tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78138216655970683962024-03-05T02:09:00.361-06:00The Daily UndertakerLove, Grieve, RememberPatrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.comBlogger380125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-2003455712600353722014-03-05T13:46:00.000-06:002014-03-06T15:46:15.765-06:00Burying my Undertaker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdkHhMc15oSF8ks7oICQKzTX-RglxbEj1lrjGFz92AgCPN3sjWlk_L0VONtAijO1dOuBcbQQGO075SjoghOVVZAlJas0VZ1rxCesEH8_jJvkn-hg1trfEZnd1bdV_zpMUBhx1bVJWgPw/s1600/patnpaul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdkHhMc15oSF8ks7oICQKzTX-RglxbEj1lrjGFz92AgCPN3sjWlk_L0VONtAijO1dOuBcbQQGO075SjoghOVVZAlJas0VZ1rxCesEH8_jJvkn-hg1trfEZnd1bdV_zpMUBhx1bVJWgPw/s320/patnpaul.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My last service with Paul in Stoughton, Wisconsin</td></tr>
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Last year, I moved across the country from a small town in Wisconsin for a new life in Northern California. Recently, I had to return briefly to Wisconsin to bury one of my own..</div>
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My dear friend, mentor and fellow undertaker, <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/02/paul-olson-undertaker-and-citizen-of.html">Paul Olson</a>, had passed away after a difficult winter and snowballing medical issues. We worked together nearly every day for 8 years, and in that time, got to know one another very well. I learned a great deal about being an undertaker, and about life from my friend Paul. My wife pointed out to me the night Paul died that I had probably spent more time with Paul than I had with my own father, who died when I was 8. In many ways, leaving Paul had been the most difficult part of my move. Before I left Wisconsin, and while Paul was still in good health, I had promised him that when he died, I would return to direct his funeral.</div>
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More than anyone in the world, perhaps, I knew what he wanted for his funeral. I knew what was important to him, and what could be left to chance. I knew how his hands should be set, and how he wanted the pall bearers to do their work. I knew the kind of casket and vault he wanted, what kind of hymns he wanted and that there better be no picture boards at the visitation.</div>
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Most of all, I knew that this gentle and well loved man, who dedicated over 50 years serving his community as an undertaker, should have his funeral conducted with the care and love he deserved. I felt it to be a great privilege to be entrusted with this task. As it turned out, I learned first hand how important a funeral can be to a survivor. Though I deal with death and grieving families every day, this was the most significant death in my life in many years. Unlike many of the families I serve, however, I had the duty and the privilege to participate in many of the most important tasks involved in laying Paul out and laying his to rest. This experience renewed my commitment to encouraging and facilitating the participation of family members in the funeral process.</div>
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Having been alerted of his failing health by Paul's family, I made ready to fly as soon as he died. I was able to call and speak with him during a time of consciousness, and while I couldn't make out his words, I know he heard mine. There were a couple days of false hope, a second wind it seemed, where Paul was walking and eating. But soon the phone call came that shocked me despite the fact that I was expecting it for a week. A sensation of falling, like an elevator going down a bit too quickly, and a hot thickening of my face and throat came over me when I heard the news during a break at my evening Spanish class.</div>
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Absolut vodka had been Paul's drink of choice since I knew him, so when I got home, I placed a glass of in in front of his photo, and joined him with several glasses of my own. In between these, I made my airline reservations, and flew back to Wisconsin two days later.</div>
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Despite being around death so much in my life and career, my emotions surprised me. I knew that I would be sad, but forgot how long and deep the effects of grief can be. Somehow, despite so many experiences to the contrary, I had imagined a tidy compartmentalized and subdued period of sadness. Even before flying out though, I was already more emotionally raw than I had anticipated. The busyness of packing and planning helped me to keep my mind off of the situation, but the closer I got to the funeral, the more Paul's passing effected me.</div>
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I stopped in at the funeral home as soon as I got into town and saw Paul, embalmed and peaceful, but not fully prepared for public viewing. I placed my hand on his face and talked to him briefly, knowing then, that at some point, I would break down and really deal with my loss. I wasn't ready to do it yet, and while I knew that the emotional dam would burst, I had no idea when it would happen, just that it would.</div>
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The next day was long and started early as days in funeral service often do. I was at the funeral home at 7:30 am and after the morning coffee ritual, my colleague Bill Clark and I began the final preparations. Bill knew Paul well too, and had learned much from him, just as I had. Thankfully, the solemn tasks of preparation, dressing and placement of Paul's body within the casket were lightened as we shared memories of Paul's advice and preferences. For years, Paul had overseen our work; suggesting an adjustment on the angle of the head, the fluff of a pillow, the filling out of a feature, and the right time to stop fussing and leave certain things alone. We were grateful for this sharing of his tricks, techniques and experience with us. We were also comforted by knowing that we were doing things just the way he would have wanted.</div>
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The dressing, bathing and preparation of a person's remains is often an act of caring and is especially meaningful when you are giving this last act of service to someone you know. I know that this work helped me by giving me an opportunity to give back to Paul. The process is also like developing a photograph, in that the personality and individuality of the person becomes clearer and more distinct. Paul certainly looked like himself when I first saw him, but the emotional impact of seeing him dressed in his customary way, with his facial features and skin tone right, that was a very different experience altogether. It really hit me when we put his glasses on. Oh my God! Paul! There is a difference between knowing in your mind that your friend is dead, even seeing physical proof of the death, and seeing him, himself, as you know him. That is something I will always treasure, even as it brings my heart into my throat.</div>
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The rest of that day was spent in extending hospitality to Paul's family and friends who came to support one another in saying goodbye to Paul. The atmosphere that was at once festive and poignant. They had the luxury of time, a whole evening to engage in conversations and recollections. Time to share old stories and hear new ones about the person they loved and missed; time to demonstrate by their very presence that Paul's life had been important to them. Though I was busy greeting guests and swinging the front door, I had an opportunity to share in this connection too. Among the many visitors I opened the door for were families I had served over the years. We shared memories of Paul and news about our own families. After the visitation, I spent a few wonderful hours with Paul's family over a late dinner, sharing some very humorous and sweet stories.</div>
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The funeral service was held at First Lutheran Church the next day. It was the same church that Paul had attended his entire life, and very few funerals had taken place in the last 50 years there that Paul had not been a part of. His casket and flowers were set up early, and then we waited outside to guide the family cars into their places in the procession line. For an hour, family and friends looked upon Paul, said their goodbyes and visited with the family. Fifteen minutes before the service, I led the family back to the church library for a prayer with the Pastors. As Paul had done for 50 years, I bode the family to take their time, "every one waits on the family". After bringing in a couple stragglers back to the library, it was time for me to close Paul's casket.</div>
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How many times have I closed a casket? Too many to count. I have closed them while the family's gaze is discreetly hidden, off in another room praying with a Pastor. I have closed caskets in front of weeping, gasping spouses and children. It is always a gentle farewell. A tucking in of soft fabric, removal of glasses, and slow careful movements. Some traditions call for the casket to be closed in front of the congregation right before the service, sometimes it is opened again at the end to allow guests to file by and say goodbye before leaving for the cemetery. Sometimes a casket is opened once more at the cemetery to allow 'the sun to touch him one more time'. At First Lutheran, the casket is closed during the family prayer and is never opened again. As hard as it was for me to do it, I will never regret the fact that I was there and I know the goodbye was as tender as it could have been. I was starting to lose it as I headed back to the library. </div>
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Slowly, and I hope with some degree of grace and dignity, I ushered the family into their pews and made my way to the narthex at the back of the church where Paul's casket, Pastors and the other Undertakers were waiting. This is when the emotions hit me full force and I wept and sobbed nearly uncontrollably and almost silently as I pushed his casket down the aisle of First Lutheran Church. With a practiced precision, we turned Paul's casket parallel to the altar and walked back to the narthex in measured steps. It was a relief to be free to sob, now that I was out of view and earshot. I am not ashamed of my emotions, but part of being an undertaker and an important part for Paul, was always the humility of staying in the background. The deceased and the family should always be the focus, while the work of the undertaker should take place gently and quietly. The last thing I wanted to do at Paul's service was showboat around! Tears continued through 'Children of the Heavenly Father' and 'Beautiful Savior'. I knew enough to allow my tears and sobbing to come out, this is what the funeral is for after all, and I am grateful for the opportunity to play this out, but I really did not expect the depth of my emotions, or the strength of their outpour. I was grateful that Pastor Richard Halom was delivering the message that day. He is a gifted eulogist who always seems to get things just right. He described Paul and his work with great insight and affection.</div>
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Through the procession and burial I remained shaky. After the family left, we watched his casket lower into the ground and sprinkled some dirt on it. I was proud of our work. Bill Cress, the president of the firm, and a longtime colleague of Paul's , along with his wife, Sherry, a great team of directors, Jessica Pharo, Jennifer Heimdahl, Jeffrey Olson, of course, Bill Clark, and Assistant, George Kaminsky. did a great job that Paul would have been proud of.</div>
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As tradition goes in Stoughton Wisconsin, family and guests returned to church for a wonderful <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/12/repast.html">luncheon</a>. The undertakers are always invited, though we wait until everyone else has gone through the line. Standard fare is ham sandwiches, along with various hot dishes, salads, jello salads, cookies, bars, and cakes of all descriptions, and plenty of hot black coffee. Having eaten so many funeral lunches over his years, and consequently, untold thousands of ham sandwiches, it was Paul's often repeated directive that there should be no ham sandwiches at his own lunch. Paul preferred ham salad sandwiches, and this was served instead. The ham salad was prepared by Paul's family and it was delicious, as was Marion Gjertson's almond cake, the lemon bars and the pulled pork from Jacobsen's deli. Unfortunately, Pearl Elvekrog was in poor health and unable to make her famous baked macaroni and cheese dish. </div>
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Many times I had sat with Paul at these lunches. We always tried to find a table with other guests to visit with, and the cold or heat of the graveyard was relieved by friendly conversation and hearty food. Sometimes I would remark to Paul how kind and gracious the family was. You can tell a really nice family by the way they visit each table, making sure everyone else is comfortable, well fed, and their presence recognized and appreciated. This was certainly the case with Paul's family, concerned with others even in their own grief. A wonderful family.</div>
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I think now what it would have been like if I had not been able to attend or direct Paul's service. Where would I be emotionally? I had traveled out as a gift to Paul, but in giving, I was the one who gained. Without the opportunity to give, and to feel and to touch, see and hear, to share my loss with others, I don't think I would have moved forward from Paul's death very well. I don't think I would have even realized how profound my loss, or his gift to me, had been. As foggy and painful and exhausting as the experience was, it brought release, reassurance, and ultimately a satisfaction that I done the right thing for my dear friend. I will take that to <u>my</u> grave. </div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-91257872734249651572013-11-16T09:40:00.000-06:002013-11-16T17:07:50.482-06:00Sharing a Grave: Urban Cemetery Solutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8KKEGGIr13_4Zkaw3P7HXSMcpc7kqecyoDxChiBCRnF-H7YmmDv-DK1gDYd7kBXYceuJFmnQMkePfsK_75Cxca4P3XQIj_5zYg1p9Qm8zq2jDLTi0dHZ87utnd1uIFCwH0561Xn1ez8J/s1600-h/krottendorfer_hongkong_dl.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial funeral ideas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8KKEGGIr13_4Zkaw3P7HXSMcpc7kqecyoDxChiBCRnF-H7YmmDv-DK1gDYd7kBXYceuJFmnQMkePfsK_75Cxca4P3XQIj_5zYg1p9Qm8zq2jDLTi0dHZ87utnd1uIFCwH0561Xn1ez8J/s400/krottendorfer_hongkong_dl.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398034510934469426" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mkrotten.at/krottendorfer_hongkong_dl.jpg">Crowded in life and in death</a></div>
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I don't know how many times I've heard people say that we're running out of room to bury our dead, so we should all really consider cremation. I might take this seriously from a person who never left a major metropolitan area in their lives, but living as I do in the region know on the coasts as 'Flyover', I know with great certainty that there is enough room to bury everyone in the world in Wisconsin, let alone Nevada or Montana. Anyone who has flown across the country can remember spending hours staring out at countless miles of open land. </div>
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Of course this is not what most people would want. We need a place close enough to visit regularly. It needs to be a convenient, serene and attractive place that is appropriate to the spirit and personality of our loved one. Certainly, large areas of open land are not easy to find in heavily populated areas, and in real estate for the living and for the dead, value is dependent upon location.</div>
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One of the great benefits of cemeteries is the De facto green spaces and parks that they create after the cities grow around them. If the cemetery hadn't been there, it would just be another neighborhood or strip mall. The reality is though, that when the city grows around the cemetery, there is no room to expand, and solutions must be found.</div>
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<object height="364" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cjVw3cy-qjE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cjVw3cy-qjE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="364"></embed></object></div>
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Here are some ways around the problem. They're not for everybody, but interesting nonetheless. First, via YouTube, an idea to make fuller use of London Cemeteries. It's interesting to keep in mind while you watch this clip, that prior to the introduction of cemeteries in the 1800's, and for a thousand years beforehand, in Europe, burial took place in churchyards (and even inside the churches themselves), and the same graves were used countless times.</div>
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Next, here are some photos of cemeteries in overcrowded Hong Kong. When land becomes so valuable and desirable to so many people, we end up living in high rise buildings. In Hong Kong, the dead rest in similar concentrations.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCke4ZRT58B5nk4iX7Gm3iF6DfUf4RIgJ5OPbp63XLXTFqVMG_4TBHSGs9bcIJ8nUL5iQqOEjeQd_AgEEc4dTWMLJb8DlXtIhh9zW0TIuRvJxluBR6bAJiyC5hq9s0MoRnPG2pOylItsl-/s1600-h/610x.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial funeral ideas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCke4ZRT58B5nk4iX7Gm3iF6DfUf4RIgJ5OPbp63XLXTFqVMG_4TBHSGs9bcIJ8nUL5iQqOEjeQd_AgEEc4dTWMLJb8DlXtIhh9zW0TIuRvJxluBR6bAJiyC5hq9s0MoRnPG2pOylItsl-/s400/610x.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398037616056690386" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 259px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.daylife.com/photo/0bgt5o86kD9Ja">High Rise Cemetery</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgI5jGux9p5Lj1zjBz6bB9aav5O58K3nrUezCRp2UsVmywHFV8x4LyEcHQrFxJkyLZrshYx8DkWJljsiyahAQ-GxdrP7OtJ8IARX1SJ1B3hbfiSBYgg7y9XDZ6a0dKIn1NJZ_L-slVlSU/s1600-h/_MG_4194_a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial funeral ideas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgI5jGux9p5Lj1zjBz6bB9aav5O58K3nrUezCRp2UsVmywHFV8x4LyEcHQrFxJkyLZrshYx8DkWJljsiyahAQ-GxdrP7OtJ8IARX1SJ1B3hbfiSBYgg7y9XDZ6a0dKIn1NJZ_L-slVlSU/s400/_MG_4194_a.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398035269157260850" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/l7YxNE6o_pSTFzc7Bl1gUA">Necropolis with a view</a></span></div>
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Finally, can you look at this picture of Nevada and tell me that we've got no room left?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9p3MJ-8-G5dbFE3W_42lIUItVSTim0miB6VXF5bvpeZBRR70D8FXavi8CTyJhlX9Gu-wNTVQwXBIeRTiThIBwswlLsajixcz2w9m6mODdC2r6b9q5RhU234k7YcQ01KbFe3Tk_IMx-iQF/s1600-h/Pahrump_Nevada_aerial.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial funeral ideas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9p3MJ-8-G5dbFE3W_42lIUItVSTim0miB6VXF5bvpeZBRR70D8FXavi8CTyJhlX9Gu-wNTVQwXBIeRTiThIBwswlLsajixcz2w9m6mODdC2r6b9q5RhU234k7YcQ01KbFe3Tk_IMx-iQF/s400/Pahrump_Nevada_aerial.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398033385195737138" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pahrump_Nevada_aerial.jpg">Aerial view of Nevada</a></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-70836033540497685362013-11-13T09:22:00.000-06:002013-11-13T13:09:21.749-06:00Making Cemeteries Relevant, Lees + Associates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Woodlands Memorial Garden</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is perhaps no more important place for the arts to have an impact than at cemeteries. Creative designs based on a deep understanding of the needs of the grieving and the stories of the departed make an enormous difference in the lasting impact and relevance of a cemetery. In order to be relevant to their families and communities, cemeteries need to create spaces and memorials designed to appeal to families, not to groundskeepers. In this series, "Making Cemeteries Relevant" I highlight the work of cemetery innovators. I am very pleased to present in this installment, the moving work of landscape architects, <a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Lees + Associates</a>, and to share a conversation with Erik Lees.</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat McNally</b>: When most people think of cemetery projects, they often envision something cold and formal. Something you may need, but wouldn’t necessarily get excited about. Your work is different. In the nature of the projects your firm has been involved in, and the responsiveness of your designs to the stories behind the grounds, and the people who will visit there, I find something very compelling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">What is it about your approach to a project that results in the very personal and human quality of the end result?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Erik Lees:</b> Our approach is collaborative. I think that is one of the reasons the cemeteries we design have a unique character and feel. Working closely with cemetery managers, sales and field workers means that we are able to capture the “site intelligence” that our firm alone could never acquire. We also strive for meaningfulness in our work, in fact it is a common refrain around our office. This means not only a direct relationship with the unique physical qualities of the cemetery, but a thorough understanding of the community, demographics and their interment and memorialization preferences and patterns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Royal Oak Green Burial Area</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>PM: </b>Your firm has been involved in many very interesting and prestigious projects. In our time here, I’d like to specifically discuss four: The Royal Oak Green Burial Area, The Woodlands Memorial Garden, the Doukhobor Commemorative Site, and the Mountain View Cemetery Masonic Area Redevelopment. Each of these projects presented unique challenges, to which creative, humane responses were made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Let’s start with the green burial area at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Royal Oak</st1:city></st1:place>. Often the idea of a green cemetery is one where a parcel of land is left to natural forces to determine what changes are made to the landscape. Often the reality, at least in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place> where the green burial movement has had its biggest impact, is an unattractive and chaotic row upon row of memorial plantings. While the deceased may have wished to have no permanent marker, survivors often feel differently. The approach at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Royal Oak</st1:city></st1:place> is different, combining a planned layout with green values. Please tell us about your approach and design parameters for this project.