Drawings for Baby Hope

Drawings For Baby Hope

Project 2014-11-24 18:27:11 +1300

I need help to fund my ministry Eternal Hope Memorial Portraits and provide unique personalised drawings to parents grieving the loss of baby or child. Help me to create unique portraits for grieving parents in memory of my baby daughter, Hope, who was born silent in 2011.

I set up Eternal Hope as a way to continue my daughter's legacy beyond her short life, and have to date created portraits in memory of over 33 babies and children for their proud, grieving parents.

These portraits cost a great deal in materials, time, and especially emotional stores as a mama to an angel myself. I often spend weeks in correspondence with the parents, learning about their lives, their losses, and their sweet angels. So many of these relationships continue long after the portraits are completed and hanging in their homes, and I have made so many good friends across the world.

I would like to extend my ministry to include other memorial items, a wider range of portraiture options, and a series of other ideas like possibly taking on other artists to contribute to the ministry.

Without funding, I won't be able to continue running Eternal Hope for much longer. Please help me to keep providing these services and keeping my baby girl's legacy alive.

https://www.facebook.com/EternalHopeMemorialPortraits?fref=photo 

WHY DRAW BABIES AND CHILDREN?

We all in some way expect to have to say goodbye to our grandparents, parents, even our siblings, but we also expect to have memories to comfort us in our grief. Losing a child is different. A parent doesn't just lose a baby, they lose an entire future that never gets to be lived. Millions and billions of unlived days, an infinity of stories, first steps, first words, the person they never got to be and the things they never got to do.

ALWAYS A PIECE MISSING

One of the most common heartaches communicated to me by other bereaved parents is the feeling that their family will never feel complete after their loss. As they watch their other children and even other families growing, thriving and celebrating milestones there is always the ache of wondering what their child would look and be like if they were still alive. With some families, we have worked together to create an image, based on sibling, parents, and family photos as well as personal ideas, of what the child would look like. I have created a few portraits of family photos which include the missing family member. Using a series of photos and discussions, the tiny stillborn becomes the smiling 2-year old on her mama's lap, the baby who never took a breath becomes the happy little boy laughing a playing with his brother, and the baby who was lost too soon gets to shown off as the newborn they never got to be.

To see examples of this, check out this blog entry from Rachel's mama: http://thegiftofrachelslife.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/who-shed-be-today.html

The weight of this undertaking is not lost on me, and I do not take on these projects lightly. I also understand that I can only ever create an imagined image of what the child may have looked like, and nothing can ever fill the hole on the parents hearts.

I myself have taken the opportunity to draw a picture of what I believe my daughter would look like each year as her birthday comes around. While this does provide comfort as I have something tangible to share on her birthday, something that reflects my heart.

A SOLO EFFORT

Through initial requests, I often get asked how people can contact the "artists". Even though Eternal Hope may sound like a group effort, it really is just me, working with these parents, getting these memorials done the best I possibly can. My plans for the future include the possibility of extending the services of Eternal Hope past just myself, involving other willing artists to offer a wider range of memorial items for parents. There are times when I get more requests than I can handle, and having extra support would be invaluable.

For more information, check out these links to Eternal Hope Portraits, my blog and other blogs that mention my work:

• https://www.facebook.com/EternalHopeMemorialPortraits?fref=photo
• http://babyhopeslegacy.blogspot.co.nz/
• http://www.roseandherlily.com/2013/10/capture-your-grief-2013-day-24.html
• http://www.roseandherlily.com/2013/06/lilys-memorial-portraits_24.html
• http://thegiftofrachelslife.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/who-shed-be-today.html

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