I have been making memorial beads containing the cremains of departed loved ones for a few years now and have finally decided to put up a page dedicated to that custom work. This page is really the beginning of a conversation between the bereaved and myself, the artist, about the best way to memorialize a loved one.
It is an honor to be a part of this process. Here’s a link to a blog post I wrote about making a bead for a dog I knew.
The Process:
| A rod of colorful art glass is heated to a molten state and used to pick up a small amount of the sifted cremains. More molten glass is used to encase the cremains wholly in glass. This mass is heated to an almost liquid state and pulled into a thin stringer.
Stringer is to a glass artist what a paintbrush is to a painter. We use different sizes of stringer to “paint” different colors onto a bead or other functional object. There are two choices of encasing the cremains depending solely on the wishes of the customer: visible and non-visible. Visible cremains are encased in a pale transparent glass and used as surface decoration. The cremains actually sparkle in the light! But, if that makes you uncomfortable, the ashes can also be encased in an opaque glass near the heart of the finished piece and will not be visible at all. |
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| In this worry stone, the cremains are in the pink. They actually sparkle! | The cremains were worked into the base of this bead and are not visible to the eye. |
Choice of Beads & Styles:
Beyond the decision of whether or not the cremains are visible, the choice of bead style is up to customer. Check out my site and see if there is something that speaks to you. Did your loved one make you laugh? Maybe you want something more whimsical. Or maybe you require something more elegant.
I can utilize cremains in almost any style of bead.
Another consideration is whether the glass art piece will be worn. If so, I can wire wrap the bead into a lovely wearable piece for an additional fee.
Additionally, I can make wearable vessels to contain cremains.
How it Works:
After we have decided on a direction for the piece, I will mail you a container for you to place a small amount of cremains into and a prepaid mailing envelope. I only require a few tablespoons. If you are not comfortable with this, you may mail all cremains via insured mail to me.
The utmost care is taken with the cremains of your loved one and they will be returned via insured mail, along with your glass art piece.
Cost:
Cost is determined by the time it takes to make the bead, if any additional materials are desired (such as reflective, dichroic glass used in the iris bead above) and the time it takes to prepare the cremains. The beads on this page are all in the $85.00 range plus shipping costs. If you would see another style of bead that speaks to you on this site, add $35.00 for the cost of preparing cremains and that should give you a ballpark cost. I will be happy to give you an exact cost once I know the parameters of your specific Memory Bead.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity be a part of such a loving memorial!