</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Royal Oak Green Burial Area</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>EL:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We had three primary objectives when Stephen Olson (Royal Oak Burial Park Manager) asked us to work with him on the Green Burial Area: optimize space utilization, maximize habitat value and create a rich, meaningful experience for those that choose green burial. Our approach is that green burial should not consume more land than traditional burial, so we platted the site at a density roughly equivalent to the rest of the cemetery. In this way the yield in terms of the # of graves per acre was optimized and the financial returns for the cemetery were approximately the same as for traditional burial. Each grave is planted with native shrubs and ground covers and certain graves also accommodate a native tree. This approach will see the habitat value of the green burial area meet or exceed that of the adjacent natural west coast forest. It will also create a feeling that is unique to this part of the world – further enhancing the meaning to this space. One of the challenges with green burial is the manner and method of memorialization. At</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Royal Oak</st1:place></st1:city></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">we created a series of 9 communal memorial stones in basalt where the names of those interred will be inscribed. Basalt is native to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">British Columbia</st1:place></st1:state></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">, takes a beautiful inscription and fits very well with the native plantings. This combination of materials creates a sense of place that few other cemeteries enjoy.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Royal Oak Green Burial Area</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>PM:</b> I was deeply moved by your work at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Woodlands</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Memorial</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Garden</st1:placetype></st1:place>. People who are developmentally disabled have historically been so marginalized, that there is a great satisfaction in seeing this kind of memoriaization, albeit long after the deaths of many of the commemorated residents of this facility. The integration of the old markers is particularly telling and moving. What challenges and inspirations did you find in this project?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Woodlands Memorial Garden</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>EL:</b> There were so many challenges with this project, but great projects are rarely simple!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The headstones from this 2 acre cemetery had been removed over 40 years ago, some of which were just dumped in a ravine, some were used for patio stones and a retaining wall – as sacrilegious as this may seem. Our task was to repatriate those stones to the cemetery site, but in the absence of accurate records, we were not able to definitively say where each headstone belonged, hence our decision to incorporate them in to a series of walls. The other challenge was that we only found 900 of the 3200 headstones, so we had to devise a system to acknowledge and remember all those that were buried there, not just those whose names were on the headstones we found. As with all our projects we undertook thorough research and during that process found inspiration in the history of the institution and even more so: the stories of those who lived there. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Woodlands Memorial Garden</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">One of the most compelling stories was how many of the children were housed in dormitories with windows too high to see out of. We decided to create a “window too high” and although it is far more literal than we might otherwise choose, it proved to be a very powerful icon in the garden and one around which visitors had their picture taken. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">The Woodlands Memorial Garden</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>PM:</b> The Doukhobor Commemorative Site is a site that marks a tragic period of separation, rather than the physical resting place of the families it memorializes. In this site you were able to communicate the story of a community torn apart to those intimately familiar with it, and to those who have never heard of it in a compelling and sensitive manner. It seems to me that you were also very responsive to the cultural touchstones of the Doukhobor community in this process. Please give a bit of background on the story, and tell us how this project was envisioned and completed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>EL:</b> I was drawn to this project after spending much of my early adult years in the West Kootenay area of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">British Columbia</st1:place></st1:state>. This is where the Doukhobour community settled after a long period of exile and immigration from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> and forced movement across <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>. A breakaway sect of the Doukhobours, called the Sons of Freedom, undertook varying degrees of civil disobedience in the early 1950’s. In response, the Government of BC chose to house the sons and daughters of the Sons of Freedom in New Denver – a remote mountainous community that in those days was far removed from the communities in which their parents lived. Over a 5 year period hundreds of children were housed and schooled in a facility in New Denver. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Doukhobor Commemorative Site</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Our task as designers was to create commemoration that told the story in a fair and objective manner, but also reflected the heart wrenching and long lasting effects of the event. Given their communal lifestyle and importance of sharing bread, salt and water at community tables, we created a long community table that was “broken.” The seats around the table are smaller at one end and larger at the other. The plan also included large local stones upon which the first person narratives were to be inscribed. Unfortunately, and perhaps tellingly, this part of the design was never implemented. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Doukhobor Commemorative Site</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>PM:</b> <st1:placename w:st="on">Mountain View</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Cemetery</st1:placetype> one of the most progressive and culturally responsive cemeteries in <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>. In the past, I have interviewed Cemetery Manager Glen Hodges and Artist in Residence, Paula Jardine. Now I have a new connection to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Mountain View</st1:city></st1:place> in you! <st1:city w:st="on">Mountain View</st1:city> is a cemetery that had run out of burial spaces, and as a result had lost it’s source of income and connection to the community of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Vancouver</st1:city></st1:place>. What has been accomplished there is nothing less than remarkable, and your firm has been an important part of it. The Masonic Area Redevelopment was the first of the cemetery’s 12 sections to be redeveloped, and in addition to creating more and varied interment options there, your firm created some remarkably attractive and inviting areas for people to spend time. The beauty and scale of a cemetery section is vitally important because when families feel comfortable and inspired when visiting, they will return again and again. This attachment to place is a great benefit to the survivor in continuing their relationship with the deceased, for the community, in having a sense of ownership in the cemetery, and for the financial future of the cemetery itself.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">What thoughts and concerns went into the creation of this project?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Mountain View Cemetery Masonic Area Redevelopment</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>EL:</b> You are correct in that Glen Hodges and Paula Jardine have been two of many keystones to the success of the re-development of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mountain View</st1:place></st1:city>. Our role was to lead a group of design, heritage and financial consultants in creating the re-development plan, in collaboration with Glen. One of our primary concerns was to develop a design that was not just sympathetic to the very historic Masonic Area, but to enhance it in a sensitive, yet modern way. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Mountain View Cemetery Masonic Area Redevelopment</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We approached this through two primary routes. First we were very careful to integrate the design of the columbaria, family vessels and commemorative elements with the proposed new customer service building and celebration hall. We worked closely with Sandra Moore, Architect, on the landscape around the building and she worked closely with us on the improvements in the Masonic Area. The second strategy we used was to choose materials that worked beautifully with the grey granite curbs and headstones in the area. We took a disciplined, deliberate approach to the selection of material types, colours and textures which resulted in an elegant palette of granite, basalt, concrete and andesite. Cast and extruded aluminum further integrated the cemetery re-development with the buildings.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Mountain View Cemetery Masonic Area Redevelopment</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We also wanted to be sure the columbaria were specific to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mountain View</st1:place></st1:city>, and so we designed a “rosette-less” system that is at once secure, convenient for field staff and beautiful. It also allowed us to optimize the number of interment options we were able to accommodate on the very narrow and limited road and pathways in this part of the cemetery. Collaboration with Glen and his team, combined with sensitivity to the site has led to a very meaningful and beautiful place.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">Mountain View Cemetery Masonic Area Redevelopment</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>PM:</b> Thank you for your time, Erik, and thank you for the remarkable projects your firm has created. These memorials have inspired me and I hope that they will inspire other cemeteries and firms to be more creative and responsive in their work. I invite my readers to visit Lees + Associates on the <a href="http://www.elac.bc.ca/">web</a> to view more of their projects.</span><br />
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<b>For more of the articles in this series, visit:</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ff6600;"><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2010/06/columbarium-galleries-and-cemetery.html" style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;">Columbarium Galleries and Cemetery Sculpture Gardens: Making Cemeteries Relevant, Part 4</a></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><b style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ff6600;"><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2010/03/bicycles-and-cemeteries-making.html" style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;">Bicycles and Cemeteries: Making Cemeteries Relevant, Part 3</a></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><b style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #46ff15; font-size: small; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #46ff15; font-size: small; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/08/japanese-cemeteries-fill-up-while.html" style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ff6600;">While American Cemeteries Become Irrelevant</span></b></span></span></a></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-6685394373103100492013-11-12T05:00:00.000-06:002013-11-12T10:20:15.719-06:00Has There Ever Been a More Beautiful Funeral? A Gem from 'Yorkshire Pudding'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<content artist="" arts="" ashes="" buddhist="" burial="" cemetery="" corpse="" cremation="" cross="" cultural="" culture="" customs="" death="" eco="" funeral="" greens="" grief="" hindu="" home="" ideas="" living="" memorial="" name="KEYWORDS" natural="" new="" of="" ritual="" scattering="" service="" template="" understanding="" with=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3uUwgMNfPlaX30B2pR35psAdvxCglFqPlDXXtN9BrODvDfIcUHQ6uWKj47H-0vN5vJsSsQI7LQFsItDf5qSVujDHznTG117pUFzBTzBOwo0lc44JeBwma6OISEqW1xmL9VD5u7R60935/s1600/At+The+Island.jpg"><img alt="Irish Death" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490469980649314946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3uUwgMNfPlaX30B2pR35psAdvxCglFqPlDXXtN9BrODvDfIcUHQ6uWKj47H-0vN5vJsSsQI7LQFsItDf5qSVujDHznTG117pUFzBTzBOwo0lc44JeBwma6OISEqW1xmL9VD5u7R60935/s400/At+The+Island.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></content><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Participation in funeral rites is one of the most powerful and healing things we can do and witness when we lose someone we love. Individual participation can take the form of placing a note in the casket, sprinkling ashes on the sea or selecting music for the service. Community participation can take the form of a wake or a public procession. However, as this following <a href="http://beefgravy.blogspot.com/2010/07/we-buried-him-in-isolated-rural.html">excerpt</a> from the 'Yorkshire Pudding' blog shows so eloquently, there is nothing quite like engaging in the hard physical work of digging out a place in the earth and carrying a loved one to their place of rest, or the timeless gift of sharing a word or song with family and friends at the grave. My heartfelt thanks to YP, for allowing me to share the beautiful story of his brother Paul’s burial in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">County Clare</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8psridWLE8w4oHFZm77SSWLZwtW8LeKtmARTiq48x5VuPoJJ_On2Pt8tTkP3JF_b1mbFAEDsAYrTaNJRJrWmnxvG2PopRpAVWRVwfA7DzFFghun7t8CIgR3iFY6K9iIuBo0o4Q2X_SNW/s1600/Paul+at+Katie%27s+wedding+3.jpg"><img alt="Irish death memorial" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490469898791516530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8psridWLE8w4oHFZm77SSWLZwtW8LeKtmARTiq48x5VuPoJJ_On2Pt8tTkP3JF_b1mbFAEDsAYrTaNJRJrWmnxvG2PopRpAVWRVwfA7DzFFghun7t8CIgR3iFY6K9iIuBo0o4Q2X_SNW/s400/Paul+at+Katie%27s+wedding+3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
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<b>Paul</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">We buried him in an isolated rural cemetery that is known locally as "The Island" - probably because that little hummock of a hill was once surrounded by swampy ground. As is the tradition, only male family members carried the coffin. Feeling his weight on my right shoulder was a wonderful discomfort.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">He had known each of the gravediggers. They had prepared a hole some five feet deep, snug against the limestone boundary wall with a huge pile of Clare soil beside it in what has been one of western <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s driest years.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">Ned Crosby, the priest, who also knew Paul personally, said the customary religious words by the grave. And then everybody applauded my dead brother. By the stunted hawthorn bush where an ancient chapel once stood, musicians played familiar tunes on fiddles, concertinas and pipes with Paul's daughter, Katie, accompanying on her wooden flute.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">All was quiet and then an old friend called Michael stood on a rock with his chin raised slightly to the sky and with great passion recited in Irish Gaelic a famous poem called "Pearse's Lament". Roughly translated, it begins:-</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Grief on the death, it has blackened my heart:</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia;">lt has snatched my love and left me desolate,</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia;">Without friend or companion under the roof of my house</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia;">But this sorrow in the midst of me, and I keening.</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As I walked the mountain in the evening</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia;">The birds spoke to me sorrowfully,</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia;">The sweet snipe spoke and the voiceful curlew</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia;">Relating to me that my darling was dead.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtqvDFBsjGtvMY7Ug5a0kBx-Cxi4P4lsJ4wOqI4zMTUUypFdOAxfdaDV4nBa6f4XSZ6hT60HcZZXsnZEVE7d2_RoGslKctIvz2FLlKuR689UHXSg15YQW8lxkKKZlo1DCZUEPAyTbZZXI/s1600/Earth+to+earth+for+Paul+June+30th+2010.jpg"><img alt="Irish Death" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490469832992332482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtqvDFBsjGtvMY7Ug5a0kBx-Cxi4P4lsJ4wOqI4zMTUUypFdOAxfdaDV4nBa6f4XSZ6hT60HcZZXsnZEVE7d2_RoGslKctIvz2FLlKuR689UHXSg15YQW8lxkKKZlo1DCZUEPAyTbZZXI/s400/Earth+to+earth+for+Paul+June+30th+2010.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">At the end Michael wove in some few Spanish words which connected <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s freedom struggle with the battles of Spanish republicans before the second world war - "Viva la quinta brigada! No passaran! Adelante!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">People began to drift away. Some stood amongst the graves exchanging thoughts about Paul. I took a handful of earth from the pile and threw it on top of his coffin. Soon the gravediggers removed the flowers and began their timeless task, quietly filling in the hole where Paul will rest forever - well not really Paul but his human remains - that same wax model I reflected on in "Hands".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was the best of days and the worst of days. Has there ever been a more beautiful funeral? I doubt it. I was filled with pride for my lost brother who was so loved by the people of Clare - the old and the young, rich and poor, intellectual and moronic, pub landlords and priests. Although he was only sixty two, he lived his life to the full with such goodness in his soul. By far, I am not the only one who will never forget him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS6zSYcz4IPh0tedj0H-DbBheBtKfiAr5rQDQRA1-ZNLxv47f6Hd-5x35VCLfMmX9cQPmgKvoxhBlNEOEozfWweSvqYPsaWkTgNWiUWNEZ69tNwds3MiSRkCKHxxDGfMu9y8SaC6bqo6U/s1600/Me+April+2010.png"><img alt="Irish death" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490469738082668834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS6zSYcz4IPh0tedj0H-DbBheBtKfiAr5rQDQRA1-ZNLxv47f6Hd-5x35VCLfMmX9cQPmgKvoxhBlNEOEozfWweSvqYPsaWkTgNWiUWNEZ69tNwds3MiSRkCKHxxDGfMu9y8SaC6bqo6U/s400/Me+April+2010.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 220px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 179px;" /></a><br />
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<b>'YP'</b></div>
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<b>All photos and text used by permission. For more wonderful Yorkshire Pudding, visit the blog at </b><a href="http://beefgravy.blogspot.com/">http://beefgravy.blogspot.com/</a><b> </b></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-53475546702439893152013-11-11T05:00:00.000-06:002013-11-11T14:41:59.828-06:00The End<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Many of us compare our lives to the movies. We would like to have the meaning, the excitement, a clear story line, and an ending that, if not glowingly happy, at least is satisfying in resolving all of life's loose ends. As a funeral director, I work with families to make the ending of a life to be more than an abrupt stop. Funeral and memorials services, if done with thought and care, can remind us of why we have watched and enjoyed the show of this life for this long. Hopefully, after a good funeral we can go away with a bit of the glow and feeling resolution that we leave the cinema with. </div>
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FQwmPR7k0eXgdr-6lGRJhV72y0hxXbD2sOvD3rIohm2xEWCmjuqoCDfqRGpFkVzNBvJgC85vtNmrbDakg6QmBDkL4IbE9SjCpJqEWLuS3VpJ86yJvIaUXLMOFTGWTWd2be2i3m5pK8AS/s400/end6.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290897366773831506" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/</span></a></div>
