Skip to content Personal Memorials
Over the past few weeks we’ve been able to design and create some very personal urns for families. This week our family didn’t want an urn, but we discover something that they really liked.
The person who passed away loved Pukekos. So I suggested we make an engraving of a pukeko and incorporate some ashes in it. This was a new adventure for me and having Kath’s artistic skills took things to a whole new level.
They decided they wanted 5 individual engravings that would each have a sprinkling of ashes.
This is our journey.
Raw Materials
We used for the smaller pictures recycled wood panels and plywood for the larger. Then we needed to find the right image. The family showed me an example.
The Picture
I spent a day looking for something and not succeeding. I googled some images and used AI – but the Pukeko looked more like a Kakahe.
Kath came to the rescue and sent me a pic and it was perfect.
Engraving
Engraving isn’t like printing. There are all kinds of variables that need to be considered. And for a start there is a lot of trial and error. Something that I’m particularly good at is the error. Here are some of the trials…
There are a lot more besides these. No need to see all the errors.
Paint and Textures
Kath did some art work on these errors to see what they would look like.
This also included engraving into wood that we painted.
The final engraving finally emerged.
Then I decided to try inverting the image and hey presto we did it.
This is where I hand it over to Kath to do her magic on it.
The ashes were incorporated with the picture and a small “plaque” engraved at the bottom.
There were a few steps to this stage and I correctly left Kath to do it without any input from me. Except for the really handy comments.
Above the Pukekos are sunbathing and getting dry.
The End Product
The final pictures show the result. We were stoked with how well they turned out. Much better in person than the pics I took.
This is perhaps the best pic showing the engraving and art work. Kath added sparkle dust (whatever that is called), which enhanced it even more.
Here are the Pukekos in a box Kath created for the family.
Being able to do something that is truly unique, that has particular significance for the family is great. Sometimes I think people want something, but not an urn. This is a lovely option.
The best thing was that the family were blown away with the results. Hopefully we get to do this more for people looking for something special to remember a loved one.
