why is this art object special?
there are five good reasons:
1.- It's an elegant sculpture to highlight your living space,
2.- But it can also be an urn.
We tend to overlook the fact that we too have an expiration date...
What usually happens is that our loved ones, those who stay behind, are not only very sad, but they suddenly find themselves faced with a number of unexpected chores and decisions that have to be taken, specially if your demise has not been discussed much.
So...
3.- It opens the door for a dialogue and lovingly, you can begin preparing your relatives for your moment of passage. This means, that by having the sculpture showcased in your house, it will spark a conversation, which after the first bewilderment, will help them assimilate the fact that death is also part of life...
Although losing a loved one is always very hard, their heart-breaking process will be less traumatic.
Another factor we don't usually think about, is that in such grieving moments, no one is in the mood to be looking for a decent looking urn...
So,
4.- While having this piece of art at home, you have solved for them this important issue.
And then, this sculpture has a special and unique feature:
5.- There is a crystal quartz standing in its center and light makes it glow from under. Even if the vessel is sealed and the ashes are secure inside, they will be imbued with natural light filtered through the quartz crystal. The ashes will not just be sealed in a dark chamber, light will illuminate the quartz and the ashes will lay arround it. This happens if you place the sculpture on a glass shelf, or alternatively push a button on its base - it has a battery operated halogen light inside.
We could see the crystal as the ¨light window¨
through which the spirit can go out and travel in the immensity ...
But long before your due time comes, you can enjoy lifting the lid to peek in and show your grand children the wondrous shining crystal...
If this sculpture fits in with your taste, I will be honoured to create one for you.
What this urn will help you with...
The two major events in our existence are:
When we are born and when we die.
We couldn’t have an opinion when we were born, but for our second big event in our lives,
we have the possibility to have a saying...
Some of us may not want to think about death at all, but some of us will want to take some descisions about it and maybe be organised. You might want to simplify your children's chores when they are faced with your moments of transcendence, since for them it will be a difficult moment... And this is one of those meaningful things you can choose to do and solve for them: Buy a magnificent urn.
¨In the past many gave minute instructions on how they wanted their funeral; it was immensely important to have ”an honest funeral”, where nothing was spared so the family could be proud of it and look back on it as a nice tribute to the deceased. Not only the funeral was carefully planned; you also carefully prepared to die.
A good death was a prepared death; a bad death was a hasty death¨.
Today however, in Western societies, death is often neglected and doesn't receive its rightful place and honorable role. We cannot really know if dying is the end of a cycle or a steppingstone of some kind, but whatever it is, it is a magical moment.
I believe that life and death, the two forces humanity has always tried to understand, are like two dancers in constant movement, in constant interaction. From the moment we are conceived we are constantly in transformation, in the wheel of evolution. As Einstein pointed out, energy doesn’t disappear, it is only transformed. So why avoid the topic if death is our last and most honourable gesture on this earth? What’s the point of suffering about death in life? It’s of course the survival instict that makes us be afraid, but once we accept deep down that we are not going to be eternal, we can then relax and enjoy the HERE and the NOW, a very important concept to consider...
¨The QUALITY, not the longevity of one's life is what is important¨.
Since I believe that death is as important as life, it has to be considered with honor and respect, with understanding and love.
Up until the time of our death, we are making a statement and leaving a message to our children and to our partner, we are leaving a stamp of our existence. The last impression we leave, the last image of ourselves, both visually and emotionally, stays with them as a lasting memory. Undeniably, that memory is strongly associated with a coffin or an urn which is often not to our taste. But what are the alternatives? Deep inside, we would wish to leave them a representation of our values.
A beautiful piece of art you have chosen, cherished and shared with them, would be much more meaningful than something impersonal and foreign.
This familiar object would also help them go through a process of healing, something that is now most often overlooked.
When my father died, with the unexpected chores that arose, I didn’t even have the opportunity to cry… I was even asked for a bribe if I wanted to have the paper-work done the same day.
As hard as it may sound, don't just avoid the situation by delegating everything to a funeral home that will do everything for you their way, as when doctors do a caesarian and you don't assume your role and your rights. After all, you don't die twice...
So from that experience, I decided to do something about it:
I’m an artist and I have designed a beautiful sculpture and vessel, a tribute to our existence as it embraces the highest human qualities and feelings. I believe that if we give a worthy space to death in our hearts, if we become friends with it by accepting its underlying wisdom, life will regain its balance again, Yin and Yang will flow unhindered and you will be one with infinity...
This also applies to the life of your loved ones, as you leave them a stronger emotional framework in relation to your departure.
The Urn
¨In our art, we try to represent the essence of the serpent that is dreaming us,
the serpent mother of all things, the one that people can see, but in their own dreams¨.
- Pre-hispanic Mexican saying -
and you also have other options
If you have a special object you would like to keep inside, such as a stone, a little box, a piece of jewelry... instead of the quartz crystal, if you send it to me, I can place your jewel inside, before sealing the base. You will know it's in there and you will be able to peek through the narrow opening if you want to see it. Then, when the ashes arrive, they will be united with the object. Certain cultures placed precious objects next to the deceased to protect her/him through the journey: A power stick, a hat, his/her preferred food. High ranking aztecs, were even accompanied by an albino Xoloescuincle dog who knew how to guide them towards the Mictlan, the land of the dead.