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Artist Dill Pixels has photographed a series of end frames from many movies. The complete set can be seen on his flickr page <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/"><span style="font-size: 85%;">http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/</span></a> . I would highly recommend paging through his extensive collection. You may be surprised by the warm feeling that comes over you</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKkifkui6IEypD2iwRtnHy3Qv-VBYFS9j0gA-MEwQclk0Ku7U1oGgSqFD5KfKtOCQ8iHrkmZygppxbwOuzTRDgG7wVUJsTSbJ_a4n3WbhSXP2T5DU_hV3NHLQ6SnbNXPWxnzlMrTwiD3C/s1600-h/end5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKkifkui6IEypD2iwRtnHy3Qv-VBYFS9j0gA-MEwQclk0Ku7U1oGgSqFD5KfKtOCQ8iHrkmZygppxbwOuzTRDgG7wVUJsTSbJ_a4n3WbhSXP2T5DU_hV3NHLQ6SnbNXPWxnzlMrTwiD3C/s400/end5.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290896783218564146" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 292px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FpDY9OcfieQ8AyaLsHBLj80ozlxuC2cA7P9rvPp1YBdwBCjbA8rhhl6t4FgL-x3EwdwV5Ymw1Oml0j4QHmqUJahIG8l5JRJb3nA6JsL8UIjgY7PB4s_jPLuyRfZ_cJQvGxhHsG9Oh6QW/s1600-h/end4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3FpDY9OcfieQ8AyaLsHBLj80ozlxuC2cA7P9rvPp1YBdwBCjbA8rhhl6t4FgL-x3EwdwV5Ymw1Oml0j4QHmqUJahIG8l5JRJb3nA6JsL8UIjgY7PB4s_jPLuyRfZ_cJQvGxhHsG9Oh6QW/s400/end4.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290896777474500434" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 246px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvT3Zb6EJkVRXhZt7BFtg16LEbhebtz8jVY4WYxCalLwfV-UVvUGt1TSap4-6p3uOsckwaNSz5qUUoDRHiMBA1h_gNjP6h3vdWs-CoGUdN0F9qQjKnaofn_E40lfwE13wOM_L8WxObwtV7/s1600-h/end3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvT3Zb6EJkVRXhZt7BFtg16LEbhebtz8jVY4WYxCalLwfV-UVvUGt1TSap4-6p3uOsckwaNSz5qUUoDRHiMBA1h_gNjP6h3vdWs-CoGUdN0F9qQjKnaofn_E40lfwE13wOM_L8WxObwtV7/s400/end3.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290896776025145746" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 230px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://flickr.com/photos/djll/sets/72157608369709836/</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXspxf6vl3BszFvOK8xhiu0alXOpC6zMZzcXEjjYMvr5-jy6_g1M5kXia0Y-LBRmXlqOLTh4sctMGfhrjk61tn4EL57xNIRHeyI12cEjjQGM2mRimwr1U1THpDTXyF069oTbjmBGxHQ7_/s1600-h/end2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXspxf6vl3BszFvOK8xhiu0alXOpC6zMZzcXEjjYMvr5-jy6_g1M5kXia0Y-LBRmXlqOLTh4sctMGfhrjk61tn4EL57xNIRHeyI12cEjjQGM2mRimwr1U1THpDTXyF069oTbjmBGxHQ7_/s400/end2.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290896771461743058" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 299px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/12/2"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/12/2</span></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIwq2Yge6uSZFe5pJITjffF6N4endwCC-WXV9BRX6WRvhoGAhIIKWtHRCUUSgUxHJvi0BSh_Sr35fGwvznne8w1vzqVnIqQsfMBn4EsoiU1jdFdtKNhSkfuiBMthe2AiFICxc28C-YRbn/s1600-h/end1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIwq2Yge6uSZFe5pJITjffF6N4endwCC-WXV9BRX6WRvhoGAhIIKWtHRCUUSgUxHJvi0BSh_Sr35fGwvznne8w1vzqVnIqQsfMBn4EsoiU1jdFdtKNhSkfuiBMthe2AiFICxc28C-YRbn/s400/end1.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290896766046516370" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 302px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;"> </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/12/2"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/12/2</span></a><br />
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-25581773554213022792013-11-10T08:53:00.000-06:002013-11-10T10:08:53.121-06:00Art and Death intersect in Ghana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">February 2009</span></i> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzqlU08FNWbeYJMIAb7lGBBHvM8yttt2sVoDS0I-xREkOjAc1H79gTxzwleOpULjWIjp_FmPWSIqZcTfRgABAhKrvnb54aNonEL24VxkJmETcHrr5Ptqy0m7UDtKHv96b4pMTzMRPoIK8/s1600-h/OBr_meltingmen.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299889091403876402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzqlU08FNWbeYJMIAb7lGBBHvM8yttt2sVoDS0I-xREkOjAc1H79gTxzwleOpULjWIjp_FmPWSIqZcTfRgABAhKrvnb54aNonEL24VxkJmETcHrr5Ptqy0m7UDtKHv96b4pMTzMRPoIK8/s400/OBr_meltingmen.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 314px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.olafbreuning.com/">http://www.olafbreuning.com/</a></span><a href="http://www.olafbreuning.com/"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Melting theme caskets commissioned by Olaf Breuning</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Believe it or not, the three sculptures above are functional caskets. Artist Olaf Breuning commissioned this set of three caskets from Ghanaian artisans in 2004. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The idea for these caskets, in the shapes of a snowman, an ice cream bar, and a chocolate bar, didn't just come from the artist himself, though he designed them and oversaw their construction. The tradition of fanciful and fantastic caskets has been growing in Ghana for some 50 years. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWLRltnGaZ1xq7u-nzOW2fML6bSZbLpX9eU2m0Ha_VkD224idY49oetn1hacnjuHMdOQz-WO6N0sxyFF8c3o_XMSWxpElggGKWryCMT3AN06eT2I5XXsSUlTRHfY8phq42g8CvQJCcwu9/s1600-h/olaf5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299888946728219202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWLRltnGaZ1xq7u-nzOW2fML6bSZbLpX9eU2m0Ha_VkD224idY49oetn1hacnjuHMdOQz-WO6N0sxyFF8c3o_XMSWxpElggGKWryCMT3AN06eT2I5XXsSUlTRHfY8phq42g8CvQJCcwu9/s400/olaf5.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 366px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html">http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html</a></span><a href="http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Journalist Nicky Barranger explains the phenomenon of these fantastic caskets in this excerpt from an article on BBC:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"Isaac Adjetey Sowah is the manager of the family business his grandfather started. And at only 22 he has seen it all and he has made it all. Coffins crafted as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens, roosters, leopards, lions, canoes, cocoa beans and several elephants. It seems there is nothing Isaac's company would not consider. Mercedes and Cadillacs are very popular he tells me. 'Dignity and status'</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But if the designs are fanciful, the business of death is taken very seriously indeed. And the final journey on this earth has to be marked with as much dignity and status as can be mustered. Isaac and his team of carpenters work with many different types of wood in the open-air workshop. One employee is crafting a cocoa bean, another is chiseling the fine details of a complicated pineapple design. Many of their clients want to bury loved ones in something that reflects their trade. Even if that means being buried in a Coca-Cola bottle....</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsaYPnwRYqCdiElTtJXrRtlDDxkGzrwl5Q1KMd3-dFa6lzJtXj67vSXidWEVPrYCGLmq55zksMr5qGS9H0t5q0JUpb2YsAQtpkwW_zEQXR2RoD3TWc0ok3i65iA5Gm7FPdD-8AzgASEea/s1600-h/snow1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299888946574456402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGsaYPnwRYqCdiElTtJXrRtlDDxkGzrwl5Q1KMd3-dFa6lzJtXj67vSXidWEVPrYCGLmq55zksMr5qGS9H0t5q0JUpb2YsAQtpkwW_zEQXR2RoD3TWc0ok3i65iA5Gm7FPdD-8AzgASEea/s400/snow1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 246px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span></a><a href="http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html</span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Here we see Breuning's snowman in its early stages</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">...Perhaps surprisingly, this is a new tradition. It has only been around for about 50 years.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The story goes that in the first half of last century one Ata Owoo was well-known for making magnificent chairs to transport the village chief on poles or the shoulders of minions. When Owoo had finished one particularly elaborate creation, an eagle, a neighbouring chief wanted one too, this time in the shape of a cocoa pod. A major crop in Ghana. However, the chief next door died before the bean was finished and so it became his coffin. Then in 1951, the grandmother of one of Owoo's apprentices died. She had never been in an aeroplane, so he built her one for her funeral. And a tradition was born."</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">for the full article and pictures of many traditional designs, visit</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4196011.stm" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4196011.stm</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKS1g3q7rQyhNyggf1tzKzcYYDu2imXyTFTOFPrnSYRljCx5Gyyn6KQ28d4fo-qCiLapiHBa663WIlPoZLoT7cRErXixN6iwiz0KdlyueLH-HQu5SEUoOk0PqELC_19SCbkuDRgPSmBIKq/s1600-h/ice1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299888945553960722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKS1g3q7rQyhNyggf1tzKzcYYDu2imXyTFTOFPrnSYRljCx5Gyyn6KQ28d4fo-qCiLapiHBa663WIlPoZLoT7cRErXixN6iwiz0KdlyueLH-HQu5SEUoOk0PqELC_19SCbkuDRgPSmBIKq/s400/ice1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html</span></span></a><a href="http://www.eshopafrica.com/gallery/coffins/olafbreuning.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here, the lid of Breuning's ice cream bar casket is constructed</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8LJAi91-aBik636j8jo7VDfn6GcDhSFalW2BgCwUND3B78KWqGPA3Pmhny3lWFrlndX6oX2AKZdwhBTL1XsPTSgWX1HGoJ12zSHgWyG5hrw0bf-uFL6YSlZxKNUanG_OkB8XGFWyC4WA/s1600-h/coffin+book.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299885789239684114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf8LJAi91-aBik636j8jo7VDfn6GcDhSFalW2BgCwUND3B78KWqGPA3Pmhny3lWFrlndX6oX2AKZdwhBTL1XsPTSgWX1HGoJ12zSHgWyG5hrw0bf-uFL6YSlZxKNUanG_OkB8XGFWyC4WA/s400/coffin+book.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500278393/cordelinetwebstu"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500278393/cordelinetwebstu</span></span></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500278393/cordelinetwebstu"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">The cover of Thierry Seretan's book on Ghanaian caskets shows a procession with a more traditional Ghanaian casket in the shape of a lion</span></span></div>
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The Ghanaian caskets have been the subject of many articles, museum exhibitions, and a book by Thierry Secretan. Mr. Breuning and Ghanaian locals haven't been the only ones to order caskets from these craftsman. As the Fair Trade E Shop Africa site notes, custom caskets have been commissioned by private individuals, an British automobile magazine, and museums around the world. </div>
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In funeral service these days, we hear a lot of buzz about personalized services and products. Certainly these caskets go a step or two beyond a hobby themed corner on a standard casket. We'll have to wait and see just how many of these caskets end up in the ground, and how many end up in art galleries. More important, perhaps, is understanding the statements artists are making with these caskets. They are exploring changes in how we as individuals approach and control the context, trappings and meanings of our own deaths. This exploration can take frivolous or more earnest paths. Nevertheless, the process of examining our concepts of death, and having a hand in the rituals that follow it can help to make not only our deaths, but our lives more meaningful. Recently, in conjunction with<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> the Ik R.I.P. exhibition, which can be visited through April 12, 2009, Amsterdam arts organization <a href="http://www.mediamatic.net/index.php?lang=en">Mediamatic</a> ordered a custom-crafted casket for graphic designer Anuschka Linse in the shape of a teddy bear. Ms. Linse's design may or may not be what you would like to be buried in, but it challenges us all to rethink our relationship with our own deaths. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQab2upj-zbobx5XJDUfPOt0sVJLfNcDxbH0AgrGhU3TU5jfVR5z7ArYQDlN3dzCiu_lBhgGhokOEAO-P9ka4bJOgQQOWKjRVSarS_ERUycONxyjYHH9Kg2aPXSQOeJlcfvjBM3K3ojuh/s1600-h/tb2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299852666420363394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQab2upj-zbobx5XJDUfPOt0sVJLfNcDxbH0AgrGhU3TU5jfVR5z7ArYQDlN3dzCiu_lBhgGhokOEAO-P9ka4bJOgQQOWKjRVSarS_ERUycONxyjYHH9Kg2aPXSQOeJlcfvjBM3K3ojuh/s400/tb2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 109px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Ms. Linse's original design</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Here is an excerpt from Mediamatic about the IK R.I.P. Show: </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mediamatic encourages you to think about death. It may not be a happy topic, but it is important nonetheless. Besides arranging your funeral, obtaining a life insurance and drafting your will it can be useful to think about what you leave behind in the online world. You may have a profile on Mediamatic.net and other networks, perhaps you write a blog or chat with people who live on the other side of the world. What happens to all those affairs if you suddenly pass away?</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The exhibition focuses on the relation between death, identity and self-expression. We will display coffins from Ghana, designed by the Ga tribe. These coffins take on the shape of a fish, football or pineapple, depending on the job, hobby or favorite food of the dead person! Mediamatic also ordered a coffin that will be specially designed for us.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en">http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en</a></span><a href="http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Casket in the early stages of construction</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.mediamatic.net/page/67706/en</span></a></span></div>
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for more information, visit</span></span></span></span></a></td></tr>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-61255871042564923342013-11-09T09:32:00.000-06:002013-11-09T13:17:10.588-06:00Grace Before Dying: Interview with Photographer Lori Waselchuk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover of Ms. Waselchuck's upcoming book, Grace Before Dying</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">A life sentence in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Louisiana</st1:state></st1:place> means life. More than 85% of the 5,100 inmates imprisoned at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Angola</st1:country-region></st1:place> are expected to die there. Until the hospice program was created in 1998, prisoners died mostly alone in the prison hospital. Their bodies were buried in shoddy boxes in numbered graves at the prison cemetery. But the nationally recognized program, run by one staff nurse and a team of inmate volunteers, has changed that.</span> </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">Now, when a terminally ill inmate is too sick to live among the general prison population, he is transferred to the hospice ward. Here, inmate volunteers work closely with hospital and security staff to care for the patient. The volunteers, most of whom are serving life sentences themselves, try to keep him as comfortable as possible. Then, during the last days of the patient's life, the hospice staff begins a 24-hour vigil. The volunteers go to great lengths to ensure that their fellow inmate does not die alone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p>The hospice volunteers' efforts to create a tone of reverence for the dying and the dead have touched the entire prison population. Prison officials say that the program has helped to transform one of the most violent prisons in the South into one of the least violent maximum-security institutions in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p>The hospice volunteers must go through a difficult process to bury their own regrets and fears, and unearth their capacity to love. Grace Before Dying looks at how, through hospice, inmates assert and affirm their humanity in an environment designed to isolate and punish.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p>Lori Waselchuk is a documentary photographer whose photographs have appeared in magazines and newspapers worldwide including Newsweek, LIFE, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. She has produced photographs for several international aid organizations including CARE, the UN World Food Program, Médecins Sans Frontières, and The Vaccine Fund. -<a href="http://gracebeforedying.org/intro.html">Grace Before Dying</a></span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Patrick McNally:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Ms. Waselchuk, thank you so much for sharing your moving work and your thoughts on The Daily Undertaker. Your photos tell the story of the transformative effect that the hospice program at Angola Prison has had on dying prisoners and those involved in caring for them. It’s difficult for me to think of a situation that on its face is more depressing, or one that is ultimately more uplifting, inspiring and life affirming. Certainly we all have much to learn from this story about humanity and what we stand to gain by serving others. What parts of this story were you most inspired and compelled to share with your photographs?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wEmDeMHtJpzGPDOZxWFHDLQuDNEYEl7yuWL3qiTTRdhU1NSgmpWQC6r9k3UrBhVaWvpKbnFm4N3Agk372TsXNrJ8WN2uUw5nednGIYiKtD0mY9YR7Hrg-cqSFXysNhlZQjItTIKyqgdI/s1600/Waselchuk_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wEmDeMHtJpzGPDOZxWFHDLQuDNEYEl7yuWL3qiTTRdhU1NSgmpWQC6r9k3UrBhVaWvpKbnFm4N3Agk372TsXNrJ8WN2uUw5nednGIYiKtD0mY9YR7Hrg-cqSFXysNhlZQjItTIKyqgdI/s400/Waselchuk_02.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lori Waselchuk:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I am inspired by the journey these men have made. Most of the incarcerated hospice volunteers have lived very painful lives and have inflicted great pain on others. Their story shows me that we need not define ourselves by our worst acts. Their work in hospice isn’t about fixing the past, it is about the recognition that they can help others, even in an environment constructed to isolate and punish. I continue to be inspired by their ability to wrestle with their regrets as well as their fears in order to show great love and compassion for others. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPQiOCFFDm_92mjojLhHj59bs2BAu2oaZpAHZ6qhz5INoQYCjCK-z7O0ErJ8PPfSWB8qF5JO7vY2DdMliKNYP-o0x9OSF4U-wKYjhdAxyWEWAK7YSqteJ972PcUwjHQ5m7yMqJDA2kk9V/s1600/Waselchuk_15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPQiOCFFDm_92mjojLhHj59bs2BAu2oaZpAHZ6qhz5INoQYCjCK-z7O0ErJ8PPfSWB8qF5JO7vY2DdMliKNYP-o0x9OSF4U-wKYjhdAxyWEWAK7YSqteJ972PcUwjHQ5m7yMqJDA2kk9V/s400/Waselchuk_15.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">PM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> What kinds of challenges did you face in gaining access and building the trust necessary to create this project? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC84b3ia69uinVisPTX2X_fxO8TTwJsX_rZObAEwaJybik1K-iVOkM8dNTKtLen3PxL1n11P7pOGgDKU2Jkhzq6KPUgfU2fuxYjVRiPsKUJy0UxqZ4owbgQBFON5-Lf9yvvWdQ7aRguzpZ/s1600/Waselchuk_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC84b3ia69uinVisPTX2X_fxO8TTwJsX_rZObAEwaJybik1K-iVOkM8dNTKtLen3PxL1n11P7pOGgDKU2Jkhzq6KPUgfU2fuxYjVRiPsKUJy0UxqZ4owbgQBFON5-Lf9yvvWdQ7aRguzpZ/s400/Waselchuk_16.jpg" width="396" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">LW:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I was initially given access because I was commissioned to do a story about the hospice for Imagine <st1:state w:st="on">Louisiana</st1:state>, a small magazine dedicated to covering philanthropy in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Louisiana</st1:state></st1:place>. Once published, I knew I wanted more time to tell a deeper story about the program. I asked for permission to continue photographing the hospice program. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The challenge was access, not trust. Access to work as a photographer in a prison depends on cooperation from security personnel and leadership. It also requires extra resources and time from those departments, so I am very grateful for each visit that the prison staff organized for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Trust is the most essential tool a journalist or documentary photographer can have. I am also grateful for the openness and generosity shown me from the volunteers and prison staff. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIFsJKgJvB7tOZiwJ9lAsPaY6E91vbtvdkkFqTAGRE_oG_gJd2qcGF-4QIQ_jEiCCmRhQcCKd2tggXe8RHpHsvILkLEfjV_yZXGCfIF6_vtTsEzLX8pl_Uzx5YGX_VREpTQ2QIxdmM4mr/s1600/Waselchuk_18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIFsJKgJvB7tOZiwJ9lAsPaY6E91vbtvdkkFqTAGRE_oG_gJd2qcGF-4QIQ_jEiCCmRhQcCKd2tggXe8RHpHsvILkLEfjV_yZXGCfIF6_vtTsEzLX8pl_Uzx5YGX_VREpTQ2QIxdmM4mr/s400/Waselchuk_18.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">PM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> We all die. This can be something that unites us and offers us an opportunity to show compassion, providing an act of love that cannot be returned by the recipient, but that hopefully can be ‘paid forward’ so that we in turn are shown compassion in our last hours. If involvement in this kind of care provides the prisoners with an opportunity to renew or regain a part of their humanity, can it also be said that those of us on the ‘outside’ for whom the care of the dead has been delegated to medical and quasi medical professionals, that for us there has been a loss of a part of our humanity?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNNWBaXqlzTc83ks3Ekq59a_FE6YP7aM984U7eBa5f0cTCd4I3ahvbouEhXQSWdFZk_BTs-_NV-LBtQtnJ1OKUJI0eeWLdcPsCSPCBv3taGF-tUut0WdMe5EVglGeyN-y3JH5YWucAJAP/s1600/Waselchuk_31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNNWBaXqlzTc83ks3Ekq59a_FE6YP7aM984U7eBa5f0cTCd4I3ahvbouEhXQSWdFZk_BTs-_NV-LBtQtnJ1OKUJI0eeWLdcPsCSPCBv3taGF-tUut0WdMe5EVglGeyN-y3JH5YWucAJAP/s400/Waselchuk_31.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">LW:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> In watching the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Angola</st1:country-region></st1:place> prison hospice volunteers sit with and care for their patients, I learned that their compassion not only benefits the patients, but also resonates throughout the prison. The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Angola</st1:place></st1:country-region> prison hospice volunteers work four-hour shifts to stay with a patient. I spent a lot of time just sitting with the dedicated volunteers. I became conscious of the beauty of simply sitting with another person, whether in conversation or silence. I felt awakened by that simple act – how it demonstrates love; and how that love comforts not just the dying man and his family, but the prison community at large. It was enormously powerful to witness. We truly need each other. Death connects all of us. And sometimes it can help us recognize our shared humanity. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">PM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I imagine that the loss of ‘humanity’ that is experienced by prisoners has as much to do with the humiliations and degradations that are part of their punishment, and a mechanism to survive in a hostile and dangerous environment as it has to do with the antisocial nature of their crimes. While I don’t propose that violent criminals should be allowed to roam free, not compelled to face the consequences of their actions, how can anyone benefit from the dehumanization of convicts? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NFKI9zD8PQRuhXih6rraN5XD1cIyzAIg9h-KX-zhjYTnrrRcfAtkAYKOpECX_65kM9BiWU1irNx5m1J5dI0Xcr_725bpAqxvbKiu5zFIGCIiRLB21aLrDljU6dcipWiHrOgsqghy0bcT/s1600/Waselchuk_50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NFKI9zD8PQRuhXih6rraN5XD1cIyzAIg9h-KX-zhjYTnrrRcfAtkAYKOpECX_65kM9BiWU1irNx5m1J5dI0Xcr_725bpAqxvbKiu5zFIGCIiRLB21aLrDljU6dcipWiHrOgsqghy0bcT/s400/Waselchuk_50.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">LW:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I am not sure I can answer that question for anyone else but myself because we (as in mankind) are capable of wretched inhumanity towards others. I assume that people who are cruel towards others do so thinking there is some kind of benefit for themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I don’t believe it is possible to benefit from the inhumane treatment of others, prisoners or otherwise. When I use the word ‘benefit’ I guess I mean a spiritual and/or communal benefit. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByDsxkWQqSpURZyg8I61ERiDHgCIgoGS05eww9a0XK9ezp0_VLDrSFjMSa1_XZH6F02I7Rilb50gNhDK7LX_wkUp_m0cx-dv9Xfv__ZG0TZg8rTR1o6x-C4tG1i-QEcp0OmDe1iYXTskD/s1600/Waselchuk_58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByDsxkWQqSpURZyg8I61ERiDHgCIgoGS05eww9a0XK9ezp0_VLDrSFjMSa1_XZH6F02I7Rilb50gNhDK7LX_wkUp_m0cx-dv9Xfv__ZG0TZg8rTR1o6x-C4tG1i-QEcp0OmDe1iYXTskD/s400/Waselchuk_58.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">PM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> As an artist who deals with issues of death and dying, what are your thoughts on the contribution that arts and ritual can make to the dying and to those of us left behind?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksJQHAMpeB6qhcwsbjb0g6-_0gOmRdw9unYhaiO2PhSI_3dmj6C36sAZxWP10IeEMKCk67tNx9U0Dn_vWH5bfGG4IehqacgndargZKErXXpbotRE9OR9LYuWWdZR2wPy6ymx3sDHqNzD_/s1600/Bone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksJQHAMpeB6qhcwsbjb0g6-_0gOmRdw9unYhaiO2PhSI_3dmj6C36sAZxWP10IeEMKCk67tNx9U0Dn_vWH5bfGG4IehqacgndargZKErXXpbotRE9OR9LYuWWdZR2wPy6ymx3sDHqNzD_/s400/Bone.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">LW:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> I think the role of the artist is to observe, respond and communicate. We are storytellers and interpreters and can add critical feedback in social conversations. But most art seems more difficult to access than advertising or religion. Artists will, nevertheless, always create. I will continue to look towards art to challenge my thinking and enrich my life.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Travelling Exhibition with Quilts</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b>For more information about Grace Before Dying, and Photographer, Lori Waselchuck, please visit</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://gracebeforedying.org/index.html"><b>http://gracebeforedying.org/index.html</b></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>To Purchase Ms. Waselchuck's forhtcoming book, please visit </b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.umbragegallery.com/blog/currently-available/grace-before-dying"><b>http://www.umbragegallery.com/blog/currently-available/grace-before-dying</b></a></span></span><br />
