Showing posts with label artistic process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artistic process. Show all posts

20190401

Power of Personalisation: Custom Guitar for Lee Villaire


Guitar Urn in Texas Bluebonnets
We were contacted by Roger shortly after the unexpected passing of Lee.  Separately and together, they wrote music and lyrics. He was looking for a special memorial that represented her lifelong love of music and singing.

To give us a connection to who Lee was, he emailed us some photos of her and some of their most recent songs.

Lee Villaire, singer/songwriter
Video of Lee and Roger performing "Worth the Wait" together

Roger decided he would like a guitar urn modeled after the guitar she had played the last 10 years... her curvy Yamaha Compass cut-away. 

Clay build of custom guitar urnEngravings in Clay Urn Guitar


Extra special and sentimental touches were added... a raised microphone adornment, engravings of song lyrics they wrote, and a love note in her handwriting. One song he sent with us was "Walk You Through", a song about losing a loved one.  We shared with him this moment of engraving her handwritten inscription...



Prior to completing Lee's guitar, we received the most thoughtful package from Roger that included 5 CDs of their music <3  We deeply appreciated his sweet words and the kind gesture given to us, even in his time of grief.

His note enclosed read:

Music by FlaireHello Jamaica & Rob,

Please find a small token of appreciation from Lee and I for the kindness, the personal touch and the love you have provided. Such a rare commodity these days. Service.

In the box are 3 early recordings of Lee, including her Canadian release. Also included are my only recordings with Lee helping, and Lee's last recording (solo that is), "Victory Dance".

Hope you enjoy,
Roger (& Lee)

We LOVED getting a chance to listen to a collection of Lee's music dating back nearly 20 years.  As well as, hearing Roger sing- we love his folky, soft-rock style.

We were honored to create this piece in her memory, finding connection through her music, and offering Roger some comfort with a tribute handmade with love.






20180630

The Power of Personalization: Cowboy Joe's Boots


Cowboy Boots Urn


Recently, we were asked by friends of the family to sculpt an urn for their loved one Joe.
Joe loved to ride his motorcycle, and was affectionately known as "Cowboy" to his bike club friends and loved ones.  It was decided that the most fitting tribute to remember him would be his cowboy boots.

His wife, Robin, sent us pictures of his most recent pair of boots, of which he wore with a spur on his right boot.  We used these pictures as our references to sculpt Joe's Boots.

Joe's Ariat Cowboy Boots

Additional personal touches included engravings of his name, dates, a handwritten note to Robin.

Artists working on custom cremation urn

We were able to hand deliver Joe's boots to his family. We were so touched by their warm response and kind words for Joe's memorial. We greatly appreciate Robin and her sister, Laura, for working with us to honor him through our artwork.


joe cowboy boot cremation urn sculpture

20180112

Inspiration Found: "Sing Me Back Home"





It's important to us to keep mindful of the gravity of bereavement art...to find empathy for each family we are serving. In order to feel more connected, we like to search for obituaries of those who are remembered with our art. We want to know the stories of their lives, for which, we sometimes cry and are often humbled.

With this guitar YURN, the family wanted the quote "Sing Me Back Home" engraved on his memorial.  We found this gentleman's obituary which mentioned his YouTube channel. We enjoyed listening to his music as we worked on his memorial. It was a great find to hear his cover of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home"....what special memories and music that he left for his family.

20170504

BEYOND AWESOME!!!...Connecting beyond the purchase



When given the opportunity, we love to connect with families.

It is hard to know everything our customers are going through following the death of their loved one. Often, we can only imagine the profound loss they are experiencing. When communicating with customers, we just allow that space to unfold how it needs to for those in mourning. 

Sometimes there is no communication beyond the email order, and that's certainly understandable. However, other times we have the chance to connect and collaborate ideas with the customer....we truly value these opportunities. It touches our hearts deeply when we can learn more about who the YURN is remembering.

Recently, we had a wonderful experience getting to know more about Mark through his wife Diane.  She shared photos and opened up to us about the great health challenges he experienced preceding his death....she told us about their 30 year relationship, his love for music, their travels together, their devotion to fostering hundreds of pets through the years, and how she loved to make him laugh.

She wanted his guitar YURN to be a perfect expression of him and her love for him.  We shared with her the different personalizations we could do to make it a unique and special piece.  We added a handwritten note with his frequent "Love you today" sentiment to her...a line from his favorite song along with his signature...her "Eternal Love" expression for him...his name and dates....and even painted it to match his favorite Martin guitar.

