Etsy Pets: Pet Memorials

2008-07-09T12:30:00-05:00

My passion for clay has taken me down many roads in the 12 years I've been throwing. Most of my experience has been in creating functional pottery (dinnerware, vases, bowls, etc.), but every once in a while I would receive a request to make an funeral urn. Each time I sat at my wheel to make one I was flooded with ideas and inspiration; creating something so meaningful gave a deeper meaning to my work. When I would return to making functional-ware I would miss the satisfaction of creating something that was so much more than an object. So I decided to take it on full time. I love it. Etsy has given me the opportunity to directly connect with families looking for a one of a kind vessel with which to honor their loved ones. The Etsy community has responded well and I've learned so much about how we can celebrate and honor a person's life when they pass. I'd never heard of the blazing Viking funerals or having ashes cast into hundreds of resin pendants for everyone in attendance. My favorite idea for a send off was to have a bit of ash put into hundreds of helium balloons which are released for one last trip around the world.

Pet urns are my favorite to create because I usually hear so much about the pet. In most cases, “pet” just doesn't seem like the right word. "Soul mate" — those are the words I hear most often to describe this little life that has been right at their sides through good times and bad. I have two stories of families that recently lost pets that had been with them for 14 years.

The first came to me as an Alchemy request by fury716. This urn was so special because I was able to inscribe the cat's name on the bottom before it was fired in the kiln.

Fury716 writes,

“I adopted Genji. In 2004, we all moved to Japan. The military required us to get him re-vaccinated, despite my apprehensions. A few months later, we noticed a lump at the injection site. This was the start of two years of surgeries. Finally, in late June, we began palliative care…and I realized I would have to make some tough decisions. I decided I would want him cremated and that I would want a special container, not mass produced. I wanted warmth not seen in mass-produced items. And I wanted something unique too and having purchased all kinds of cool stuff on Etsy, I figured that would be a good place to start.

It was intuition about what shape and color was "right." As far as the conscious part of the selection process, I was drawn to the shape I chose because it reminded me of the details I had studied in college of churches and castles, spires and domes. The pieces had a substance, serenity and gravitas, a bit of monumentality to them. I found the right shape and I chose the cobalt glaze because I'm drawn to deep colors, and the cobalt is such an elegant and soothing color. It's a color I often see in the twilight skies here or in some of the colors of the sea of Japan. Additionally, one of the collars that Genji wore was orange (it was one of our favorite ones on him) and it would make a nice contrast when I set up his memorial.”

The second story that I have to share with you is one that I think of every time I sit to make pet urns. Fellow Etsy seller, DantesSpirit first contacted me to reserve an urn for her 14 and a half year old Akita, Dante. She knew the day was approaching that they would no long be together. Throughout this process we shared stories and pictures.

I could feel, even through an email, the love she had for Dante and what a special dog she was. A few days later I received a convo that read “I lost Dante-Inu yesterday morning. She decided she wanted to go then, and as usual, she did things her way.” My heart was heavy all day and it still brings tears to my eyes. She allowed me access to her live journal. The following passage is always with me as I throw. DantesSpirit writes: “I have a craving. One that will never, ever be satisfied. I want to scritch Dante's head, right between her ears. I want to do this so badly, that my fingers started twitching.”

I am a true Etsy addict and love to see “Etsy transactions” in my inbox, but for me it is always bittersweet.

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Etsy Pets: Pet Memorials