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-31828051619349145872013-11-08T07:48:00.000-06:002013-11-08T10:46:46.092-06:00Paper Lilies: Exploring Our Relationship with Death<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQsS883XWSfHlNKTwLy6VJzoenUUGEYNuW-K7QhgbDG73Y9gMmHH8GhLPS4w3-WtXJrhAXAtpZ4t5iVmrRybtCB7493KmKQx4NMeFFpJrDk8eTDK_1u8vYvYxMlA_R1pax9VseJ05UxOoL/s1600/4572480633_2c7ea3e0da_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="art and death" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQsS883XWSfHlNKTwLy6VJzoenUUGEYNuW-K7QhgbDG73Y9gMmHH8GhLPS4w3-WtXJrhAXAtpZ4t5iVmrRybtCB7493KmKQx4NMeFFpJrDk8eTDK_1u8vYvYxMlA_R1pax9VseJ05UxOoL/s400/4572480633_2c7ea3e0da_b.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Death is a constant possibility and a recurring visitor in our lives, as well as an eventual inevitability. So, what is our relationship with death? Is it something we dread and avoid, something we think about often? Is is true that death is never more than an arm-length away from us - do we carry our own death and the deaths of others around with us throughout our day-to-day lives? When we envision death, do we see it personified, a grim reaper, a skeleton?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkD8GK74qMiIuE5RRyvvXq_4hUtvWFKIN1JTxxnw_OqAjbcfx_zjN0OHkPLXdw9Y1Q6LmC19e_r6VlNPYahH_TWz-m9w4QHNCpIjNn77LXlMyOnOremJEq8axvBlQ6ovI2Yusg1E4hyphenhyphenD4/s1600/4572802628_76a3360112_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="death art ritual" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkD8GK74qMiIuE5RRyvvXq_4hUtvWFKIN1JTxxnw_OqAjbcfx_zjN0OHkPLXdw9Y1Q6LmC19e_r6VlNPYahH_TWz-m9w4QHNCpIjNn77LXlMyOnOremJEq8axvBlQ6ovI2Yusg1E4hyphenhyphenD4/s400/4572802628_76a3360112_b.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We know that our existence will change when we die; and while no one really knows what that existence will be like, our understanding of that existence effects the way we live our lives and our relationship with death.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CrrnHEbPsDotKfL_C6JErZMiIQVtk5aDTTeqrxz7O8jEVc8hrZ-NQCjyspNUIgECw_gZR29bHB1neXFeAKNYhaF_nMd5r11hQGktlpDhxeJnOm9UMoQ82oqYuev-gm6PJv2gh_Z8xZJB/s1600/4572167647_0c596cedcd_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="death photography discussion" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CrrnHEbPsDotKfL_C6JErZMiIQVtk5aDTTeqrxz7O8jEVc8hrZ-NQCjyspNUIgECw_gZR29bHB1neXFeAKNYhaF_nMd5r11hQGktlpDhxeJnOm9UMoQ82oqYuev-gm6PJv2gh_Z8xZJB/s400/4572167647_0c596cedcd_b.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are some of the thoughts that are brought to mind upon engaging with the subtle, yet powerful photography of 'Paper Lilies' photographer, Michele. Her work draws us in to a dreamlike, otherworldly reality that is at once ordinary and fantastic. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnf_0omEvvpaRm97BZbp8Hl-Cb2QBsrxof9fjfYO4C95zdeeZBQXbRhZBpg85Z8SqT9vGHcEmN8btqWeLkVDhBEWqq7gIWNfU4kmyMgesbRjVxbEnoSrBR6lD-aypw9v18Tk705QKkKlnU/s1600/4569416067_33be3a3769_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="memorial art death" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnf_0omEvvpaRm97BZbp8Hl-Cb2QBsrxof9fjfYO4C95zdeeZBQXbRhZBpg85Z8SqT9vGHcEmN8btqWeLkVDhBEWqq7gIWNfU4kmyMgesbRjVxbEnoSrBR6lD-aypw9v18Tk705QKkKlnU/s400/4569416067_33be3a3769_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Michele has gracefully agreed to share her work, and some of her thoughts on art and death with The Daily Undertaker: </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"death to me is very confusing, i don't understand it and i don't know what comes afterward, but i think that's somehow the sort of beauty in it. "</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuR5gBcHYTEZmNa4v8ZEors3Up8KhueVLfUtZZIu9v62dqh0Sox2C_h1OpCdIRwlNA21vUqp7Hr5qYdOQpExppP8VYEK2L5bQW_ODc8ueeWw5IZkJkhbLq1dGEV4tmP0hh__LvmhSWCeCn/s1600/4572167393_63d073b0b5_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="death art grief" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuR5gBcHYTEZmNa4v8ZEors3Up8KhueVLfUtZZIu9v62dqh0Sox2C_h1OpCdIRwlNA21vUqp7Hr5qYdOQpExppP8VYEK2L5bQW_ODc8ueeWw5IZkJkhbLq1dGEV4tmP0hh__LvmhSWCeCn/s400/4572167393_63d073b0b5_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"nonetheless i think death is a very interesting topic, sometimes overlooked, ignored, feared."</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDF4hvTBpE7s1is038YtfNB0TorI_6qe0bLq9onpjeXPh1xy0TVrxLm6yCPL9G2ItKHsZ7hCuExKWqEFsqe1L7_JI9Qo0x-sAmEmQZqiS0P3wOrQk2kSaiXRnji7VY2hOSC32VIP0iP13/s1600/4570002540_69661de310_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="conversation death" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDF4hvTBpE7s1is038YtfNB0TorI_6qe0bLq9onpjeXPh1xy0TVrxLm6yCPL9G2ItKHsZ7hCuExKWqEFsqe1L7_JI9Qo0x-sAmEmQZqiS0P3wOrQk2kSaiXRnji7VY2hOSC32VIP0iP13/s400/4570002540_69661de310_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"my photographs with the skeleton show a sort of desired connection to death - wanting to hold on to past loved ones, not wanting to move on." </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZZBUcvF1B7KnMFM3sSvppiZWFHGFkob8hQJlgDtZ9P7qP8ZFPWTvq8QMtAoih9Yr5WqNZ0oaZ87MrZWbWFCAW7Ogc8s2fMZVpva4d9o4No3upifToVT_xg2hpzDyp-lTN1XXKdNQ7_y9/s1600/3884686727_ba78cc20ea_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="art and death" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZZBUcvF1B7KnMFM3sSvppiZWFHGFkob8hQJlgDtZ9P7qP8ZFPWTvq8QMtAoih9Yr5WqNZ0oaZ87MrZWbWFCAW7Ogc8s2fMZVpva4d9o4No3upifToVT_xg2hpzDyp-lTN1XXKdNQ7_y9/s400/3884686727_ba78cc20ea_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"my fading portraits, however, show a very different aspect.i think we all feel like we are fading into the atmosphere a bit, like we aren't all here..or that we aren't seen. that we are fading into what could be death....an unnoticed or forgotten instance."</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU03OMZsI4eXoWHSpgMKudi85iuk-Jm8An5JcNgXXl2liqRvclNdZ_IgOPVK8Ed3-G5b-4YtZ-xAGRY1_2vr0PONx-0-rwlRbSwS8-WbT6FKMn65rufjuG5FimYt5KKnxzS7lOHZK59JaY/s1600/3890670072_2fb2700441_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="death art conversation" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU03OMZsI4eXoWHSpgMKudi85iuk-Jm8An5JcNgXXl2liqRvclNdZ_IgOPVK8Ed3-G5b-4YtZ-xAGRY1_2vr0PONx-0-rwlRbSwS8-WbT6FKMn65rufjuG5FimYt5KKnxzS7lOHZK59JaY/s400/3890670072_2fb2700441_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"my 'double exposures' are actually not double exposures at all, rather, they are just long exposures. i would have the shutter open for 30 seconds, run and sit where i was taking the photo for half of that time, then run and leave for the next, so you get this dream like, half-there-half-not effect.</b></i><b><i>" </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXpPOrr4ScFoquSlmQiQgHm8ddtE2-PqUIJAnCNT3otguw1wJo_63OuGCZmQpIqQywLc-L0JhsJcj08g-lgKNb7liWrsMgg_z9w5Ogwv_CFGYvDFEM6L1sgb8pAFxBPVblFaoeEukBLIa/s1600/3875398963_e08f766462_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="relationship with death art" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXpPOrr4ScFoquSlmQiQgHm8ddtE2-PqUIJAnCNT3otguw1wJo_63OuGCZmQpIqQywLc-L0JhsJcj08g-lgKNb7liWrsMgg_z9w5Ogwv_CFGYvDFEM6L1sgb8pAFxBPVblFaoeEukBLIa/s400/3875398963_e08f766462_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>"i think that yes, my images do have a correspondence to death in some ways,<br />
my photographs have brought me closer to the subject of death. i think it has made me less afraid of it, and more curious."</i></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHY-1ZHpo3iyDCLy2q0ighvcWK7RYPGZ_f2h0cNKz1fzLD0QPlyAp-LAE3QnCooGKR82knGxD7LZIVnSfCTDVsLbNvDP_DXJ5B_ETSgjhx53HhzbBZNf4M-2_xXV8xYcADSxA5FFDHDZY/s1600/4069811717_0915d55389_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="art death ritual" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHY-1ZHpo3iyDCLy2q0ighvcWK7RYPGZ_f2h0cNKz1fzLD0QPlyAp-LAE3QnCooGKR82knGxD7LZIVnSfCTDVsLbNvDP_DXJ5B_ETSgjhx53HhzbBZNf4M-2_xXV8xYcADSxA5FFDHDZY/s640/4069811717_0915d55389_b.jpg" width="395" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">For more of Michele's beautiful and engaging work, visit her Flickr site, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperlilies/">Paper Lilies</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">For related posts, visit </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;"><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/07/art-and-death.html" style="color: #46ff15; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Art and Death</span></a></span></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-47902891798416484762013-11-07T09:39:00.000-06:002013-11-07T12:43:41.302-06:00An Angel with a White Face<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4D9rh8OwoB9YqYvxLUGByxs0KJQrF_ucbFuv88H5qcalYusFqf-5ov5v4MuZvwbifcH227Ve0VqQ-koCKSgc_ZXWx5KUeS_Rgs9hRBpcXcCWH_V9X-9HIlYWbHWem4dR_9ZUrSZf3d3O/s1600/Martha+Davis+pic.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="church burial" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407386532043353922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4D9rh8OwoB9YqYvxLUGByxs0KJQrF_ucbFuv88H5qcalYusFqf-5ov5v4MuZvwbifcH227Ve0VqQ-koCKSgc_ZXWx5KUeS_Rgs9hRBpcXcCWH_V9X-9HIlYWbHWem4dR_9ZUrSZf3d3O/s400/Martha+Davis+pic.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 216px;" /></a><br />
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Every town has a few very interesting and eccentric characters. For any number of reasons, and often for reasons that are unknown to anyone but the people themselves, their appearance and or behavior is markedly different from the rest of us.</div>
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Local legends grow around these individuals, based on rumors and gossip, in an attempt to explain why this person is so different. Usually, the person is really not so different from the rest of us after all, and the reason behind the differences is something we'll never know for sure.</div>
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Unfortunately, these individuals are often the targets of derision and cruelty, but many are regarded with great affection by their communities as well. When they die, we realize that not only could we have been nicer to them while they were alive, but that we ourselves have missed out by not knowing them better. We notice too, that our town isn't the same; it's not as rich and interesting without their presence.</div>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTYCZ8mWSY0FfCwEtI8ZLe-tFI7TFgxbmomxlpW8Eede5V9Gq3qLujZ1phFtN6E61tTBGyY-DBfeTr8LdEyvwwHwRJdgvuoVqhZv4NyFaORASOUlH8N7ohLjrtY3m7wixH7Ea6l2MIP5J/s400/Martha+Davis+pic.jpg" /></div>
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Today, I came across the obituary of 90 year old Martha Davis of Davenport, Iowa. She was a fixture of Davenport, and known by many in the region for her very slow driving, thick white pancake makeup, wigs and gloves. She was also known by some for her sweet, generous nature and love of conversation.</div>
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The obituary, posted online at the Quad City Times has drawn many comments from readers who knew her and knew of her. Many just wanted to know why this beautiful black woman wore white makeup and covered her skin. Had there been a disfiguring accident? A skin condition? Heartbreak? A desire to appear to be a white woman? - we'll never know, and perhaps, as many comments suggest, it's not even the point.</div>
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Many readers recalled stories of being frightened as children, of cruel pranks and regret. Many share stories of kindness, grace, conversation, and love for a woman who taught them not to judge a book by it's cover. </div>
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To read the obituary and comments, visit the <a href="http://qctimes.com/app/obits/?section=profile&id=141679">Quad City Times</a> (the photo also comes courtesy of the QC Times.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTYCZ8mWSY0FfCwEtI8ZLe-tFI7TFgxbmomxlpW8Eede5V9Gq3qLujZ1phFtN6E61tTBGyY-DBfeTr8LdEyvwwHwRJdgvuoVqhZv4NyFaORASOUlH8N7ohLjrtY3m7wixH7Ea6l2MIP5J/s1600/Martha+Davis+pic.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="church burial" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407324304766133122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTYCZ8mWSY0FfCwEtI8ZLe-tFI7TFgxbmomxlpW8Eede5V9Gq3qLujZ1phFtN6E61tTBGyY-DBfeTr8LdEyvwwHwRJdgvuoVqhZv4NyFaORASOUlH8N7ohLjrtY3m7wixH7Ea6l2MIP5J/s400/Martha+Davis+pic.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 216px;" /></a>For the story behind Mrs. Davis, reporter, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/bwundram@qctimes.com.">Bill Wundram</a> has been kind enough to allow me to use excerpts from his November 22 article <a href="http://www.qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/bill-wundram/article_bef5ad88-d72b-11de-9e3b-001cc4c03286.html">'The Woman in the White Face'</a>.</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She was known not by her name, but by her face. For 50 years she was “the powder puff lady,” or “the clown woman,” or more starkly, the woman who always wore a white face.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She puzzled most everyone, but was a gentle friend to many. However and whatever, she was the Quad-Cities’ most unique personality.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now, Martha Davis of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Davenport</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is dead at 90.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">True to her wishes, she was laid to rest Saturday with her face in white makeup.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She was an enigma. Martha was a black woman who chose to cover her face in heavy white makeup. It was so thick that it often looked like white pancake batter was spread over her face. She would not bare her hands. Always, even on the hottest summer days, she wore white gloves.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She would shop at Walgreen’s or Aldi in white makeup, wearing one of her assortment of wigs — some flowing black, some curly, often an outrageous blonde. Often, her white cheeks were rouged in bright red. People stared, usually shocked, but Martha would shrug them off as if nothing about her was unusual.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Even after talking to dozens of people, mostly relatives, the reason for Martha’s white makeup is not clear. The riddle was buried with her Saturday at </span></span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Oakdale</span></span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cemetery</span></span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, after services at </span></span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Bethel</span></span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><st1:placename st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">AME</span></span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><st1:placetype st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Church</span></span></st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, </span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Davenport</span></span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">FAMILY MEMBERS agree that they don’t know why she chose to look white. They say it was her secret. One says it began in the late 1950s. Of all the reasons, the most logical one comes from her niece, Darlene: “She always wanted to be an angel. Angels are white, and that’s what she wanted to be, an angel.” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Martha’s sister, Lula Rose of </span></span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Rock Island</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, says, “She just liked to do it; that’s what she wanted.” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Those who knew her said that despite eccentricities, she was a good neighbor, a kindly person who loved to talk endlessly on the phone. One remembers seeing her, about 1990, at the old Fun Shop in </span></span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Davenport</span></span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. She was buying makeup.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Her niece, Darlene, says, “Aunt Martha always said, ‘Promise, put me away right.’ ”</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Darlene says she was put away right, in smooth white makeup and wearing a frosted blonde wig.</span></span></span></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-18178326252895452802013-11-06T07:00:00.000-06:002013-11-06T11:38:31.507-06:00Dressing the Dead: An interview with Designer Pia Interlandi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pia Interlandi is a fashion designer, artist, funeral celebrant and teacher based in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Melbourne</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Her work, often incorporating ideas of death, ritual and transformation, is varied, thoughtful and benefited by a great depth of research and experience. I am very pleased to be able to share Ms. Interlandi’s work and a conversation with her on The Daily Undertaker:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Patrick McNally:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> Clothing is very important to our sense of self. We express our membership in certain social and religious groups as well as our own personal tastes and unique qualities through our clothing. What does the choice of clothing made specifically for burial say about the person who chooses to wear it? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">Pia Interlandi</span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">: There are (almost) no human cultures who do not engage with some sort of dressing, it is in fact one of the key determining factors in identifying humans in the history of evolution. In many ways our clothing is a second skin in which we present ourselves to the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">This is no difference for the dead. To leave one naked for burial (which is something environmentalists have enquired about), is often seen as a sign of neglect or disrespect. Whilst the dead don’t have the same requirements of clothing that the living do; warmth, protection, comfort, it is the living who require the dressing of the dead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">A person who chooses a garment created specifically for internment is in fact acknowledging the end of life as an event, a moment as important and as sacred as birth. They also carry an awareness that this will be the last garment ever worn, and will in fact carry their body through its physical afterlife, symbolically and literally merging with their body. As my garments are designed to break down and encourage decomposition (rather than preservation), the message that people who choose to wear them is one of surrendering or the giving back of their body to the environment, an acceptance and embrace of biological inevitability. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">PM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> Clothing that is designed to transform in a specific way when buried with the dead seems to have a sense of the secret about it. Those who view and those who wear it will never see the transformation take place. How do you as a designer communicate the value of this kind of garment?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PI: </span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">When designing I have undergone rigorous testing to determine the rate of fabric and fibre deterioration. Whilst these results are scientific they have meant that I can design my garments with intentional stages of transformation. I believe that these transformations, whilst indeed unseen, and therefore secret, are reassuring to the living. Knowing that there is something that will gradually unwrap the body, and reuniting it with the earth, with almost a sense of poetry, takes some of the fear out of burial. