Dead birds, confused memories

One of my finches died. She was 5 years old and I hope to think she had a good life. She had two babies, which are now 4 years old. Death has been such a huge part of my life this past year. The passing of my uncle, my cousin and several others, I find myself questioning everything I do. My perfect little life just doesn't seem so important anymore. My artwork just doesn't seem to complete me any longer. I feel the need to change and go into a new direction. But I also feel the need to bring something more into the work. I am working on introducing encaustics into my paintings.