Today would be my father’s 85th birthday. For the last 9 years my father’s ashes have resided in the faux wood cardboard box that the mortuary placed them in. On several occasions I have considered purchasing or making an appropriate urn as an upgrade to his current residence. After several urns were made for special rabbits from work, I decided it was time to make one for my father. My original idea was an urn with ginkgo leaves. I envisioned the leaves gently falling in a random (and sparse) pattern at the top becoming a dense jumble at the base. When it came down to it the ginkgo didn’t speak to me. It wasn’t a symbol that reminded me of my father. Instead I left the jar plain. I topped the lid with a single acorn. It is understated. It is a symbol of possibility and the intention to greatness. It reminds me that my father was strong. He was not a showy person. He wore white socks and white shirts and a white hat. Not that he was milquetoast. He was quiet in his convictions, stern and stoic. Like acorns dropping from trees and “bonking” unsuspecting pedestrians, he had a sense of humor. The acorns fall producing sustenance but most of all the anticipation of another generation of mighty oaks. My father’s legacy lives on in me and my sisters and in our sons and daughters. I’m hopeful that there will be more trees and more acorns.
Good words that speak well of your father . . . and remind me of mine.
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Thanks! You must have had a wonderful father too! If only all the fathers were as good…
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The urn shows a solid, intense love for your father. Many blessings, on what is surely a solemn day for you and your siblings.
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He is missed, however I am not sad. I will see him again in the next life. I celebrated my memory of him today…
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That is the heart of the matter for me, with regard to Penny, my Dad, my youngest brother, and all my relations who have gone on.
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Yes – the hope is there and that makes the separation bearable. I’m looking forward to a grand reunion.
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well said
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Thanks Bonnie.
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What a lovely tribute to your dad on what would have been his 85th birthday! The urn speaks very well of your dad as you describe him, and a much better home than a cardboard box!
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The cardboard box is sort of decorative – it does have a wooden appearance and is a step above regular cardboard! This however is much better and will be a more fitting accommodation!
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The urn is gorgeous.
An excellent way to commemorate his birthday.
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Thanks! Sometimes my artistic muse works and other times it doesn’t – that’s why it took so long to do.
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It’s beautiful and perfect.
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Thanks. I like it and I’m relieved that it survived the kiln without incident!
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Nicely done.;…but will it be large enough for my ashes too? BTW, I don’t remember your dad wearing a white hat, but he did wear his beloved gray German hat with all the pins on it…the weight of the pins kept it from blowing off in the winter cold winds! It even made the “About Town” (think that was the name) column Muncie paper. Maybe you’re thinking of the cap he got to wear in the summer. The gray one was on display at his funeral….with his bowling trophy and the EDS eagle statue he was given when he retired. Oh, his ashes are sealed in a metal container inside the fake wood box.
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I think that it will accommodate a third of yours and a third of his quite nicely. As for the hat, it was a white baseball cap with the Chevrolet emblem on the front and when it got so dirty that it looked bad I found another one that was “just plain white” that I gave him to wear. It was his casual hat for summers where the German hat was dressy for winter…
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A lovely and fitting resting place. Your father comes alive in the imagination in just a few words.
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Thanks. I was fortunate to have a father that was “daddy” – someone who loved, protected, taught and provided for me. So many do not have that kind of memory of their father….
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Lovely tribute and lovely “resting place”
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Thanks. It turned out wonderfully. Now to get it to my mother in one piece!
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Really beautiful.
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Thank-you!
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This is truly beautiful. peace to you
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It turned out better than I had hoped. There was a glaze that was a contaminated Celadon that I had wanted to use but once it was gone it was gone forever. I had to come up with plan B which really looks good and will probably work in any decor.
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I think your second choice glaze is wonderful.
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Thanks!
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