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">PM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> Most clothing used for burial is a representation of who we are in life. I have buried people in their bib overalls, in uniforms, in formal clothing, and have buried some with many different outfits. Ritual clothing is something different. The adherents of some traditions like Judaism and Later Day Saints, are dressed in special burial garments as a preparation to being presented to the divine. In a way, I see your clothing doing the same thing, only the divine in this case is the earth. What ritual meanings do you hope your clothing will have the potential of conveying? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PI: </span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">I believe that my garments offer an option that both is representative of a person’s individuality in life and also symbolize their presentation to the physical afterlife, by which, you’re right, I mean the earth. The ritual I hope to convey is one of establishing a reciprocal relationship with the environment, and the gradual absorption of the body into the landscape. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PM:</span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;"> Your Body Sculpture work creates wonderful tactile and visual representations of our bodies transforming into earth. What do you hope that viewers will take away from pondering this process and eventuality?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PI</span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">: Most people think that I have digitally altered the images, superimposing the roots, when they realise that all I have done is grown the pieces and with relatively unsophisticated methods photographed them, they experience an ‘ah’ factor. I hope that viewers will then realise and see the beauty and magnificence in the natural process of the body becoming the landscape. That in many ways we are all linked to the planet we walk on and breathe in.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">PM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> Your work as a celebrant started with dressing one of your own loved ones after death. Certainly participation in the physical acts of preparing a loved one for the grave is a wonderful opportunity for ritual and for understanding our own relationship with life, death and our loved one on a much deeper level. Do you encourage the families that you work with to also engage in this kind of activity?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PI: </span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">Absolutely. The dressing of a deceased loved one in an immensely powerful process, and whilst it may not be for everyone, I gently encourage families to participate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The first time I encountered the body of someone I knew, I was shocked at how still and cold he was. It was so clear to me in that instant that whatever it was that made him alive, be it a soul, a sprit, chi, electricity between the neurons, had gone elsewhere. I found the experience positively enlightening and one that deeply assisted with my own grieving process. His body was not scary; it was just the physical shell that he left behind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> With the dressings I have had the privilege of participating in, I have found that it is important for me to be as honest and relaxed as possible, explaining rigor and livor mortis as natural processes, and being at ease with maneuvering a person into their clothes. When families see that the body is not an object of fear or anxiety, they relax and grieve, and sit, and just be, with the person who has died. The dressing encourages touch and tenderness. One of the most beautiful moments I’ve experience in dressing occurred when the daughters of the elderly lady we were clothing all started giggling when we were shuffling her into her tights, an item of clothing their mother had not worn in years. By the time we got to choosing her lipstick they were smiling through their tears, and reminiscing about all the funny things their mother used to do. The following rosary was a much more somber event, but through the dressing they were allowed to experience a wide spectrum of emotion. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do warn families that the dead will ‘pass wind’ on occasion, but I’m yet to actually have this happen in a dressing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">PM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> Your dissolving clothing project seems to be a precursor to the burial garments, but it is also such a captivating idea in itself. Clothing that is designed to dissolve is also like a secret; invisible ink for example. We are left to wonder what was once there after the clothing has dissolved. We are also drawn to ponder the importance of the process of dissolving instead of just interacting with clothing in its new and seemingly permanent state. There are many analogies that can be drawn between our fleeting lives and the disappearing tissues of dissolving clothing. Most prominent for me is the thought that the breakdown of my body from its beginning to it’s indistinguishable state in the earth can be seen as a beautiful process, not unlike cherry blossoms falling. Can you tell us about your intentions and experiences with this work?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PI</span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">: At the time I began using dissolvable fibres within garments I was exploring concepts of fragility. Working with a cloth that would begin dissolving if your hands were too sweaty when you were sewing it, or, as I only experience once, would deteriorate if you sneezed on it, meant that as a maker I had to reassess my approach to the material. On the body it drew awareness to the mortality of the garment, which in turn made the wearer aware of their own, human, mortality and fragility. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dissolvable garments now work as a sped up version of what happens to the garment and body when buried. However, in a much more aesthetically acceptable way, which allows me to use the images as a way to communicate decomposition, without the disgust it usually conjures up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>PM:</b> The research you have engaged in, studying the transformation of different kinds of clothing through burying pigs in your garments just floors me. I have to mention here that ethical considerations were carefully addressed and approved in this work. You have done the research on this material and I admire your dedication and passion in pursuing this special knowledge. Can you share some of your motivations in engaging in this lengthy and controversial work, and tell us what you learned, and how you plan to make use of this knowledge in your future work?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">PI</span></b><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">: In 2009 RMIT supported me do a residency at SymbioticA, <span class="apple-converted-space">an </span><span class="apple-style-span">artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences, </span>with the intent to study clothing and biological tissue decomposition and interaction. I was introduced to forensic entomologist Prof. Ian Dadour and over a few months we designed a project that would investigate at the rate of textile decomposition in a natural earth burial scenario. I knew prior to starting the project that forensic research conducted in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> involved the use of pig carcasses. Donated human bodies go to medical studies and not forensics, so pigs, with their similar size and organ orientation are the next best ‘alternative’. When Ian told me the number of pigs required to get statistically significant and therefore scientifically approved results, I almost withdrew from the project.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had initially thought that we would use 3 pigs, and finding out the experimental design would include 7 digs, each recovering 3 pigs, totaling in 21. I felt overwhelmed, and after a few months of discussion with peers, I eventually negotiated with Ian that we would use pigs from the human food chain, and that they would be the pigs deemed undesirable and likely to end up in dog food. As such I would be acknowledging the lives of the pigs in a way that would not occur otherwise. To Ian’s horror, I was going to visit the pigs before their death date, to give each a name, and to thoroughly wash and anoint each with rosemary oil for remembrance, prior to the dressing and burial. I wouldn’t refer to them as ‘tissue’ or ‘carcasses’, and so each received the name of an influential person in my research. To distance myself from their deaths was counter intuitive, I wanted to be as engaged and present in the process as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The entire project, which stretched over the period of a year, has been thoroughly documented by film makers Kathy High and Cynthia White, in a film titled ‘Death Down Under’, currently in its final stages of editing. The documentary is one way in which the research will be disseminated;<b> </b>exhibition and academic publications some of the others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>PM:</b> I look forward to seeing the documentary. Thank you so much for sharing your work and your thoughts with us! For more of Ms. Interlandi’s work, visit her website</span><span style="color: #1c1c1c;">, </span><a href="http://www.piainterlandi.com/">http://www.piainterlandi.com/</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-37124879784319624742013-11-05T07:00:00.000-06:002013-11-05T13:57:08.160-06:00Beyond Goodbye: A Conversation with Jimmy Edmonds and Jane Harris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A video tribute to any promising and well loved young man is a touching experience that helps us to reflect on that which is most important in our lives. </span><u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/31956515" target="_blank">Remembering Josh</a></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, a film by bereaved parents, <a href="http://www.jimmyedmonds.com/" target="_blank">Jimmy Edmonds</a> and Jane Harris, is much more than that.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What </span><u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remembering Josh</u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> gives us, beyond an emotionally powerful montage, is a story of a family struggling to create a meaningful and appropriate service for their son, while dealing with their overwhelming and devastating grief. The fact that this family is a very creative and loving one, surrounded by other creative and loving friends makes the service for Josh an incredible experience for all involved. However, it is easy to see how even families without their capacity for artistic expression or their depth of support could take home a great deal of inspiration and practical lessons from the Edmonds’ example. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am excited to share with you a conversation with these parents, Jimmy Edmonds and Jane Harris. </span><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<b style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pat McNally: </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13;">Thank you both so much for this important film, and for sharing your thoughts on The Daily Undertaker. </span></span><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It seems that you were clear from the beginning that a conventional service just would not be fitting, meaningful, or appropriate for your son. I even got the impression that that kind of funeral would have been a disservice in your minds. What was it about the conventional that was so clearly wrong for Josh, and what kind of experience were you hoping for initially?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jimmy Edmonds:</b> The main issue was our need to celebrate Joshua’s life as much as to mourn his death. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had very little experience of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">attending let alone organizing a funeral for one so young, and really we only had examples from television and films to go on. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But I think we knew what we didn’t want and I remember expressing a fear of having to let Josh go in what I considered to be a heartless and sterile environment of the local crematorium. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It felt like we would be delivering him to some anonymous, institutionalized ritual where strangers would take care of things. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Two young police officers had brought us the news of Joshua’s death and for his body to be committed by more unknowns felt just too much – you can’t hug a policeman, neither did I feel like hugging an undertaker – it felt like the only way to properly deal with this was to gather family and friends around and share our grief, and not just for half an hour at the “crem”. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We needed more time and we needed to fill that time by doing things that would help us all come to terms with our loss.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jane Harris:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ritual was very important to me and as our 18 year old daughter Rosa said "..Josh wasn’t just ours”. I wanted to be sure that the funeral was about Josh and I wanted</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">his friends to be a large part of that ritual. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was worried that we didn’t know what form that would take but in the 11 days between our son’s death and the actual funeral it came together through a mix of our own ideas and those of our friends. And it felt right that it should take as much time as we needed on the day.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We couldn’t possibly have done it in an allocated time slot at a crematorium.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It had to be part of a longer journey of saying goodbye.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> A point in the film that was very interesting for me was your family explaining how difficult it was to pour so much energy into creating this service at a time when you had so little to spare. In several instances you express the fears you experienced that the whole thing would come off wrong or fall flat. Fortunately, that did not happen, but I imagine that this is something everyone would experience if attempting to create their own service on this scale. Creating a service like this must be very rewarding and meaningful, but also demanding and, in a sense, risky. What would you say to a family considering something like this? </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jimmy:</b> I’m not sure I worried too much about the funeral going wrong. Jane did at the time and we found out later how concerned Joe was. But without the help and advice of Su Chard, an independent celebrant who was introduced to us by some friends, the whole thing might well have ended up as a complete fiasco. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;">The main problem was that convention, as we knew it, was telling us to hold a funeral first and then organize a memorial service at some later date – that was never going to work if only because we would have been unable to accommodate all the tributes from Josh’s friends many of whom we hardly knew. I can’t remember now what the initial plans for the funeral were but what was always important was that it should be as much a celebration of life as it was a sadness for our loss and that Josh’s body should be present throughout that celebration. Another important thing was that the event should represent a journey, for Josh and for us so we began to plan the day as three distinct movements of the coffin. Loads of different ideas were flying around our kitchen table, but exactly what each section would represent remained unclear until Su reminded us what other people's expectations might be and our responsibilities to their own feelings of loss. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jane:</b> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the most important and liberating lessons for me was that there are no rules and we could do exactly what we as a family wanted to do. For example</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I know for me it was important to incorporate some kind of reference to Judaism into the day,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">from a cultural rather than religious perspective. This represented one of many threads that emerged through out the funeral day. We were also very mindful to encourage people to honour Josh in ways that felt right to THEM…….we truly wanted to share the day with others, and that in turn</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">offered us a lot of comfort. I remember feeling strong on the day despite having a broken heart and that was largely to do with the love and support of everyone present.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jimmy:</b> It's really all about accommodating a whole range of emotions that at the time feel out of control. As James Showers puts it in our film, funerals like this are “a collision of grief and happy memories”. Both he and Su helped us manage that risk by ensuring that we knew which moments were to be held as sacred and which were more celebratory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was also the important consideration of food and the fact that many people would have traveled miles and would be tired both physically and emotionally. So at the most basic level, our structure for the day was organized around the living and their need to be well fed and rested. Tired and hungry mourners are grumpy mourners and we didn’t want grumpy mourners, sad yes but not grumpy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;">So if there’s one piece of advice for others planning to organise their own funeral, it is to give a very clear indication of what the order of service will be, to make sure the event has moments of solemnity and calm as well as opportunities for laughter and celebration. And to build in very specific tea/coffee meal breaks.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> A great many people participated in Josh’s service. There were expressions of love and memories from a vast range of people who knew your son in different ways. Were hearing new stories about your son a healing experience for you? Was it a surprise to you?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jimmy:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> A surprise and a delight. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Josh had moved away from home soon after leaving school and had made a whole new set of friends in London. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But there were still many of his school friends that we didn’t know that well, so its been a real eye opener to discover not just how well loved and admired he was, but how full his life was. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And getting to know those friends of his now, all of whom carry a little of Josh with them is a great comfort. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of them as set up a website “<a href="http://postcardstojosh.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Postcards to Josh</a>” in which we can keep in touch with each other.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Jane:</b> It was remarkable to be able to get to know Josh better through the loving and often hilarious contributions of his friends. I found it gave me a lot of strength to know how loved he had been in his very short life. I also find it helpful to know that as my memories fade the film will be there to help me recall the detail and nuances of my son’s life that I never want to forget.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> There were so many ways that people were able to participate physically in the service, not only those who spoke or sang or carried the casket, nearly everyone did something. Did you intentionally create opportunities for participation? How do you think these activities shaped the service?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jimmy:</b> Definitely.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think we recognized the need that people would want to contribute in some way and that they would be able to use what ever they had to offer both as gifts to Josh, as well as part of their own healing process. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And that’s not just for those with talent as a performer. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It would have been physically impossible for us to organize an event on such a scale, and people do want to help, they need to help at times like this. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was interesting how some traditional gender roles emerged. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The women attending to flowers and candles and decorating the hall. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The men helping to build the coffin. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Personally I found the male only environment of my friends workshop where we built Josh’s coffin very stabilizing. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When Josh died I experienced some very frightening and some very unfamiliar emotions, but I was somehow aware they were kind of different from what the women were going though, and being able to share these with my male friends as we planned and built the casket was probably very important.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Jane:</b> The most central element of what we wanted to do was to share the day with as many key people from Joshua's life as was possible. I was also very struck by the different ways men and women grieve and how afraid a lot of people were about being with us. From the moment we started to organize the funeral I knew I wanted it to be a shared experience and though people were reluctant to do so initially I discovered that what they needed was permission to be themselves and once that had been understood this was easier for them and us. The difference between compassion and pity didn’t take long to become apparent and we surrounded ourselves with people who understood this.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> You decided against engaging a traditional Undertaker, but you did work with an independent one. Could you share your experience of working with this man, and tell a bit about the role he played?