Making Nature’s Vessel: A handcrafted urn
To me, death is a loving transition with no fear
Connie Ford, artist who created the urn called Nature’s Vessel
Pacific Northwest fiber artist Connie Ford and lapidary artist Richard Britschgi came together to create Nature’s Vessel, a handcrafted urn. This blog provides a Q&A between Life-cycle Celebrant Katie Melville and fiber artist Connie Ford about how Nature’s Vessel came to into existence.
Katie, Question: What was the process you used to develop the urn? Did you collaborate with anyone?
Connie, Answer: Richard and I consulted on the selection of the rock which would form the base and the lid. The rock chosen is a Brazilian Blue Agate from Chihuahua, Mexico. The rock was cut like a loaf of bread. Three pieces were polished in a rotary tumbler. It took five weeks using five different grits and polishes with one week per grit. Once the lid was chosen, I made the pattern for the 3mm spines on the base of the project.
Richard drilled twenty-nine holes with an ultrasonic drill to hold the spines. A calcedony handle was added to the lid and a stained wooden frame cut to match the lid. This held the spines in the upper position. At this point, the project was turned over to me.
Willow spines were added to the base of the project and weaving began. A smaller reed was added first for its strength, then bamboo, bark for its beauty and its texture, wool, seagrass, sacred yellow cedar, and cedar root. As the weaving progressed and the spines approached the top, they were woven to form a secure place for the lid to sit. The final part of the process is an embellishment of seagrass, adding a feather lovingly dropped from the sky, a piece of deer horn, and wooden beads.
Question: What does this piece mean to you?
Answer: Nature’s Vessel provided an opportunity to collaborate with Richard Britschgi, an artist I respect and admire. Additionally this piece is the first of its kind in my world, and it compliments a series I am doing called, “Celebration of Spirit.”
Question: How would someone benefit from having this piece?
Answer: I would expect that a person who would be interested in this piece of art would be looking for something that is unique and celebratory. Spirituality is important to me and is infused in my artistic work.
Question: Creating an urn might bring up questions/thoughts about one's own death or mortality; did you have any insights about life and death while working on this piece?
Answer: To me death is a loving transition with no fear, so I didn’t have any insights; however, the vessel does come with blessings attached.
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If you are interested in purchasing this piece, the cost is $975 with free shipping in the continugous United States. Please contact Connie Ford directly at intuitdesign7@gmail.com
You can find more of Connie’s work at Intuitdesigns.com or on Instagram @connieford2558