It’s been 6 years since my sister died and I’m still stunned by how powerful a force grief can be. No matter how fine I might think I feel, the pain of loss is still locked inside my body and I can’t quite find the keys to let it out.

After a loved one passes away one of the most difficult tasks we’re left with is sorting through their possessions and deciding what to keep and what to give away. This becomes even more challenging if the person was artistically gifted and left behind creative work.

I’ve been reading my dearest friend’s journals. Spiral-bound notebooks, cloth-covered hardbacks, loose-leaf paper in three-ring binders. Sorting out teenage angst and adult story notes, false starts and full pages. Some of the words are casual, some inspiring, some sad.

Taken from Jessica Schwartz’s blog in which she writes about her late husband, Stephen Brophy. Jessica’s blog is currently being turned into a coffee table book about Stephen’s art, her relationship to it, and to him.

The amount of art that artists leave behind is considerable. As of 2012, the nation had 227,000 art directors, fine artists and animators, according to data provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Have you ever wondered why musical artists who are no longer with us seem to have an almost cult-like following? Or why an artist seems to become infinitely more popular after his or her death is announced?