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><b>Jimmy:</b> It happens that we already knew James Showers, the undertaker. I had made a short film with him and got to know something of his work and his views about death and mourning. James sees his role as, in his words “helping people to reclaim their farewell”. Commercial undertakers provide a service which, in a time of great stress, we have come to believe is beyond our capabilities. But in doing so they have also robbed us of one of life’s most important encounters. What James did was to take care of the legal stuff, the administrative stuff, while supporting and encouraging us to concentrate on creating a ritual that would be meaningful and cathartic for us all. In a sense he was very “hands-off” but always there in the background. But Su Chard, the celebrant, was also important in the way she help us design what she called “a rite of passage” for Josh. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Jane:</b> James’ personal and accepting approach really helped. He was sensitive to our needs and priorities and didn’t once questioned what we were trying to do. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> The process of creating the film seems to be entwined with the service and the grief experience itself. How did this activity help or hinder your experience?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><b>Jimmy:</b> In a way making the film was about hanging on to Josh for as long as possible. On the day, I had asked a camera man and sound recordist (both friends) to record what they could of the event. They are both professionals and went virtually unnoticed. We then had to decide what we were going to do with the footage. Who should it be for? Who would want to watch it?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jane:</b> The making of the film was a huge part of the grieving process. I know that some people might think it improper to bring a camera into such a personal arena but for us as a family what matters is that we will forever have a record of Josh’s life which not only helps us to come to terms with what has happened but that can possibly help others too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">We decided to interview key people in the weeks after the funeral and that was also very therapeutic (both for us and for them). Hearing what Josh’s friends had taken from the day was heartwarming. For example one of Josh’s friends talked about it being a day that had changed her life and another said he had realized that you have to experience death to experience life. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><b>Jimmy:</b> We have now spent the last six months or so shaping that film in the edit suite. At some point during the day, I've sat down at the computer and fiddled away with the material - making this bit work a little better, changing the order here or there, putting new stuff in, taking other stuff out, but all the time being with Josh and I guess stringing out and delaying the moment of really saying goodbye. Being able to do this has been a really important part of coming to terms with his death. But making the film is only the beginning of the life of that film – and impact it has for other people and the way it then helps me is yet to be seen. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Jane:</b> I cannot begin to imagine how I would cope for the rest of my life without this record of Joshua’s life which I can look at whenever I like. My grieving journey has been hugely helped because we have made a film. Our daughter Rosa has also found having a record of the event helpful. If she wants to share it with people who didn’t know Josh she can do so and they in turn will get to know something about her beloved brother. It was also very important for friends and family who could not attend to be able to share something of the day as well. </span><span style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> Some parts of the service were invented, some were borrowed from other traditions, some were perhaps traditions from your own cultural legacy. Did you envision a multitude of messages, or perhaps one dominant overarching message from the service? What was it like to mix these elements together?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><b>Jimmy:</b> That’s a really hard question. Our family is not religious and I don’t think there was any conscious attempt to build on any traditional form of funeral. That said, in recent decades the AIDS epidemic has changed the way we as a society, approach death and funerals and they have become, I guess, more flamboyant. In the UK the death of Princess Diana seemed to give people permission for a much freer and more public display of grief. Nowadays unusual or more personal funerals are not uncommon. So in a way I suppose we were building on current trends. Of Josh’s funeral I think that the way we organized a sort of viral candle lighting ceremony at the end of the day was particularly special and something that was possibly “invented”. It symbolized the way in which we had given a little a bit of Josh to each other which we could then carry away for the rest of our lives. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>Jane:</b> Cultural legacy was important to me and I felt the accordian captured that beautifully. I was so driven by the wish not to be afraid that Josh was dead but had no idea how to do that but by the end of the celebration of his life I somehow felt a lot less afraid than I had done. One of the most important elements of the day was that Josh was in the room …. He even received a standing ovation……which I think he would have liked enormously!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b>Pat:</b> What do you think you have experienced and accomplished through this process that you would have missed with a conventional service?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"><b>Jimmy:</b> It wasn’t so much a conventional service that we were trying to avoid. More, the idea that it would be a complete stranger showing us how best to mourn for our son, felt wrong. At the time we wouldn’t have thought of it this way, but we didn’t need professional help to manage our feelings. But neither did we realize that creating our own funeral rite would be so valuable for the remainder of our grieving. What we did was to respond as honestly and as intuitively as we could to how we all felt about Josh, how conflicted and confused we felt, how insecure his death made us. We needed to construct a ceremony that was of our making and therefore personal, but that other people could recognize and join in with. Its still too early to say but I think its that highly personalized but public sharing of grief in a ritual made possible by a collective will, that has helped us get grounded again and to feel better about the life ahead. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Jane:</b> The day was very personal in every way and people had their voices heard …..we had no rules except honesty of emotion…….and no pressure of time. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p>Thank you both so much for sharing your experience, your work and your thoughts with us. I know that many families, celebrants and undertakers will be inspired by what you have done. The film can be viewed at the end of this post via <a href="http://vimeo.com/31956515" target="_blank">Vimeo</a>. Also available, through <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2291505" target="_blank">Blurb</a>, is Jimmy Edmonds' beautiful and compelling photo book about his experience with </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p>Joshua's death, <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2291505" target="_blank">Released</a>. Currently, the book may be viewed in its entirety online. It is also available as a download and in hard copy. I hope to have a post focused on <u>Released</u> one day soon. </o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="259" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/31956515?portrait=0&color=ff9933&loop=1" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="460"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/31956515">REMEMBERING JOSH</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3479340">JIMMY Edmonds</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-3160729229690654412013-11-03T07:50:00.000-06:002013-11-03T11:59:36.289-06:00The Art of Remembering: A Conversation with Sigrid Herr<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<content artist="artist" arts="arts" ashes="" buddhist="" burial="burial" cemetery="cemetery" corpse="corpse" cremation="" cross="cross" cultural="" culture="" customs="" death="" eco="eco" funeral="funeral" greens="" grief="grief" hindu="" home="" ideas="ideas" living="" memorial="" name="KEYWORDS" natural="" new="" of="of" ritual="" scattering="scattering" service="" template="template" understanding="understanding" with=""></content><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3Ltg4lleAOSd3BGs-oTmhBBY4sOZLviUgfZbC-xflVY5KqwzfN4kOQKo0-BDs9aHt7R6EzGFMrmSb3l8lkik9QXjdQHAkeHi9MEyVNozyBTcv0cDvyWdiPUoJGdx-34VOynPCc9-7q7s/s1600/Sigrid_3760_ForWeb.jpg"><img alt="memorial artist" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493557903454421282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3Ltg4lleAOSd3BGs-oTmhBBY4sOZLviUgfZbC-xflVY5KqwzfN4kOQKo0-BDs9aHt7R6EzGFMrmSb3l8lkik9QXjdQHAkeHi9MEyVNozyBTcv0cDvyWdiPUoJGdx-34VOynPCc9-7q7s/s400/Sigrid_3760_ForWeb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<b>Sculptor Sigrid Herr</b></div>
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In an age of mass produced, digitally rendered cemetery markers, Sigrid Herr of <a href="http://www.artofremembering.com/">Art Of Remembering</a>, creates a qualitatively different product. Collaborating closely with grieving family members, Ms. Herr creates clay models by hand. These forms are in turn cast into beautiful one-of-a-kind bronze memorial cemetery markers. Born and raised in <st1:country -region="-region" st="on">Germany</st1:country>, and currently working in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">San Francisco</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place> area, she brings 30 years of experience as a sculptor and her own experiences of grieving to make the task of selecting a memorial a healing and creative experience, rather than just a retail one. Ms. Herr has graciously agreed to share a conversation about her work and thoughts on grief and memorialization with the Daily Undertaker.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat McNally:</b> You describe your start in creating grave markers to be a collaborative process with other members of your family. I’ve found that the more ways a family can participate in memorializing their loved ones, the more healing that memorial is for them. Could you describe your experience in designing your mother-in-law’s marker?</span></div>
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<b>Sigrid Herr:</b> In the Jewish tradition there is a year between putting a person in the ground and assigning a burial marker. When it came time for us to find one for Celia, my mother-in-law, we considered the options and were disenchanted by all of them: they were bland and unimaginative and felt like a bad match for the beautiful person she was. We wanted to express our gratitude for her, our appreciation, and we wanted to manifest that she was special and loved. Being a sculptor I decided to create a marker rather than buy one online or through a catalog that the funeral home provided. Celia always encouraged and supported me in my work, and owned several of my pieces, so we agreed she would have liked that. Being able to show our caring, express our connection and create a design with Celia in mind helped our family deal the sadness we felt with her death. It was like a last interaction with her, finding a way to represent her, like a portrait. </div>
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<b>Sigrid's late mother-in-law, Celia Schear and her finished marker</b></div>
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When my father died last year, my mother and my sisters and I came together for his funeral. I remember my mother taking comfort in the first raw days after the death of her husband of 60 years by making plans for how she wanted their gravesite to look. It was as if it was her last act of housekeeping and presentation as a couple. In this time which often generates feelings of helplessness and having to accept a huge loss, creative efforts soothe the family left behind and provide an outlet for caring and loving feelings.</div>
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<b>Sigrid with her father's memorial</b></div>
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<b></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> What is the design process like to create a memorial marker for someone you have never met?</span></div>
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<b>Sigrid:</b> I often try to google the person the client calls about, so sometimes I have an idea already about who he or she was and then I can ask better questions.<br />
In conversation, preferably in person rather than over the phone or by e-mail, I try to get a feeling for the person who will be memorialized. The friend or the relative calling usually appreciates the opportunity to talk about the person they lost. I support this by asking questions like what they loved most in the world, what made them happy, where and how they grew up, what their tastes and style were like and about their relationships. I make sure to let them know that I can appreciate the difficult challenge of accepting what they are faced with. I ask for photographs of the person the marker is for which then sit on my work table while I am working on the marker.</div>
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<b>Design work</b></div>
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I encourage the person calling to think of symbols and designs the person liked, to get together as a family or a group of friends if possible to brainstorm and reminisce. One mother remembered her daughter’s fondness for roses, how beautiful her garden was and how much she loved her plants, and the birds that she watched out of her kitchen window. So I came up with a design that incorporated birds and roses and sent them to her.<br />
I usually end up with a fairly distinct feeling for this person that guides me and inspires my creative proposals and decisions. My goal is to design something that the person would have liked, and something that evokes that person’s memory for the people coming to visit the grave.</div>
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<b>Creating a border in clay</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> Many of us today look to leave a lighter footprint on the earth, with the idea of preserving its beauty and diversity for future generations. Still, our families and friends need to acknowledge that their loved one mattered and their passing matters too. How do you reconcile these two ideas?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> I understand and admire the concept of green funerals, its lightness and its commitment to impermanence.<br />
</span>But the creation of bronze markers follows a long artistic and historic tradition. Today we admire and preserve bronze pieces from centuries back, parts of traditions and rituals from times long gone, witnesses that survived due to their strength and durability. When I take walks in old cemeteries, I marvel at old markers, the older they are the more amazing they are to me.</div>
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When talking to a friend about how I had found my way from creating figurative sculptures to the making of grave markers, I commented a bit flippantly “how un-Buddhist” my current occupation was. In Buddhism, holding on to the illusion of permanence of any kind is one of the ways we perpetuate suffering. And here I was making fancy grave markers in bronze that most likely would outlive the person commemorated by many lifetimes.</div>
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In yet another conversation, one about getting older and facing death (which with my advancing years is becoming more and more personal), my partner in conversation, familiar with my wrestling with this huge elephant-in-the-middle-of-the-room question, commented on how she couldn’t get over the fact that I was making grave markers now. As soon as she brought it up, she voiced her idea of why I was taking to the task with such passion: “You are saying: I was here and it matters. And you are telling the other person: You were here, and it matters.’’ With an instant sensation of heat in my chest and a swelling of tears my body confirmed this as true before my mind followed. </div>
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<span style="color: black;">I think there is a place for both, rituals in the spirit of impermanence and rituals that serve as markers of time and history. My awareness of taking up space for centuries and for using precious resources makes it all the more important to me to create consciously and thoughtfully, to not cut corners in terms of the material and the casting process, to care about quality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I think that beauty and art are a something to be cherished by both individuals and society. One of my goals is to make my markers accessible to people who normally would not be able to afford them. That means making a living by selling enough of them to people who have the money to commission them so I can offer discounts and pro bono work to those with fewer resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV52ej1R5CfafUIDf48rF4GDfqA7q0qo2OLxEzfaczCj68BFRQwl634-266h45yCoXtPbYsqC_RMmvE1L6M_fQ1QymcMiPF__AOXLpTf44vtdSgzaI_IHt8dI9mWaD6_dSnSJngpM1sFR9/s1600/cd+website+010.jpg"><img alt="ritual death new ritual" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493550711598971538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV52ej1R5CfafUIDf48rF4GDfqA7q0qo2OLxEzfaczCj68BFRQwl634-266h45yCoXtPbYsqC_RMmvE1L6M_fQ1QymcMiPF__AOXLpTf44vtdSgzaI_IHt8dI9mWaD6_dSnSJngpM1sFR9/s400/cd+website+010.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>A marker in its clay stage</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> What is it like emotionally and physically to create these memorial markers?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> Like many people, I am an obituary reader. T</span>he reason why I read the stories and study the pictures is that I feel like I honor the people who have passed away by taking the time to learn about their lives. I honor them by seeing them: you were here, this was your life, a life that spanned years and decades and that is now compressed to mostly 300 words or less. I feel compassion for them, for all that doesn’t get mentioned in the brief write-ups: hardships, growth, set-backs, disappointments, hard work, and weaknesses alongside the more pleasant and presentable facts of life like birth, marriage, children and professional achievements. I feel compassion for all of us working so hard and for mostly wanting to be good and happy. And then death approaches and leaves us with no certainties. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRNNfL2cqUMYeI31_-y1mzdjV1lJMmslmjgXKW2D4_uUKyHflHzg_dGwXvAbGue9d1rnYB2PeKLessTp_D7VONeXRE9wSdYYNnrMQ617QH0zouMCo2cRJrnDrkVvzUJHzF0WI-cFul0ju/s1600/cd+website+001.jpg"><img alt="sorrow grief memorial arts" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493545088871599874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRNNfL2cqUMYeI31_-y1mzdjV1lJMmslmjgXKW2D4_uUKyHflHzg_dGwXvAbGue9d1rnYB2PeKLessTp_D7VONeXRE9wSdYYNnrMQ617QH0zouMCo2cRJrnDrkVvzUJHzF0WI-cFul0ju/s400/cd+website+001.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
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<b>Clay</b></div>
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I am striving to embrace emotionally the Buddhist view of life and our experiences as a succession of clouds on the sky: they come and they go, and that is all and that is enough. No permanence, rather impermanence. I am in awe of this task, trying to tolerate shapelessness when all I know is shapes, creating shapes with my hands, creating shapes in my mind by trying to find explanations and making sense of what I perceive.</div>
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I hope I will be able to peacefully embrace shapelessness in this lifetime of mine. I realize how lucky I am to have found a way to work on the answer to this question that stares all of us in the face with more or less intensity at some time in our lives, not just with my mind but with my hands and with my creativity.</div>