To be of service to her is a blessing to us. These opportunities to touch each others lives in a loving and heartfelt way is what it's all about, and we'll remember this connection always.





20170202

20160723

Practicing Prototypes: Angel with Heart


We have been working on prototypes for our new Angel with Heart YURN. The first few casts of a new models is where we work our processes and color finishes. With this model, the angel's dress is the main vessel for cremains placement.

angel urn, heart urn, cremation urn, handmade



This prototype was made with Jamaica's grandmother, Doris, in mind. We personalized this model by engraving her initial "D", along with "Mom" and her grandma name, "Doie".  It won't be used as an cremation urn, but will hang on the tree that she rests under at the cemetery.

Soon we will be perfecting this model, taking pictures, naming it, writing copy and rolling her out into our production line!

20150924

20150727

New Sand Dollar Model In the Works



A photo posted by YURNSbyMorzArt (@morzart) on

20150606

YURN'ing for a New Workshop


 
We are excited to have a new work space to build our YURNS! After working around some great spring rain, we completed the shell and electrical, and moved our YURNS supplies inside today!
We lost our prior shop in the Bastrop wildfire a few years ago, and for us, this new creative space has been a long time coming.
In order to move forward with our art endeavors, we were in major need of replacing our workshop, and moving our supplies/equipment out of our living room.  We decided to reuse the existing concrete slab where our old shop stood.
This is a exciting step towards progress with the business, and healing for our creative souls to have a new space to work!

20150516

MorzArt In Training



A photo posted by YURNSbyMorzArt (@morzart) on

20150423

Fishing Around and Reelin'em In

We now have our YURNS listed with 6 distributors!....and...
Our YURNS can now be found at Distinctive Life! You may have seen Distinctive Life on the Dallas/Houston/Austin news....they are not your typical Funeral Home, and we are excited to be working with them......www.distinctivelife.com/see-the-difference/


A photo posted by YURNSbyMorzArt (@morzart) on

20150419

New Model In the Works: Catfish



The beginnings of a Catfish YURN...an old family friend has requested a special order for her father-in-law who loved to fishing at his family's lake house.  They had been putting off finding a permanent urn that fit his personality...once they saw our Bass Angler urn, they knew a Catfish would be perfect for their dad.

20150411

Personalized Guitar YURN

For a young man from Pennsylvania...

A photo posted by YURNSbyMorzArt (@morzart) on

20150203

Online Resellers Feature Our Urns





Novelty Urns: Behind the Scenes


The creative process for the artisans behind these unique urns comes from a place of authenticity and relating to everyday people. They look for the simple things that bring joy. The urns are subjects that represent people's passions and interests, reflecting their individuality and honor a life well-lived.

Each of these urns is a work of art produced solely by the team of two artisans. Their hands-on approach produces artisan quality sculptures that will vary slightly from piece to piece. No two will ever be exactly alike creating an heirloom-quality, unique work of art.

With a subject in mind, the artisans strive to create an iconic sculpture by modeling a clay representation. When they are satisfied with their model, they create a plaster mold of it. With a mold they employ a traditional slip-cast method to produce a hollow-bodied clay vessel.

Once the slip sets up in the mold and the clay piece is removed, the unfired clay or “greenware” is shaped, added to and refined as needed. At this stage, the artisans place high-temperature wire hangers into the clay body for wall-mounted pieces and hand cut the vessel’s opening for the inurnment hatch.

Once the greenware sculpting is complete, the piece air dries and is fired in a kiln to temperatures nearing 2000°F. The application of extreme heat to the clay body causes a chemical and physical reaction creating a permanently hardened material. The urns are hand-painted either before or after the kiln fire. A variety glazes or oxide washes are used in combination with acrylic paints, metallic waxes and a sealer to create the finishes of each product. Each urns takes about five to seven days from cast to finish.

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20141211

Here's a Sneek Peek




We have been doing, and figuring, and sculpting, and molding, and building, and cleaning, and painting, and photographing, and naming, and designing, and branding, all while trying to keep our cool...soooo, prepare yourself for a bombardment of MorzArt shameless self-promotion with the launch of our newest artistic endeavor...soon, very soon...we know you wait with bated breath.