The Willow’s first featured artist is Stephanie Berg of Madison, Wisconsin. Stephanie grew up in a small town, graduated from UW-Madison with an engineering degree and enjoyed spending time with her parents, Roger and Brenda and older brother Mike. On a hot summer day in 2005 Stephanie received a phone call from her Dad. Mike had been hospitalized unexpectedly, and was dead, with no apparent cause.  

Stephanie’s life changed forever that day. There would be no more Christmases (Mike’s favorite holiday) together and no more 4^th of July parties with Mike and his new wife. It was impossible for Stephanie to believe that someone she had known since the day that she was born, someone that she had spent so much time with and loved so completely could go missing from her life with absolutely no warning. 

In the weeks and months following Mike’s death it was unclear to Stephanie how to live, and apparent that her life would never be the same. It was hard to see friends, hard to have a normal conversation, hard to go to work and even just to sleep through the night. 

During the months leading up to her first Christmas without Mike, Stephanie couldn’t bear to go shopping for gifts. She asked a friend to teach her how to make some simple bracelets of beads and wire. She wanted to make special Christmas gifts and avoid the holiday bustle and the mall. Stephanie took to beading like a fish to water. She started finding unique stones and scraps of leather to use in her designs. She loved the twinkle in someone’s eye as they opened a gift of her jewelry. Finally, she had found something that was fun and calming. It was a way to stay busy and productive while producing something positive. 

Today Stephanie continues to make beautiful, unique jewelry of all kinds. Often, butterflies creep into her work. When asked about it, Stephanie says that after her brother died in July, she constantly saw monarch butterflies. Although she assumes this must be common, for her, at that time, it was rare, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen one. When she was making those first bracelets for Christmas gifts, she included butterfly charms as a way to give friends and family something to remember Mike with. 

Stephanie sees art as very therapeutic. She says that with her grief, it was hard to talk about it, and hard to find someone to talk with. She hopes that others will see beauty and inspiration in her jewelry and take away the idea that expressing emotion through art is a good way to feel better when dealing with heartbreaking grief.  

Stephanie’s life is not “back to normal”. Sometimes she’s overwhelmed by how much she misses Mike. Her relationships and priorities have changed since that terrible day in 2005. She hopes that people who visit the Grief Resource Center, and people who wear her jewelry will realize that they are not alone. Grief doesn’t go away, but she has realized that it’s okay. Art is a great way to make that heavy, consuming grief a little bit lighter and more manageable.  

If you are interested in becoming one of The Willow’s Featured Artists, or if you would like to sell unique art or gift items on consignment at the shop, please contact Kelly Andrew, Horizon’s Director of Development at (414) 586-6268 or kelly.andrew@hhch.net.