THEDNA ARTS is Carrie Redway's literary and arts venture focused on death and grief.

 

I am a writer, mixed media artist and death doula in Seattle. I am trained by A Sacred Passing, a Seattle death midwifery and death education organization. My creative work is inspired by myth, folklore and ritual. And in my doula work, I believe that death education comes in many forms. The form I turn to most is based in nature, art and poetry. Looking to nature is a beautiful way to step into understanding death and transitions. I work with local organizations to facilitate epoch: a writing circle exploring death through nature and cycles. 

 

I am originally from the Midwest, where growing up, I filled my days creating fantastic stories about the things I found in the woods and creek surrounding my childhood home. This gave me an early understanding and appreciation of nature, and the cycles of life and death. When I began my death doula work, I felt a need for connecting with death through meaningful, artistic ways and so I began work under THEDNA ARTS. Along with my death doula training with A Sacred Passing, I have completed NODA (No One Dies Alone) training, and have taken courses with the Compassionate Listening Project. Instagram: @thedna.arts.

 

The name THEDNA is the combination of both my grandmothers' and mother's names. In this way, my work reflects and remembers the women who raised me.

 

Watercolor artwork created while sitting in vigil; Jupiter Eye by Carrie Redway, 2020.