and the power of God.

The artworks that were created helped to acknowledge the patients’ stories and concerns, and shed light on the difficult subject of end-of-life experiences, bringing a form of transcendence, understanding, and comfort.​

Reference:
Brennan, M. (2012). Four Butterflies: End of Life Stories of Transition and Transformation. Pastoral Psychology. doi: 10.1007/s11089-012-0477-5. https://repository.rice.edu/items/93278656-8286-44ee-bbd3-16ff7b6b2458