01/19/2026
We all know it's been a lot lately. There's collective grief and anger showing up everywhere right now. Real, justified anger about injustice and harm. About systems that fail to protect people. And underneath that anger, grief for the people being hurt and harmed, for the safety that feels out of reach, for the world we wish we lived in.
I've been using expressive arts therapy practices with clients and personally that have been helping.
I know an art practice can feel small compared to the scale of what's happening. But I also know that practices like this accumulate. Art has impact. And we need tools to help us metabolize what we're experiencing so we don't burn out.
There is one practice I call the Empty Vessel Ritual that has been helpful as of late.
Here's how it works in brief:
You sit quietly and reflect on a loss, a person, a sense of safety, and hope for how things could have been.
You write what you're carrying about that loss. You tear or cut the words out.
Then you shape a vessel with your hands using clay, papier-mache, fabric, or whatever materials you have.
You place the torn words into the vessel.
You witness what you've created, this vessel that now holds your grief, your anger, your losses. The vessel gives your grief and anger somewhere to rest, something outside yourself to hold what feels unbearable.
Then you decide what happens next: keep it, bury it, add to it over time, or destroy it as a release.
You can do this alone or gather people together to create a collective ritual. Both can be powerful in my experience.
If you're a therapist or facilitator, feel free to use this with your clients.
This is just one of many things that can support us right now. I'm happy to offer this one thing.
Full practice with all the steps and variations here: https://angelalunatherapy.com/art-therapy-exercise-grief-anger/