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So I love my work, because it allows me to express my appreciation for life and for all my fellow human beings with all our frailties, shortcomings and amazing strengths by casting in bronze: Yes, you were here, and yes, it matters.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8sQNcQmAO67Cj-M0gLdgDoVAIBN23Lc6icjsdv_qGxUS1Svsba7vfKJ4ugVyA2y3lVKxXlnTtOfZq3dQW6x7nLsU2T4TLJ20O3GXSFaBR0bK6YECtjy84wbk-R8Opd54yXGif_fnTaHL/s1600/cd+website+002.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493545101172315938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8sQNcQmAO67Cj-M0gLdgDoVAIBN23Lc6icjsdv_qGxUS1Svsba7vfKJ4ugVyA2y3lVKxXlnTtOfZq3dQW6x7nLsU2T4TLJ20O3GXSFaBR0bK6YECtjy84wbk-R8Opd54yXGif_fnTaHL/s400/cd+website+002.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>Cast in wax</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> You have an extensive background in sculpture. What were some of your previous projects like?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> I initially studied art to be a teacher. I did that for a while, but felt too limited by the challenge to foster and encourage the children’s creativity on the one hand and to judge/grade their work on the other.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: black;">When my son Theo started playing with play-dough around age 2, I would work alongside him and more and more sculptures took shape. </span>They came from a place of need that most of us have, a need for moments of sweetness and peace. The idea to sell them arose from the supportive and positive comments of my family, friends and other people who saw the figures. My sculptures all come with a story and from experiences I had. I felt them in a dream or in real life, being a mother, a lover, sitting in meditation. I also expanded to more decorative items for the home and office such as sculptural mirrors, bowls and several small and larger fountains.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7CyX7XRRLXFhPPjwFiZL7s0xfo1fsbKQ2xDIc1GkxNzr_ovOZAuVyxDt50dgMyqhfOxU-x0NM_7grtVs1_HXqUdtInngARENLIM9CPxgrOySrVfRXzGRK518NEXmDqHg2Ji_r3wyvkdF/s1600/cd+website+014.jpg"><img alt="memorial mortuary arts" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493550724692468530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7CyX7XRRLXFhPPjwFiZL7s0xfo1fsbKQ2xDIc1GkxNzr_ovOZAuVyxDt50dgMyqhfOxU-x0NM_7grtVs1_HXqUdtInngARENLIM9CPxgrOySrVfRXzGRK518NEXmDqHg2Ji_r3wyvkdF/s400/cd+website+014.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<b>Finished bronze marker</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> As a European, do you see differences in the ways we grieve and memorialize in </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">North America</span></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> Growing up in a small town in <st1:country -region="-region" st="on"><st1:place st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country> where I was known and identified by my rank in the family (my father’s oldest daughter and my grandfather’s oldest grand daughter), I remember vividly regular visits to the cemetery with my parents. Equipped with a watering can, a little rake and a rag to polish the gravestone we would make the rounds of the graves of relatives that had passed on. Most of them I had never met, but there was a place to visit them, and, being raised Catholic, we would say a prayer at the end of each visit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">My family and I went through the experience of burying a family member ourselves when my father passed away last August. There were visits to the stone mason, my mother and my sister took a trip to the quarry to select the granite onto which the bronze letters would be mounted. My mother planted flowers on the grave and makes a visit several times a week. It is a healing ritual, and in the area where I come from, it is as important as when I was a child. Overall I would say that there is more family involvement and more individualized memorialization there still. Graves look like small patches of gardens and are being tended by the people mourning. There is often ornate funerary sculpture, guardian angels or religious symbols. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Another difference is the fact that you get to own the grave for a limited amount of time only: after 25 to 30 years most graves usually are made available for new burials. This is true for German cemeteries. I don’t have information how it is regulated in other European countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">In this country most people are no longer living close to their family burial sites. We get disconnected from the place and the ritual at life’s end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIclAotJjyqfraeD3maBbfBefgYUCzbp4VLAjxBOH1XrtHzFnyI7yEPlq8XPGiAHN9Giu4sfWOhdXbzmwKHZG001y7z268ToVGL0o1sEVFdelA2QgZh4u1azF3LbAK3cll-f3LF_hltzaX/s1600/cd+website+017.jpg"><img alt="memorial artist" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493550734649361986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIclAotJjyqfraeD3maBbfBefgYUCzbp4VLAjxBOH1XrtHzFnyI7yEPlq8XPGiAHN9Giu4sfWOhdXbzmwKHZG001y7z268ToVGL0o1sEVFdelA2QgZh4u1azF3LbAK3cll-f3LF_hltzaX/s400/cd+website+017.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>Marker seated in granite</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> The biggest funeral industry catch-phrase these days is personalization. We put stickers on caskets or scan photos onto cards and gravestones. Much of the personalization is more like printing a logo onto the same t-shirt, rather than tailoring a garment to fit a specific person. What is the difference that an artist and the collaborative process can make in a memorial marker? </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> There is more humanity involved in the process, a connection is made between people, and the work reflects that. I am not saying that there is no humanity involved when you buy a marker online or through a catalogue. But it is limited. When working in close contact with the family, you can have a positive impact on the grieving process. You can engage the people in mourning in a last dialogue with their loved one through this piece of art. You can provide an opportunity for the family to express their love through their involvement in creating something beautiful and personal. Art can be soothing and a personalized memorial marker provides comfort through beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlc3xcMfPz3hEnxQpoe1nKcXLWxs1kbxvlJLhOlNTXKWTTPF-8f7p9H_48GR0LsLhSg632eXpHiGUviuH4J3k7WkBMB1Gf6gXFKVFX7bHZbAJRYb4qJPpSb6pxbxXxSPess4EPhFyvdTG/s1600/AofR+website+pics+121.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493545080860655826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlc3xcMfPz3hEnxQpoe1nKcXLWxs1kbxvlJLhOlNTXKWTTPF-8f7p9H_48GR0LsLhSg632eXpHiGUviuH4J3k7WkBMB1Gf6gXFKVFX7bHZbAJRYb4qJPpSb6pxbxXxSPess4EPhFyvdTG/s400/AofR+website+pics+121.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> Words on a monument, perhaps because of their finality and the need to be succinct, take on a lot of meaning. What advice do you give families on wording?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> Sometimes it is harder for people who are very close to the deceased person, and very emotionally affected by their passing, to come up with a description of the person’s essence. It feels like a limitation, almost frustrating, to keep it short and succinct, three or four words. There is so much to say usually. That was the way it was in our family when my 17 year old son stepped up to the task, with the words “Loving and Caring.” Often someone with sort of a “beginner’s mind”, a child or an adolescent, or a family friend unencumbered by family dynamics, may have an easier time finding the key words. So it is worthwhile to consider if there is someone who is close but not too close to help with this task. There may be a person who knew the person in a religious or spiritual context who would be glad to be asked. Make it a conversation, use it as an opportunity to remember the person and what was special and important about him or her. Reminisce, cry, celebrate, and sooner or later the memories will get distilled into a few words that capture a person’s essence and presence and that will linger after they have passed on. You will know in your heart when you have found the right words: you feel that you have narrowed it down to what distinguished them from others and what was their life force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6goyRggo1cLApiTn3oYSwxLqdfn6BV482QNhTtFG_VPMihaVbltvOqDC7SnaDcdLNrR7jA9SuONm9LTKragxhQZIg0XfalMZfVLyhrMvDmK4dCaLCdppL3Iv9VI1xxgyj9uJ5NwnnsbH/s1600/cd+website+085.jpg"><img alt="new ritual memorial arts mortuary" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493557582824052018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6goyRggo1cLApiTn3oYSwxLqdfn6BV482QNhTtFG_VPMihaVbltvOqDC7SnaDcdLNrR7jA9SuONm9LTKragxhQZIg0XfalMZfVLyhrMvDmK4dCaLCdppL3Iv9VI1xxgyj9uJ5NwnnsbH/s400/cd+website+085.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>A sample showing finish and border options</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> Have you thought about what you’d like on your own marker? </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> Yes, I have. This is a practice that can help provide guidance for your life, helping you become clear about what it is you are striving for. And it may change many times. I regard it as finding qualities to live up to, intentions that shape your actions and that describe your values. So I say with humility, knowing that I fall short daily, that the words I strive to achieve are: kindness - courage - grace. That for me would sum up a life well lived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhHNXFBXj6-pExdXRxwzzY235GvXQTQxiwQ6AD0kjFlNFWu-sTHYzEePhz51rs39OYtEm2al7CjemBNtOTFQXRSrJiHzs2y3_7wGHCV17hby0fKbF3XFSe2JqM0-culPJEk_osoSo_gG1/s1600/cd+website+079.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493557571635092610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhHNXFBXj6-pExdXRxwzzY235GvXQTQxiwQ6AD0kjFlNFWu-sTHYzEePhz51rs39OYtEm2al7CjemBNtOTFQXRSrJiHzs2y3_7wGHCV17hby0fKbF3XFSe2JqM0-culPJEk_osoSo_gG1/s400/cd+website+079.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>A sample showing finish and border options</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat: </b>Do you have many clients who arrange for the markers to be made prior to death?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> I currently am working on a marker that unites seven members of a family. Only two of them, the father and the mother, have died. The other ones are their sons and daughters and their partners who are well into their fifties and sixties. The daughter was the person who contacted me. She had read about my work and was relieved to have found someone to help her realize her dream: to bring her family together, to have a home waiting for all of them at their lives’ end. She was very moved and happy to have found someone to help her make it happen. When you work with one of the big manufacturers, there are limits to what you can do. When you have only dates of birth and not the dates of death to work with, the dates of death will be added on later, etched on a small plaque and screwed on top of the marker. That always looked awkward to me and I figured out a way to make it look integrated and organic: the dates of birth will be part of the plaque, and the dates of death will be added when these times come. They will look identical to the first dates and will be added with the help of a set of numbers that I prepare and that can be used by someone else should I not be there to conclude the work. Such details are important to me and they require creative solutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9RAbewEz83BTYA4cHm4EK09Hi_RngUOe-LJXaSFyWs91ZGXwp3w9ok5_pDD7i6lZVyLgtzVlP___mQgiaZTwkVpS6H88-REeQF52KeogF0pmFG-_8TEewbl9x3Y02_iVDKVRMsRWZsgm/s1600/cd+website+042.jpg"><img alt="new death ritual memorial arts" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493556914708565730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9RAbewEz83BTYA4cHm4EK09Hi_RngUOe-LJXaSFyWs91ZGXwp3w9ok5_pDD7i6lZVyLgtzVlP___mQgiaZTwkVpS6H88-REeQF52KeogF0pmFG-_8TEewbl9x3Y02_iVDKVRMsRWZsgm/s400/cd+website+042.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>A sample showing finish and border options</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> In the Bay area where you live and work there is the precedent of </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">San Francisco</span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"> outlawing burial within the city limits. Most people from </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">San Francisco</span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"> are in fact buried in Colma. How do you respond to those who say that cemeteries are a waste of good land, and how do you think </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">San Francisco</span></st1:city></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"> would be different if it still had cemeteries?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> Until I started this work I wasn’t even aware of the fact that there are no cemeteries in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city>. Then I became familiar with Colma and its cemetery row, and it seems odd to me. It reminds me of what we do with old people: we farm them out into “senior communities”. We came to think that it is normal and desirable for an old person to live amongst people their own age, in senior ghettos. I drive by this huge billboard a lot, advertising senior living: “The life style our Mother deserves”, an older woman surrounded by beaming daughters and other family members. It feels self-serving (the relief of not having to care personally for an older person) and delusional (Mother wants to live in a ghetto ) and short sighted (the daughters will be shoved off into senior living by the grand daughters) to follow this train of thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFW_PSk3IHvsNvO3dsfb-yJSNEvRPl8MYzZo3XyrqoDHqxkX9uk2o4-1n4f23NxtbhuNV5HhfjiDp1VEpQqEFLzxfPhz7KwuqcntakxZITIf7ulZ91BGJse3CMANbGwJUSTJHxcS0pde7z/s1600/cd+website+047.jpg"><img alt="bronze memorial art" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493556922515692850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFW_PSk3IHvsNvO3dsfb-yJSNEvRPl8MYzZo3XyrqoDHqxkX9uk2o4-1n4f23NxtbhuNV5HhfjiDp1VEpQqEFLzxfPhz7KwuqcntakxZITIf7ulZ91BGJse3CMANbGwJUSTJHxcS0pde7z/s400/cd+website+047.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><b>A sample showing finish and border options</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The same perception applies to creating a cemetery-free city zone with the argument that a burial ground would be wasting precious real estate. Yes, cemeteries take up space. But they also are part of the life of a city, town or village. Banning reminders of death beyond city limits so we can build more condos for the living. So we are not reminded of death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I believe that cemeteries hold an important space among the living. They serve as reminders of what will happen to all of us. They provide comfort for those grieving. My mother visits my father’s grave several times a week. She visits with him and communicates with him there. It is important to have a place to visit. We are object-oriented people and people who assign spaces to experiences. By removing burial sites out of our daily lives we take away a reminder of our mortality. Only to be shocked into reality when it happens to someone close.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4JaOQXdg2bV_yCXVXnNyRncBX5OS33Mgf6wyDxhKbKp0dJ9aeRpbXrIv5ibs15H8wt1imq7_sBpjc9Le3xVD6jMO8D4uLCY6hhbJIJDExCrptXUIOWJ_W18mZJAb0GXYGpLpf9GO6Bgj/s1600/cd+website+075a.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493557563251998578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4JaOQXdg2bV_yCXVXnNyRncBX5OS33Mgf6wyDxhKbKp0dJ9aeRpbXrIv5ibs15H8wt1imq7_sBpjc9Le3xVD6jMO8D4uLCY6hhbJIJDExCrptXUIOWJ_W18mZJAb0GXYGpLpf9GO6Bgj/s400/cd+website+075a.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 213px;" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> What can consumers and funeral service providers do to give the arts a greater role in memorialization?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b>Sigrid:</b> There are consumers who are looking for artistic and unique ways to honor their loved ones. They simply need to be offered more artistic options when deciding on their memorials. My experience is that they will gladly participate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p>The funeral industry could contribute by including artists’ work within the range of products offered. It also requires more creative contractual agreements: an artist is unable to work with a funeral home on a wholesale basis like the big foundries do. When you double the wholesale price the piece is usually way out of the financial range of almost any customer. A referral fee arrangement or a referral percentage would make it possible for the funeral home to offer more unique work alongside their traditional offerings, and for the artist to have his or her work exposed to people at the places where they go when a family member or friend passes on, the funeral home or cemetery. I think it is a good solution for all, the funeral service provider, the consumer and the artist. </o:p></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLyFnTkUk7M1PbEuvgFAuJcSIxXDlfT8ctiL2G5_CuXtJfMpfwG8Eh987aYQBM6Wzu_J1-dp-neVXM55eJD5EoiivSVvNNw0kKlexrPgNk4Cz_mAoCdCHjYyA7BJHybbZANPQlgyM8FqZ/s1600/cd+website+022.jpg"><img alt="bronze memorial art" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493556332111647570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLyFnTkUk7M1PbEuvgFAuJcSIxXDlfT8ctiL2G5_CuXtJfMpfwG8Eh987aYQBM6Wzu_J1-dp-neVXM55eJD5EoiivSVvNNw0kKlexrPgNk4Cz_mAoCdCHjYyA7BJHybbZANPQlgyM8FqZ/s400/cd+website+022.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a></span></span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>Pat:</b> I hope that funeral directors find more creative ways to work along with artists, celebrants and others so that families can truly benefit from all that is available for them. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and thoughts with us!</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">To learn more about Sigrid Herr's work, visit her Art of Remembering </span><a href="http://www.artofremembering.com/">website</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">her sculpture</span> <a href="http://www.artofremembering.com/">website</a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">a recent <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/montclarion/ci_15468056?nclick_check=1.">article</a> in the Contra Costa Times, and an </span><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/02/DDLE1D6VJ8.DTL">article</a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">on her work in the SF Gate.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;">Original Post Date, WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2010</span></h2>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-6722495153087296372013-11-03T03:23:00.000-06:002013-11-05T13:56:52.644-06:00The Beautiful Death: Photos by Izima Kaoru<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 18px;"><i>3/29/2009</i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Izima Kaoru: Landscapes With a Corpse</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVzivvM9XsAT6UyPp6Hz6Pz50uiitTeuYf0eKxjDqa7PyvyxQKcfKoy2V6V9wSq3tZl3b8p7GQ-QuQaBTAHmFMUvGYN2PSIteSmp_mLpPOA9O2U174UV1g1TC38JA09gprTKGNi8pWp4k/s1600-h/31PwHtASbTL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318623230167168530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVzivvM9XsAT6UyPp6Hz6Pz50uiitTeuYf0eKxjDqa7PyvyxQKcfKoy2V6V9wSq3tZl3b8p7GQ-QuQaBTAHmFMUvGYN2PSIteSmp_mLpPOA9O2U174UV1g1TC38JA09gprTKGNi8pWp4k/s400/31PwHtASbTL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">From the series "Tominaga Ai wears Prada"</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8b9jDvah_CuOfr_G5MjXjd3VN1gbXrb8Z1DfGDsV18yUIJ9W1J1g-fSUIHLniSX1sNiAD5ynAOZQzvvpGF6B0Ac6dkSMJtx-T9WwMhqBjil6L-AhdNuwuhZpXXlRIFfZofA58nyzFXMw/s1600-h/T+Ai+402.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338977999001938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8b9jDvah_CuOfr_G5MjXjd3VN1gbXrb8Z1DfGDsV18yUIJ9W1J1g-fSUIHLniSX1sNiAD5ynAOZQzvvpGF6B0Ac6dkSMJtx-T9WwMhqBjil6L-AhdNuwuhZpXXlRIFfZofA58nyzFXMw/s400/T+Ai+402.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 322px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtHqblDdn_EjGvtx5j_Kh7O0r6C3y-ZIwBCQ8KztDl0q_sy6bvAi1L1qpFE_za0xTDa4nEKVQi9eqVL27ZPvErRm94k2dTueDBu3VdOdlp7O_1mKoPlyGTuoWEy18CQ7YdX6TDIaHbA-Y/s1600-h/T+Ai+403.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338898331731378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtHqblDdn_EjGvtx5j_Kh7O0r6C3y-ZIwBCQ8KztDl0q_sy6bvAi1L1qpFE_za0xTDa4nEKVQi9eqVL27ZPvErRm94k2dTueDBu3VdOdlp7O_1mKoPlyGTuoWEy18CQ7YdX6TDIaHbA-Y/s400/T+Ai+403.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 286px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2lNV_84jE0-X28HmnRFQVpsslTZy0XwcEogkF4rfsdWVYwLSTsL7xeIQFMAZ85cvqi7T78m_9reDNocyJluAumBBUz-LKr2T1zjbuIjgMcFoxtSYi2bXQL-NCruZDpPeKV6dm965f1Bf/s1600-h/T+Ai+404.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338817996377682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia2lNV_84jE0-X28HmnRFQVpsslTZy0XwcEogkF4rfsdWVYwLSTsL7xeIQFMAZ85cvqi7T78m_9reDNocyJluAumBBUz-LKr2T1zjbuIjgMcFoxtSYi2bXQL-NCruZDpPeKV6dm965f1Bf/s400/T+Ai+404.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 322px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de/">http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In my experience, death is never glamorous. The reality of our physical ends has too much to do with our earthly origins and functions to be attractive. I recall reading in Kenneth Anger's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hollywood Babylon</span>, the story of a movie star in the 1940s, whose career had gone south on her. She desired a glamorous end, and so, dressed all in white lace, in perfect makeup, on a beautiful white bed in a beautifully appointed room, she swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. However, instead of turning into Snow White for the newspapers, sickness came before death and she died in the bathroom in a decidedly un-photogenic state.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cautionary stories aside, death is something that needs to be pondered, meditated upon and accepted. Perhaps those of us in the West can gain something from the Buddhist concept of death and life as two equally important parts of the same whole. In our culture we concentrate only on the life and deny the death. Perhaps by contemplating, since we each must one day die, what our ideal moment and place for death would be - even what we'd like to be wearing, we can gain a perspective that will enrich our experience and deal honestly and creatively with what is certain to come to us all.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To this end, I am happy to share selections from the series 'Landscapes with a Corpse" by photographer Izima Kaoru. This work has challenged me to examine my ideas about death, the effects and significance of death on the world around us, and the significance of my own death and it's consequences. The text and photos are taken from the Andreas Binder Gallery, which represents Mr. Kaoru </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">From the series "Kuroki Meisa wears Gucci"</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uNDbmCaJU3sdBH-VRrJxh858lZ4GMzSEboMeSOXa4mc_4Jj1uFgSi9EodiDSxUBIVV_v36yChXO6T8OlnjF_GCLg-hxbWMU0_1tOrAgQy3CEMAzFq8bHWSI2bUTTAh4TKZNcGLdYl6xT/s1600-h/Kuroki+Meisa+461.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338678174072370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uNDbmCaJU3sdBH-VRrJxh858lZ4GMzSEboMeSOXa4mc_4Jj1uFgSi9EodiDSxUBIVV_v36yChXO6T8OlnjF_GCLg-hxbWMU0_1tOrAgQy3CEMAzFq8bHWSI2bUTTAh4TKZNcGLdYl6xT/s400/Kuroki+Meisa+461.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 285px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmVoS2etcadZZ_eOtALrD-yKof829PK3rkBnhwozzQJEljCvbu2VYgxNYTsHFSI1VEBGiytQ-Q3wnc5Z-i304g_URx-ahb2Wi6_2BgRY53IYAaN5o4ceZIMegu_RDRsSnbEHpkk83ktzX/s1600-h/Kuroki+Meisa+462.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338401212018098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmVoS2etcadZZ_eOtALrD-yKof829PK3rkBnhwozzQJEljCvbu2VYgxNYTsHFSI1VEBGiytQ-Q3wnc5Z-i304g_URx-ahb2Wi6_2BgRY53IYAaN5o4ceZIMegu_RDRsSnbEHpkk83ktzX/s400/Kuroki+Meisa+462.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 285px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OJwUDF_d_-uecebztby0YQ3MwILq58bVlkpoB-1wve-5ChgAiE3KHxPsf-hlR3LF8XKkc_sGgiz38OQQl3AWm6oDLy1RREGLO0_Ng9qw9Vf0idqzC7vbMbDPJCwyABZbSxiv8KK_4KZM/s1600-h/Kuroki+Meisa+463.