For centuries, cultures have integrated jewelry as a way of honoring the dead.  Ancient civilizations have included bones, hair, teeth and blood in jewelry that predates recorded history.  During the Renaissance, rings were inscribed with names and the dates of those who passed and when Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria mourned his passing for a full three years, wearing traditional mourning jewelry.

 

While the idea of honoring the deceased with jewelry has evolved over the years, it is still not a common practice among the funerary business.  Vicki Angotti is hoping to give those who have lost loved ones the option to preserve their memory in one-of-a-kind keepsakes made by area artisans, including Angotti.  Her new e-business venture, Mourning Glory Art, is now open and providing a wide variety of personalized , artisan-based items that provides both comfort and hope to those in mourning.

 

For years, Angotti, a certified Precious Metal Clay artist, has been making unique fingerprint jewelry for clients.  A couple of years ago, a friend’s son died unexpectedly and Angotti offered to make items using his fingerprints.  When she found out that the family was using cremation, she included some of his cremains in the fingerprint items.  The family loved the connection brought about by the items and that he could still be part of their everyday life through the memorial jewelry.

 

When Angotti’s daughter Marina, also an artist, began an internship at a crematoriam, the two began to brainstorm for other ways to create tokens of loved ones.  It was important to both of them that the process was respectful for the family, the deceased loved one and the earth.  Their ideas began to include other artists, each with their unique contribution to the website.

 

“I loved the idea of having actual artists creating items to honor the memory of people and pets who are beloved instead of the families having to order mass produced, impersonal items out of a catalog,” said Angotti.

 

Mourning Glory Art's website will include pottery with the option of mixing ashes into the glaze, stained glass boxes, fused glass pendants which can feature ashes or soil, pet portraits, which can include ashes or fur, and acrylic pendants which will have pressed flowers of meaning. 

 

“The items we have made so far have been so rewarding,” said Angotti.  “They have given comfort to those both grieving and celebrating the life of a significant being in their lives.”

 

The items offered on Mourning Glory Art are for all belief systems, allowing clients the opportunity to mourn in their own way.   Bio urns can be used to place the cremains into nature for a green way to transition them on their journey with a packet of flower seeds that include a mix of annual and perennials that can attract either Honeybees or Hummingbirds and butterflies. The blooms will appear each year as an ongoing remembrance.  

 

Angotti’s pieces uses a multistep process to create .999 fine silver, bronze and copper formulations of one-of-a-kind pieces for people or pets.  Although her original idea was to include ashes in the pieces, she wanted to also offer an option for those who choose not to use cremation.  

 

“Just about anything can be torched and incorporated into a piece,” she said.  “We can use soil from a significant place, a flower from the funeral spray, a piece of clothing, a wooden handle from a favorite tool, part of a fishing pole, etc.”

 

The remembrance pieces can also be in celebration of a happy event, including incorporating soil from a proposal location, part of a baby blanket, a small lock of hair or even a copy of a photo.  All mementos can also include slips for prayers or other sentiments as well.

 

Angotti has created a sacred space for the developing the pieces.  She is surrounded by a picture of an angel, a white candle, special music and a gathering of small, meaningful tokens such as a white feather wrapped with multicultural symbols of the sacred. She asked for the name of the one who is being honored and speaks to them during the creation process as a way of showing respect.  Each artist on the website is interviewed to ensure they also approach this work in the same respectful frame of mind.

 

Explore the options available at www.mourninggloryart.comor email Vicki Angotti at mourninggloryart@gmail.com.