Gary Andrews

This week my guest is former Disney illustrator Gary Andrews. A few years back Gary started keeping a 'doodle diary' of daily events, as a happily married father-of-two it involved documenting the joy of family life with his wife and children. Sadly, not long after starting this daily exercise, Gary's wife Joy contracted and tragically died from sepsis and Gary was suddenly thrown into a new life as a widower and a single parent. The night of Joy's death Gary opened up his diary notebook and simply drew a broken heart. This was to be the beginning of a new chapter for Gary's 'doodle diary'. Throughout the various stages of his grief, Gary continued to document his thoughts and emotions as drawings on paper, gaining himself a huge following online along the way.We talk about how Gary has used drawing to help him process the untimely death of Joy and how his drawings have helped open up conversations online about widowhood and grief.In 2020, Gary's grief inspired doodles were made into a beautiful book 'Finding Joy'. You can purchase 'Finding Joy' here : Amazon : https://amzn.to/3Pv2d3jYou can find more information about Gary via his website: http://www.garyscribbler.co.uk/or follow him on Instagram / Twitter @garyscribblerFeels Like Healing is a show where I talk to creative people about how grief has shaped their art.These conversations are here to show how those who have suffered loss have found comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all better understand our grief and reach a place of healing.::You can follow Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcastProduced / Edited by Al LewisTheme music by Al Lewis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Feels like Healing is a series of conversations between myself Al Lewis and individuals who have turned to creativity as a way of helping them heal.Our need for healing is universal. However the reasons behind it can be oh so varied; a difficult childhood, a traumatic experience or perhaps a bereavement and our need to process grief.My search for healing stems from the death of my Dad, who died when I was 21 from Multiple Sclerosis.For over fifteen years I'd kept a quiet lid on my grief. However when it came to clearing out the last remaining boxes from my Dad's attic, that grief that I'd suppressed came rushing to the surface. It was then that I began to write songs about my Dad. Writing those songs was incredibly cathartic and I realised how useful creativity can be when confronted with the hardest parts of life.I believe that hearing other people's stories can help us to process ours and that the act of being creative can help turn something seemingly hopeless and incomprehensible in to something beautiful and hopeful.These conversations are here to provide solace and inspiration and to show you that healing can happen when we take our deepest pain and turn it into a work of art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.