If you had told me a few years ago that paint, color, and canvas would become the
language I use to speak about grief and hope, I probably would have laughed. I wasn’t a
trained artist. I was a mom trying to survive the unthinkable — losing my 15-year-old son,
Jason, to suicide.
There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after. For me, that moment
came the night Jason left this world. I still remember the quiet, the disbelief, the way time
didn’t make sense anymore. For a long time, I couldn’t find words big enough to hold the
pain. So I didn’t try. I just… stopped. Stopped everything. And then one day, I picked
up a canvas and some paint. Color Where There Was Darkness.
It started small — just pouring paint onto a canvas, letting it move and swirl and find its own
way. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew it was helping me breathe. Watching colors
blend felt like watching emotions move — sometimes crashing, colliding, sometimes settling
into something unexpectedly beautiful. In those moments, I started to feel again.
That’s how 3G Girl Studios began — not as a business, but as therapy. As a place to put the
pain, and to start finding my way back to life. The name stands for Good Grief Girl, because
that’s exactly what I was — a mom wrestling with grief, trying to find some good in it.
The truth is, I never planned for this to grow. But color has a way of speaking when words
fail. And the more I shared my work, the more people began to reach out — people who had
lost someone, people who were struggling. People could relate. That’s when I realized
this wasn’t just about painting. It was about connection. Where Darkness Turns to Color
Today, 3G Girl Studios is built around a simple mission: to bring light, hope, and
conversation to the places that feel dark. Every piece I create carries part of Jason’s story — and part of mine. Some are bright and bold, some quiet and reflective, but all of them hold meaning. I use color intentionally — teal and purple for suicide awareness, gold for hope, black for strength, and white for peace. Each canvas is like a conversation I wish I could still have with my son.
Our tagline is “When words fail, color speaks.” And that’s truly what I believe. Sometimes
the people around us can’t find the words to help, or we can’t find the words to ask for it —
But color, art, and creativity give us another way to reach each other.
Through 3G Girl Studios, I create fluid art paintings, coasters, greeting cards, earrings, and
on the horizon….journals — but every single thing I make is rooted in that same mission: to
remind people they’re not alone, and that beauty can exist even in brokenness.
The Power of Purpose
Grief doesn’t go away. It changes shape, and so do we. What I’ve learned through this journey is that healing doesn’t mean forgetting — it means carrying forward with intention. For me, that means turning my pain into purpose. I use art as a way to start conversations about topics that too often stay hidden.
At events, people have come up and shared their stories. And every time, I feel and see the
same thing: relief. Relief that someone else understands, that it’s okay to talk about it, that
there’s still light to be found.
I think that’s what Jason would want — for his story to help someone else stay.
Why I Keep Creating. Some days, I paint to remember. Some days, I paint to release.
And some days, I paint to remind myself that healing isn’t linear — that it can look messy,
wild, and colorful, just like the art itself. The truth is, 3G Girl Studios keeps me grounded. It gives me something to build when grief tries to tear everything down. It helps me reach others who are struggling — teens who feel invisible, parents who are grieving, anyone who’s fighting to stay here.
Art has become my way of saying the words I wish I could have told Jason that night — you.
You are loved, you matter, please stay.
A Message to Anyone Hurting
If you’re reading this and you’re in a dark place, please know this: your story isn’t over. You
are not a burden. You are not alone. There are colors in your life that you haven’t even seen yet.
And if you’ve lost someone, you’re not alone either. Grief is love with nowhere to go — so
give it somewhere. Paint, write, sing, plant something, build something, talk about them,
say their name. That’s how we keep love alive.
Jason will always be a part of everything I do. He’s the “why” behind every canvas, every
brushstroke, every drop of color that flows across my art table. I paint because I couldn’t
save him — and because I still want to save someone.
That’s the heartbeat of 3G Girl Studios: finding color again, even in the dark.
In Loving Memory of Jason Forever 15. Forever light.
If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out. Call or text 988 for the Suicide
and Crisis Lifeline. There is help. There is hope. Please stay.