How will your loved ones remember you? Art glass lasts longer than live bouquets. Let’s think about this topic.
Recently, when I visited the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, the display about cremation had a wall of decorative, colorful urns, four demo paperweights, and several items of jewelry for cremains. As a paperweight enthusiast, I knew a few of my glass artist friends had created paperweights with cremation “ashes.” Curiosity pushed me to research paperweight memorials.
The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) shows charts and graphs of statistics about cremation. In 1975 five percent of our population considered cremation, which has risen to almost 50% last year with a projection of 80% by 2035.
I called Chris Sherwin from Sherwin Glass in Connecticut, who had visited our Texas group last year. He had mentioned he created “a few” memorial weights. When I asked him if cremation is a fad or here to stay, he said, “It’s definitely not a fad. I’ve made 1000 memorial paperweights in four years for my contractor.” He suggested I talk with Dave Blake, owner of Spirit Pieces, an Austin, Texas firm.
Chris could work full time for Dave, if he made only memorial items. His menagerie of frogs, bears, fruit, and flowers keeps his customers returning regularly. He likes variety. I own one of his melting snowmen. It reminds me why I live in Texas.
Before I talked with Dave, I perused the rainbow of colors and formats on his website. Dave started his business when he realized that burials are expensive. Cemeteries may suffer from city sprawl. Their grounds may no longer support attractive surroundings. Would I rather have an urn, a piece of jewelry, or a shiny paperweight to remember my loved one?
With the increase in cremations for both people and pets, Dave established his company in 2015 with one artist. As his business grew, he added thirty-nine seasoned glass and multi-medium artists. His background in advertising and photography assist in his company’s rapid growth. Prices are reasonable, but customized by other artists can be expensive.
I wondered if our US and internationally known paperweight artists in PCA create memories in glass. I checked with Ken Rosenfeld. He said he made a few several years ago, but convinced himself to stay with what we love about his talent in crystal-clear orbs with a variety of splendid, classy flowers and other subjects.
David Graeber concentrates on customized, intricate lamp work, too, but does not insert the “dust” from cremations into paperweights. His forte is nature and seasonal flowers. When it is a customized weight for a special friend or relative, he listens carefully to the story to create it in glass. He depicted two love stories in the accompanying photo in this precious story he shared with me.
The daughter of an elderly couple contacted David. Her mother had died of Alzheimer’s. Her parents’ marriage lasted fifty years. A friend of hers brought her yellow roses weekly, while she lingered. Her father and the ladies loved the roses. Her dad remarried a neighborhood widow, spending seventeen years in this large, loving, blended family.
The three biggest roses represent her father, her mom, and step-mother. Each smaller rose represents a sibling. The couple raised bees: hence, the bees in glass. Blueberries and forget-me-nots add the daughter’s favorite color blue as she recalls memories of the striking blue eyes of her dad and step-mother. A perfect remembrance in glass.
If you have a favorite paperweight artist, talk with him or her for planning purposes for your loved ones. Other artists in PCA undoubtedly create memorial paperweights for friends and family.
We shy away from talking about death and dying in our culture, but preparing for death gives us a sense of peace, whether you want to rest as a glass bird, an angel or in a glass paperweight. Deciding on a memorial piece is a gentle reminder for our loved ones of the joy and challenges of our lives. I urge you to explore the myriad of options before you need them.
A special thanks to Chris, Dave, David, Ken, John, Gulsuri, and Jane.
By Ruth Glover, Freelance Writer & Member of PCATX.org
Photos by Dave Blake and David Graeber