“Shine like a burning candle in the room.” Have you heard that song by Leon Bridges? I made and delivered this memento to a friend down the street last week. Her mom died unexpectedly 3 months ago, and her ashes are going to be scattered in a memorial forest. You know how they cut down some trees to maintain the overall health of the forest? Well, so my friend brought me a wedge chunk of a trunk of a downed Madrone tree from the memorial forest. (Madrone is related to the manzanita tree, so that explains the natural red hue.) The wedge chunk was dried up and full of cracks, so I had very little expectation of what I could produce with it. Still though, I had to try for something as substantive as it is significant to my friend. I aimed to carve out a small-scale bench to symbolize the eternal moment of sitting with your mother. Surprisingly, the wood was hearty enough, despite the cracks, to push past the fear of it coming to crumbles. A candle added to the memento represents mother’s spirit. The metal arc is aluminum, but it might as well be gold – hand-carved, as well, symbolically representing your mom’s wings protecting you and your children, I told my friend. ✨ Thank you for the honor of asking me to make one of the prettiest things I’ve ever made.
Mother’s Bench – made of Madrone wood (poly/oil finish), aluminum, refillable glass votive – 13”l x 6”w x 3.25”h.
