This woman's home-made "Wonderland" is a real-life fairy tale

Written by Marlen Komar, CNN

When British photographer Kirsty Mitchell lost her mother to cancer in winter of 2008, the then-fashion designer threw herself into a project of grief to help her escape her new painful reality.

The result was the 74-part photo series "Wonderland," a fairy-tale world filled with characters inspired by the books her mother would read to her throughout her childhood.

"When you lose someone, particularly to cancer, one of the most distressing parts of it is that there is just nothing that you can do," Mitchell said in a phone interview.

"You're so out of control -- you can't make the medicine work, you can't change the doctor's opinions -- and I think what was addictive to me in producing this series was that I could control it. I could decide where the scenes were, what happens to the characters, and it's this kind of cathartic release."

The series centers on Katie, a magical being who haunts the woods. She reflects both the sense of loss and small breaks of happiness that Mitchell experienced through her grieving process.

On her good days, Mitchell would have Katie covered in butterflies and reclining in a bed of lavender. During weeks when Mitchell was deeply depressed, facing the finality of death, her avatar may be chained to a sinking ship, her hands are thrown up in longing.

"As the series progressed, I began to realize that everything I was going through in the real world has been projected in these images," Mitchell explained. "I embraced that and let that write the story."

Though the scenes are elaborate, "Wonderland" was created on a shoestring budget. Mitchell's husband helped create the sets, one friend modeled, and another friend did hair and makeup. Mitchell hunted down cheap materials to bring her fantasy after finishing her shifts at work.

She shot the series in the woods behind her house, using the changing landscape -- the blooming flowers of summer, the barren trees in fall -- to illustrate different themes.

"This kind of portrayal of time passing was to give an illustration of the journey of grief. You don't stand still, you move, and things change. If you have ever experienced loss, there is no kind of direct path with grief. You don't start in the beginning and then it fades, and fades and fades until it eventually disappears. It just doesn't work like that." Mitchell said.

Mitchell created "Wonderland" not as an artistic expression, but to help people cope and process their own emotions, as well as to create a dialogue about grief. The most rewarding part about her series is seeing how it has helped people cope with their own pain. She recalls how, when she originally self-published a book of the images, people would often share their own experiences with her at book signings.

One 85-year-old woman bought

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