For example...
on The inner wall - a Frase, a Poem, a Thought
The urn's inner wall can be painted brick red, which is the color of the earth, the traditional color tibetan monks wear and a meaningful color used by countless ancient cultures. But I could also use the color of your choice, even cover it with 24 karat gold leaf if you wish...I can also write something of your choice on the inner wall. It will not be visible however, only you will know it is there. Frase examples...« La mort est ma fondation, ma force, ma direction »- Michel Vinaver- “The warrior is one with infinity.”- Carlos Castañeda -
Option with decoration
This is an example of an exterior design. I work with different themes. It can be abstract or somewhat figurative - all in the imaginary. If, however, you want to let a tonality of your being be felt, write me something: a poem or a thought - so I can absorb it and produce a design for you.
The price is 5000 €
and here are your choices to customize it to your taste:
A.- with or without the crystal quartz
B.- with or without the base
C.- with or without a light in the base
D.- The interior wall plain or painted indian red
E.- The interior wall painted with the color of your choice, add € 50.-
F.- The interior wall lined with gold leaf, add € 200.-
G.- A text of your choice, a frase or a short poem, written on the inner wall, hidden from the unlooker but with the presence of its message. (Not all things need to be seen but by being there, they bestow the essence of their wisdom).
H.- An object of your choice that will fit inside, replacing the quartz crystal. You have to write me about the object you wish to have inside, to asses if we can install it and if it needs to be fastened.
I.- A design on the exterior shell, add € 1000.-
For shipping, add € 100.-
After the details of the sculpture have been decided and the price has been defined, I will give you a time frame. If it's to be shipped, please give me your address to send it to you. It will be carefully packed in a protective box.
How to display it
Choose a nice place for it in your house.You can displayed it with or without its base...Without it, if placed on a glass shelf, the quartz crystal will catch the light from below and you will know that during the day, it will always be glowing inside. If placed on its base, aside from highlighting the piece itself, you will be able to turn-on the built-in light to let you see the beauty of the crystal when you uncover the lid and peek in. When the ashes have covered the crystal, only the ashes will be blessed with the light.The third possibility is to slide out the floor from the square box, which is the pedestal, and the crystal will catch the day-light when placed on a glass shelf, without having to use battery-powered light.
And what happens with the urn when we finally take up residence in it?
Laws and customs vary from country to country...
You will have conveyed your wishes to your relatives, so when the time comes, they can either bury the urn, place it in the graveyard's vault/columbarium or use it to transport your ashes to the sea, to the mountain or to your garden...
Or, as it's done in some countries, the ashes can be kept in the urn at home: On the Tokonoma in Japan, on an altar in Mexico, in the living room in the U.S...
In that context, the sculpture helps to represent your transformation, maintaining a link between the spheres of consciousness.
Why try to cut-off completely the link with our ancestors?
It's a trend that alienates us from our family tree, from our history and from our roots. Trying to forget is not the answer for healing. Turning the page in our lives is a different matter: It's good to move on and to continue with our lives, but our memories and our past are part of us, they help maintain strength and balance within the clans, it keeps us balanced and energetically healthy.
In most european countries, unfortunately the funeral businesses have kidnapped our freedom to choose the destiny for our ashes...And those who stay on this side?
“Owning up to the ‘good-bye’ that is built into our finite human existing
makes possible the saying of an authentic ‘Hello!’ ” —Robert D. Stolorow
The loss of a loved one is one of life’s greatest pains. One has to breathe deeply and begin to soften the knot. Life has to go on, we must let go and start the healing process.
Doing tai chi or yoga would be highly recommended: As we inhale through the nose, the air spirals in, slowly evaporating the pain when we exhale through the mouth.
One could start by taking a healing trip to have some time for ourselves and touch base. Nature and its beauties are great healers.
Urn specifications:
Made in... wherever I am. Now, it could be either in Mexico or in France
The vessel and the lid are hand made with fine woods of different varieties. The ones in this picture are tropical Mexican woods, Huanacaxtle from the tropics and Palo Fierro from the Sonoran desert. I try to use wood from trees that have fallen due to natural phenomena or that needed to be cut down anyway.
It is coated with an invisible oil-wax protection, so the wood can keep all its natural qualities.
Sizes: Since it is hand made, it is roughly 25 cm wide x 26.5 cm high (9 27⁄32 x 10 7⁄16 inches) without the base,
And 25 cm wide x 35 cm high (9 27⁄32 x 13 25/32 inches) with the base.
The urn accommodates a person weighing up to 85 kg (187 pounds).
That is, if they don't cremate him/her with the coffin. Ask the crematorium about that, since there are different ways to go about it.
The base has a battery operated light and these can be easily replaced. Don't forget to turn it off after you've looked inside...
The quartz crystal comes from Mexico
The gold leaf around the base of the quartz crystal is 24 karat gold
THE URN IS BIODEGRADABLE
That which will eventually remain from you on this earth and for eternity, is a quartz crystal and gold...
The artist
¨Back to Primordial Unity¨
is a Taoist philosophical concept that has influenced my life and my work
Martin Vinaver, a painter, sculptor, printer and photographer.
Letting go is attaining freedom
Let the birds take your clothes
Let the waves undo your holding back
Let the vines unravel your tired mind
And the earth savour your sweat and tears.Let your stories burn off like rising mist,
As your past and the false floors of curbed self love
Dissolve into butterfly wings and fire flies
As your edges blur and your Planetary Self ignites.Let the trees bathe your breath
Let the meadows embrace you
Let the mountains and the bees remind you
Let the sky flood in and allow the clouds to guide you.Let your undoing be as total
As your becoming is beautiful –
And when the living world has climbed inside
Enough for you to feel four legs, scales and wings.May you finally know yourself alive as all things –
Indivisible and responsible
Reborn into wholeness
Natural, Sacred and Wild~Clare Dakin
Write to me if you are interested in a sculpture
And tell me if you wish to have one or more of the options written below,
included with your sculpture.
- AN URN TO DIE FOR -