This collection of inspiring examples are ways that people are or have been creatively expressing grief, coping with the events and/or remembering those lost on that tragic day. These examples also demonstrate ways that survivors, friends, familiy and witnesses are healing their loss and grief through creativity. Most of all they are visual reminders that those who live in the hearts of others never die.

Writing - Love You, Mean it: A True Story of Love, Loss and Friendship
This true story was written by four widows of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks has been released for the 5th anniversary of the tragedy.

This book of love, loss and friendship will console and inspire. It is a moving tribute to the memory of their husbands and a realization that despite tragedy life goes on. These brave women remind us to "Keep your heart open. There can be hope after grief."

Quilting - The Bead Quilt: A symbol of unity and hope

The Bead Quilt is a demonstration of using creativity to heal. Bead workers, moved by the enormity of the tragic events were encouraged to express their feelings and reactions in 3 in by 3 in. beaded panels. The project has grown beyond the initial expectations and expanded into a large quilt of more than 500 squares.

The completed squares are displayed over many pages starting at the first page. This year for the 5th anniversary, the quilt was exhibited at the Voices of September 11th Commemorative Luncheon in New York City on September 10 - 11, 2006. Photos, including a photo of the Bead Quilt, taken from the exhibit at the luncheon are now available on their home page.

_{Image: Andrea Adams ~ Washington}

Collaging - Remember September Mail Art Project: A Commemorative Mail Art Project
This annual commemorative mail art project, now in it’s fifth year, was developed by Gail Ellspermann as a way for people to express their feelings and reflect on the attacks, the heroes, the victims, their patriotism and how everyone’s lives had changed.

Her idea was to have people decorate an envelope with artwork as a way of remembering and honoring the victims, rescue workers, and countless volunteers affected by 9/11, as a private memorial of the date. The envelopes, stay as envelopes and are never opened. A private note, poem, or prayer can be included as part of the envelope memorial.

This commemorative project allows for any type of media can be used—collage, computer or digital art, pencils, paint, markers, crayons or pens. Envelopes are addressed to "Remember September, PO Box 793, Katonah, NY 10536" and mailed on September 11 of each year. The envelopes have been collected and exhibited online and at other venues. The Remember September project was featured in an article in the e-Artella issue #e-3.

_{Image: Marney Makridakis. Used with Permission.}

Knitting - Gesture for the Future
Author and Illustrator, Michelle Edwards wrote about September 11 that “each of us has struggled to find her own way to deal with the death and devastation that happened….”

Perhaps she remembered the quote by Carl Sandburg, “A baby is God's opinion that life should go on.” Her creative way of coping with the devastation was to think of the future...so she grabbed some soft pastel yarn, found a pattern for a preemie hat and started knitting. She describes this as “my first confident gesture for the future.

By June 2002 along with friends Katherine Goldman and Sarah Herren, over three hundred hats were knitted and donated to a Children’s Hospital in St. Paul. Michelle Edwards found a creative way of dealing with all of the death and devastation...to think of the future and realizing that life will go on.

_{Image: Michelle Edwards. Preemie Hat.}

Poetic Writing - Words of Comfort, Hope and Healing
Poems of tragedy and grief address the occasions where words are difficult. After the attacks of September 11, as part of the outpouring of national grief was an uncharacteristic attention paid to poetry. Many who struggled to make sense out of the insensible following the events of September 11 turned to poetry--to read and to write. New poems were written, famous quotes were resurrected and collections of poems were gathered into various places on the Internet as offerings of commemoration, comfort and clarity--heartache, hope and healing. Some of the following are listed below:

• Poetry After the Attack - An About Poetry Anthology collected by About's Poetry Guides.
• Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100 - This poem was written by Martín Espada about World Trade Center restaurant employees killed in the attack.
• A Collection of Healing Poems for September 11, 2001 - A collection of healing poems originally assembled as part of the United in Courage and Grief resource that I create for our website.
• Life Goes On - The poem that I wrote in the aftermath of this tragic event, a reminder that despite tragedy...life does go on.
• A Listing of Poems subitted and decicated to the victims of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. From September 11, 2001 Victims.

Creating a Comforting Space- Angels Circle: A Piece of Heaven on Earth
Since September 11th, Angels Circle has become Staten Island's unofficial memorial, bringing comfort to those in the area who lost loved ones. A spontaneous memorial started when Wendy Pellegrino placed a flag with a sign that read “God Bless America” at a triangular intersection in Grasmere. Before long, others were adding pictures of their loved ones with candles, flowers and angels. Plants, flowers, fountains, stones and benches were added to beautify this space and give visitors a place to rest and reflect in a place already full of spirit.

For many families who never received any remains to bury, Angels Circle has become a cemetery for their loved ones—a comforting space to share memories. Visitors come to the circle to celebrate birthdays complete with cakes and balloons or listen to their loved one's favorite music. On the fifth anniversary a special ceremony to commemorate “the heart will go on” is a way of remembering loved ones who will not be forgotten.

The Chuck Margiotta Image Gallery features a collection of photos that capture the uplifting spirit of the Angel Circle.

Planting a Tree - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
While there have probably been hundreds of trees planted in memory of loved ones lost on September 11, the tree planted recently in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens has a very special significance--it was planted by the children born after their fathers were killed in the terrorists attacks in memory of the father's they will never meet. One mother described her child as the kiss your father left behind.

This special tree planting was part of the PrimeTime Report by Diane Sawyer's on 9/11 Babies: Five Years Later. The program is the fourth in a series of Sawyer's reports that have followed the mothers and their babies since soon after the terrorist attacks.

Virtual Commemorating - Voices of September 11: Living Memorial Project
Voices of September 11th provides a place for remembering and healing as part of their 9/11 Living Memorial Project as an online archive of tributes to the victims of 9/11, survivor stories, and memorials.

This interactive online tribute was created to preserve the memories, commemorate the lives, as well as share the inspirational stories of heroism and sacrifice told by survivors, rescue and recovery workers of September 11th.

_{Image: Voices of September 11, 2001}