Love and Loss– A collaboration
A collaboration. Words by palliative care nurse Jocelyn Brown, who holds space for death every day and has learned that love is the only way through. Art by Ramune Luminaire. The artwork starts with extracts from Brown’s journals, notes made on her phone and other scribblings, detailing her experiences over sixteen years of working with people who face the reality of death every day, living with terminal cancer. Their stories express despair, hopelessness, anger, worry for the people left behind and surprising currents of joy and peace. The drawings, prints, painting and photo transfers are Luminaire’s response to Brown’s writing, sometimes illustrative, sometimes purely intuitive. Order your copy from ramuneluminaire.com
A collaboration. Words by palliative care nurse Jocelyn Brown, who holds space for death every day and has learned that love is the only way through. Art by Ramune Luminaire. The artwork starts with extracts from Brown’s journals, notes made on her phone and other scribblings, detailing her experiences over sixteen years of working with people who face the reality of death every day, living with terminal cancer. Their stories express despair, hopelessness, anger, worry for the people left behind and surprising currents of joy and peace. The drawings, prints, painting and photo transfers are Luminaire’s response to Brown’s writing, sometimes illustrative, sometimes purely intuitive. Order your copy from ramuneluminaire.com
Jocelyn Brown
RN, BA, BScN, MN, completed her undergraduate and master’s studies at the University of Toronto. She has worked as a pain and palliative care clinical nurse specialist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre for the past 14 years. This involves collaborating with inter-professional colleagues to provide the palliative approach to care for patients and their caregivers at any point in their illness trajectory, addressing the physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and practical aspects of suffering, with the goal of increasing their quality of living and dying. Her role involves mentoring nurses and other health care professionals on integrating the palliative approach to care and she is involved in education, research, and quality improvement initiatives. |
Additional work with Young Adult Cancer Canada, Dr Jays Children’s grief centre and Camp Ooch, supporting bereaved children, has been very meaningful to her. Jocelyn is the author of Love & Loss, a book containing personal reflections on her role as nurse, in collaboration with artist Ramune Luminaire. The writing and images in the book invite readers to consider their own vulnerability and how that engagement can create the possibility of change and healing. The book has become an entry point for nurses and other healthcare professionals to talk about dying, death, loss, grief, hope and coping, a trigger for reflection on their own stories and how these stories shape us personally and professionally.
Ramune Luminaire
Ramune Luminaire is a visual artist, educator, and writer whose work creates a place for emotions and experiences that are seldom expressed or discussed. She attended both Central St Martins School of Art and Design and Camberwell College of Art in London, England and has an honours degree in visual arts, specialising in sculpture and ceramics. Her current chosen media are drawing, sculpture, installation, and writing. She has shown her art in galleries and museums in Southern Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, various parts of England and Norway.
Ramune Luminaire is a visual artist, educator, and writer whose work creates a place for emotions and experiences that are seldom expressed or discussed. She attended both Central St Martins School of Art and Design and Camberwell College of Art in London, England and has an honours degree in visual arts, specialising in sculpture and ceramics. Her current chosen media are drawing, sculpture, installation, and writing. She has shown her art in galleries and museums in Southern Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, various parts of England and Norway.