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338319083491938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OJwUDF_d_-uecebztby0YQ3MwILq58bVlkpoB-1wve-5ChgAiE3KHxPsf-hlR3LF8XKkc_sGgiz38OQQl3AWm6oDLy1RREGLO0_Ng9qw9Vf0idqzC7vbMbDPJCwyABZbSxiv8KK_4KZM/s400/Kuroki+Meisa+463.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de/">http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Izima Kaoru encourages his female models to develop their own ideas about their transience and their death and translates these ideas into photographs. This eventually led to a series that was totally focused on the requests of his models and the scenario of death. Based on classic depictions of landscapes and interiors, each of his highly aesthetic photographs gradually zooms in on the victim who died in perfect beauty, even down to a detailed close-up of her face.. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">From the series "Erin O´Connor wears Vivienne Westwood"</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Yy0FIM4t-kVVXt8tJjo3sOyESYcEWQh-HS_ZnNXsbsvraZvfCiycVkMEF-t3yT2ovoru5vNcAKQ6DeAbhVS5svSUwjBbAbr_qWrnuJFEytIxfV56as397vJA95iCostVPTb0kHvo_Gk8/s1600-h/Erin+OConnor+451.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338188522396450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Yy0FIM4t-kVVXt8tJjo3sOyESYcEWQh-HS_ZnNXsbsvraZvfCiycVkMEF-t3yT2ovoru5vNcAKQ6DeAbhVS5svSUwjBbAbr_qWrnuJFEytIxfV56as397vJA95iCostVPTb0kHvo_Gk8/s400/Erin+OConnor+451.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 286px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidg-bpBTSQhzWP6grkq7NQrz2_CNDvwTFnGft27I0lwYNINQp2AhpM5X4wUpzmUxauGKXHEGT7NDSze-4rOQMe_lH9ANY0WCZnHAIHVdXwzXWhu471NM1tKwSdXhqiovFZ4-6MOiOe2RUE/s1600-h/Erin+OConnor+452.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338096874097298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidg-bpBTSQhzWP6grkq7NQrz2_CNDvwTFnGft27I0lwYNINQp2AhpM5X4wUpzmUxauGKXHEGT7NDSze-4rOQMe_lH9ANY0WCZnHAIHVdXwzXWhu471NM1tKwSdXhqiovFZ4-6MOiOe2RUE/s400/Erin+OConnor+452.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 322px;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBifz-JvG37oW1ILoupBIYbGBAAiKEqYE2oyRFjd8ktwXQ8K0QMX-HB7SHt93y9PR5uYStExJ2AJ0NemeJZfbbEu5M6Sqt9V7e9Go-vtjG19MdJmHulLbF21LjIfhP1GrNBX8WoGZgziT/s1600-h/Erin+OConnor+453.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318338006831855538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBifz-JvG37oW1ILoupBIYbGBAAiKEqYE2oyRFjd8ktwXQ8K0QMX-HB7SHt93y9PR5uYStExJ2AJ0NemeJZfbbEu5M6Sqt9V7e9Go-vtjG19MdJmHulLbF21LjIfhP1GrNBX8WoGZgziT/s400/Erin+OConnor+453.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 322px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de/">http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Apart from the victim, all his scenarios are completely without humans, whether they are secluded streets, landscapes or rooms. They are devoid of any form of life, and nothing else exists. The viewer first experiences this state of desertion through a photograph taken from a distance. We are under the impression that the dead woman is looking at her own body, which is no more than a shell. Death is celebrated by Izima Kaoru in style, as a special event. In doing so he refers to three classic genres: Japanese landscape photographs with the traditional aesthetic element of transience, scene-of-crime photos with their documentary quality - an influence that cannot be denied in Kaoru's scenes - and fashion photography "with its demonstratively erotic and situational artificiality"</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">From the series "Koike Eiko wears Gianni Versace"</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKChhxCr_x5VUdZvVCsSlhrsXwcoJXOZ0kl4_PwhVEwfyO3bdH3aaqLqB4h3C15xf5xlgGIw-MosCIiDOMEw7OTa7Tedgmdp8ntH69k8qmoHC1jnIzwacG2qc7fvh-c2tABDrPTQwagrN/s1600-h/Koike+Eiko+421.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318337667596864754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKChhxCr_x5VUdZvVCsSlhrsXwcoJXOZ0kl4_PwhVEwfyO3bdH3aaqLqB4h3C15xf5xlgGIw-MosCIiDOMEw7OTa7Tedgmdp8ntH69k8qmoHC1jnIzwacG2qc7fvh-c2tABDrPTQwagrN/s400/Koike+Eiko+421.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 286px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OjrKLAwfhsWRWT2qPMVl10HIsX9ck4XUff38ud0TGYhKsZWrjp90Jb-Mc2Qv6T9iF2rj2ofWe1tlmB6LHtCwmxCbW0vfLEPKorxPzhV8bZBCg_7HhWZNCF8OsXac6DvvaUnTfpZBRf70/s1600-h/Kioke+Eiko+424.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318337475794415282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OjrKLAwfhsWRWT2qPMVl10HIsX9ck4XUff38ud0TGYhKsZWrjp90Jb-Mc2Qv6T9iF2rj2ofWe1tlmB6LHtCwmxCbW0vfLEPKorxPzhV8bZBCg_7HhWZNCF8OsXac6DvvaUnTfpZBRf70/s400/Kioke+Eiko+424.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 322px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de/">http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Izima Kaoru himself puts it like this: "Death is inevitable for everyone. Even the fear of death can hardly be avoided by anyone. Nevertheless, it is possible to come to terms with death or with the idea of dying, to work through it in a lengthy process and ultimately to accept it."<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In Buddhism the practice of meditating on death is seen as a means of detaching oneself from the diversions of life. Izima Kaoru’s models hardly present themselves as renouncing life, yet Izima does ask us to consider that feigning death will help them towards accepting it. Whether this is correct or not, it is certainly true that death is seen differently in traditional Japanese culture than in the West.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To understand the context of these photographic series, we need to grasp the artist's method of depiction: he certainly does not see himself as a reporter or photographer who wishes to illustrate reports on unusual deaths or human relationship dramas through the presentation of shocking imagery. Rather, he wants to stage death in the context of enticement and temptation and to do so with attention to the most minute detail. He has well and truly mastered the art of depiction. Obviously, his scenes of death in these “Landscapes with a Corpse” are imaginary. Yet they refer to a long tradition of romantic themes, tragic ends and "beautiful deaths".<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> for more of the photos and the text, visit </span><a href="http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.galerieandreasbinder.de</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-78604280522180665112013-09-03T22:17:00.000-05:002013-09-03T22:17:09.746-05:00Chinese Funeral Process Charts by Victor Goh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Do you feel lost understanding the traditions and rituals involved in Chinese Funerals? Victor Goh, a designer based in Singapore has created these process charts to help! For more great Victor Goh designs, visit his page on Behance, <a href="http://be.net/victorgoh">http://be.net/victorgoh</a></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-61341657354738822852013-08-16T22:08:00.000-05:002013-08-16T22:08:11.341-05:00Grace Lim - Grandpa's Funeral<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: #eaeaea; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16.796875px;">A long and tiring process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eaeaea; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16.796875px;">Grace Lim is a photographer and designer based in Singapore. The photos are her copywrited property.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eaeaea; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16.796875px;">For more of her work, visit </span><span style="color: #4c4c4c; font-family: garamond, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.796875px;"><b><a href="http://be.net/gracelim">http://be.net/gracelim</a></b></span></span></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-58986276153714001482013-08-11T13:04:00.002-05:002013-08-11T13:13:07.013-05:00American Chinese Funeral - Documentary by Sylvana Chau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.behance.net/sojou">Sylvana Chau</a>, a freelance videographer based in Los Angeles has produced this very interesting documentary on Chinese American funerals. My thanks to her for allowing me to share it here.</div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-41500890466356221842013-07-18T06:00:00.000-05:002013-07-19T23:14:38.819-05:00The Interment of A. Ramana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">March 2010</span></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZQwE-PJjDIWfBOfzKiiZ-PEsLVip5FrBHyNRMbKSEkZRJeJuEFTArzqbTD-e04jp4R1CDSPeEdgMQZz_HghquRxKLuw99H-Wlxh31WBGtUz18lFvH9cqTcxf7Did5FG_kONoGJFW7cPm/s1600-h/20100216_5269_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu ceremony death" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745671848837234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZQwE-PJjDIWfBOfzKiiZ-PEsLVip5FrBHyNRMbKSEkZRJeJuEFTArzqbTD-e04jp4R1CDSPeEdgMQZz_HghquRxKLuw99H-Wlxh31WBGtUz18lFvH9cqTcxf7Did5FG_kONoGJFW7cPm/s400/20100216_5269_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; width: 301px;" /></a><br />
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Richard Clarke, a spiritual seeker, ex-patriot living in India, and a dear friend of The Daily Undertaker, has graciously shared his experiences with us twice before, in the preparation of an Indian village <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/11/indian-village-funeral-car.html">funeral car</a>, and more recently, sharing the story of a friend's cremation and all the wonderful rites that accompanied it in <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2010/01/sarasvatis-ashes.html">'<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Sarasvati's</span> Ashes'</a>. Nothing has prepared me, however, for the wonder I experienced in reading his account of a Western Holy Man's interment, and the many moving rituals that were performed in memory of this man, A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ramana</span>, formerly known as Mr. Dee W. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Trammell</span>. What is most moving to me in the story and photographs, is the reverence, care, and love shown to this man's remains and the participation of friends and loved ones in rituals that are at once <b><i>completely</i></b> new to me, and yet, universally understandable and resonant. Richard's posts on the rituals surrounding this man's passing reminds me of what is important in funerals, and why I continue my work as an undertaker. I encourage my readers to visit the original posts, The <a href="http://richardarunachala.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/interment-of-a-ramana-into-his-samadhi/">Interment of A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ramana</span> into his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Samadhi</span></a>, and The <a href="http://richardarunachala.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/shradha-of-a-ramana-in-tiruvannamalai/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Shadra</span> of A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ramana</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Tiruvannamalai</span></a> for many more incredible photos and a more complete explanation of these rituals. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QR7PTBfZa-yow8RE5-sbDxZez_hkMn8IA_K5suctFPB_jxWleQ6MoYDmOzmw5RaDLOudsCBVlTOWoeny-okSwbeG8aqMEUAlP6bY48qt_Gbc8YFSrmluNtjgYZUsHtO-qalSb1J3ye-E/s1600-h/20100216_5304_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu ceremony memorial" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745601581121522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-QR7PTBfZa-yow8RE5-sbDxZez_hkMn8IA_K5suctFPB_jxWleQ6MoYDmOzmw5RaDLOudsCBVlTOWoeny-okSwbeG8aqMEUAlP6bY48qt_Gbc8YFSrmluNtjgYZUsHtO-qalSb1J3ye-E/s400/20100216_5304_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Although most people are cremated in India, revered spiritual masters such as A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Ramana</span> are buried in an position of meditation inside a brick lined vault. The bodies of such masters are considered to be temples, and after burial, temples are indeed built on top of their graves. Apparently, only four people of Western origins have been honored in this way in the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tiruvannamalai area</span></span>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76ToseA0wMEV1WfLPbGHYmgcOxGLByErKVDzOLza2iUW1FfyT_fvaiYy-GztfrzB6NHx39sv4lglkBEeZxaECIJFnJ02_f_xwfS0Wz8-WfkektQpXaX9BAsKCw2X-554vCU_aPDrBHynD/s1600-h/20100216_5369_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu ceremony cemetery cremation" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745502513299154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76ToseA0wMEV1WfLPbGHYmgcOxGLByErKVDzOLza2iUW1FfyT_fvaiYy-GztfrzB6NHx39sv4lglkBEeZxaECIJFnJ02_f_xwfS0Wz8-WfkektQpXaX9BAsKCw2X-554vCU_aPDrBHynD/s400/20100216_5369_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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After having sat in state, as shown in photo at the beginning of this post, A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Ramana</span>, is placed on a platform, and is anointed with a series of meaningful substances including rosewater, milk, honey, turmeric, sandalwood and ash. After each substance is poured over him, he is ritually washed with water.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_r4Vcvi8HKvbzdozlPnsV-WM0KmUx1qlibVqdji53wIPYmNpoRd9CZ4mmmMojEQ7dMpTUaF7_SxxX0Byr_Y7MpoDkCxcP3Ofx27WmRitHq6lQc2_8dGxUzWR_fh_N_vc4uJuhJD-rd91/s1600-h/20100216_5392_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu ceremony death corpse" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745409495782386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_r4Vcvi8HKvbzdozlPnsV-WM0KmUx1qlibVqdji53wIPYmNpoRd9CZ4mmmMojEQ7dMpTUaF7_SxxX0Byr_Y7MpoDkCxcP3Ofx27WmRitHq6lQc2_8dGxUzWR_fh_N_vc4uJuhJD-rd91/s400/20100216_5392_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 297px;" /></a><br />
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Ritual washing is an important practice in Hebrew, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Moslem</span>, and Christian traditions as well. In early American times, neighbors and relatives performed this ritual. Today, for many Americans, Funeral Directors perform this task, along with embalming. Whether it takes on a religious significance or not, as a funeral director, I see it as a final act of caring for the dead. We all die. Why not take the time to bathe the dead before they are laid to rest? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuGNOsMLhAmf2UmVpefWN_mjjtwvkaAS_Yeg9vCFkWMT886Fx7d_LZb-fWzdYX0qu0vDSNJz0qImjMXsp6kgttMIYeA8dph9lRXqvktzeYT5FFE_3ekRkIg14es50L7w_Cpu7qNJ07PJc/s1600-h/20100216_5421_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="funeral hindu cermony ritual memorial" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745335021827666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuGNOsMLhAmf2UmVpefWN_mjjtwvkaAS_Yeg9vCFkWMT886Fx7d_LZb-fWzdYX0qu0vDSNJz0qImjMXsp6kgttMIYeA8dph9lRXqvktzeYT5FFE_3ekRkIg14es50L7w_Cpu7qNJ07PJc/s400/20100216_5421_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Following this, he is dried and dressed in white cloths, placed in a large fabric bag, and lowered along with the platform, by ropes into the grave. Throughout the whole process, there is a great deal of chanting, incense burning, as well as participation and observation by a large group of friends and associates.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9016-XjRW_esBwiCDEqpctQi71bhafT5FbBfi_eCpltFpv-xwdg_jwzZE3q9kqYZ209vogqmji9yqNzicMlqAODqBKaBqxCWKVuCS4etTqRCvzIhcpjPXUcrKg5LX1WFysugkYB20uiiL/s1600-h/20100216_5619_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Hindu ceremony repast death corpse" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745232431161074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9016-XjRW_esBwiCDEqpctQi71bhafT5FbBfi_eCpltFpv-xwdg_jwzZE3q9kqYZ209vogqmji9yqNzicMlqAODqBKaBqxCWKVuCS4etTqRCvzIhcpjPXUcrKg5LX1WFysugkYB20uiiL/s400/20100216_5619_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 322px;" /></a><br />
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The bag in which A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Ramana</span> was placed, as well as the brick lined vault, are filled, layer by layer with holy leaves, flowers, sand, camphor and ash. Inch by inch this grave is filled with these layers of substances intended to preserve the body and express reverence and tender feelings. Throughout the process his head and body are re-adjusted to remain in the proper position. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrB5CUQCDrnJp1U1_EUweuKocrRG3D4vmFplpY-D4LbkciatPlpSvvJ8ey5aQWfW6hnXZ8DAFwKunIlQnOSA23Z_CbJyi75RtUGFM-E5TH7BqF4MRlxVobxuh3CyZUXtFmtankOhWPsjL/s1600-h/20100216_5629_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu ceremony repast" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445745092377352738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrB5CUQCDrnJp1U1_EUweuKocrRG3D4vmFplpY-D4LbkciatPlpSvvJ8ey5aQWfW6hnXZ8DAFwKunIlQnOSA23Z_CbJyi75RtUGFM-E5TH7BqF4MRlxVobxuh3CyZUXtFmtankOhWPsjL/s400/20100216_5629_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 301px;" /></a><br />
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At this point, his head is nearly covered, and a long piece of bamboo is used to keep track of where his head is, as it is believed that the spiritual energy of A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Ramana</span> will flow out from his head. This is vitally important to the future construction of the temple above the vault. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCHXv6P-zEaEJ6NnzGZeKeeozjshy43eF3efwSe0vf2Erx6GIr9pNIIhY70WyGkMesTaMYoa3Z5cTQONm712rwoQlsMWN3HkAwUPxPprmWOtn7eCzcvFXRoy7qf3Se8s767Ijssud-Nzi/s1600-h/20100224_5728_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Hindu ceremony burial cremation" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445744983650267922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCHXv6P-zEaEJ6NnzGZeKeeozjshy43eF3efwSe0vf2Erx6GIr9pNIIhY70WyGkMesTaMYoa3Z5cTQONm712rwoQlsMWN3HkAwUPxPprmWOtn7eCzcvFXRoy7qf3Se8s767Ijssud-Nzi/s400/20100224_5728_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>Ten days later, this altar and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">lingam</span> has been constructed above the vault. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">following</span> is an excerpt from Richard's blog post:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In India there are two main death ceremonies, one done on the day of the death or the day after, and then a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Shradha</span>, a ceremony where food is offered, usually occurring 10 – 14 days after the death. I suspect that one reason for this ceremony is so people who were unable to come immediately after the passing of the body are able to come and join the rites.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Shradha</span> consists of an elaborate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">pooja</span>, with people close to the deceased playing key parts in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">pooja</span>, and then a food offering. If the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Shradha</span> is held for a villager, the food offering would be to the crows (symbolizing the spirits of ancestors). For a holy man, the food is usually offered to sadhus. This is what was done for A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Ramana</span>. In a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Shradha</span> for a villager, the key role would be played by the person’s son. With A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Ramana</span>, this role was played by two key people in his life in India: Jan, who runs the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Tiruvannamalai</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">AHAM</span> ashram, and Vivian, A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Ramana</span>’s personal attendant for the last several years.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3S20ie2rU5rru0mSGqNDzQVHYbYXH576ML7p6tgDaZW4dsnh2r1Z6NJKAPQg1IkVa0LJXCcCvjR0i1tYpZMewVRl8oVN1ZJKT6nUBxw6sUlkkFLAbn38zuAdV-pZ_5TzmSXmTBrhwUpE/s1600-h/20100224_5733_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Hindu cermony_death_funeral" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445744878974812370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3S20ie2rU5rru0mSGqNDzQVHYbYXH576ML7p6tgDaZW4dsnh2r1Z6NJKAPQg1IkVa0LJXCcCvjR0i1tYpZMewVRl8oVN1ZJKT6nUBxw6sUlkkFLAbn38zuAdV-pZ_5TzmSXmTBrhwUpE/s400/20100224_5733_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Friends and associates gather prior to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">shradha</span>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlbB0IGlhChuRKAFdUGpVeBPc2M5mqRUMYHMq45u8qaGO7FyOlbkHPRv9c-U1PhIZ7SMu4wJibPtCc_TV6TuyrDB_6eeVVlt7sob_VYRnUbwum3vIc27P04BkMMPHjx9Zc42CCGshJj4i/s1600-h/20100224_5914_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="Hindu_Cermony_Death-funeral-ritual" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445744752200002066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTlbB0IGlhChuRKAFdUGpVeBPc2M5mqRUMYHMq45u8qaGO7FyOlbkHPRv9c-U1PhIZ7SMu4wJibPtCc_TV6TuyrDB_6eeVVlt7sob_VYRnUbwum3vIc27P04BkMMPHjx9Zc42CCGshJj4i/s400/20100224_5914_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 295px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Similar to the anointment and washing of A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Raman's</span> remains, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">lingam</span> is anointed with a series of substances and washed with water after each one. Those closest to A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Ramana</span> are physically involved in each step. The milk, turmeric, fruit, rosewater, ash, honey, etc., and water flow through their hands and then onto the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">lingam,</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">which</span> is positioned directly above A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Ramana's</span> head. Next, and incredible series of flower wreaths, photos and fruit are placed around the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">lingam</span>.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72xIPubB6qltsIh7srfEmQrGi8Dtk_ZvrYfNKpGLIQtZQ1nIbDrdEsi0LnUSvxbMIo6EPKoCxVKGh9A4NcOeqfsdjOHrS46fx3DOq1ppgTsJ_hNl-_ni-eKL7AB0lDjCTWVwoXcxsYEc0/s1600-h/20100224_6433_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu-cermony-ritual-washing" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445744389752011730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72xIPubB6qltsIh7srfEmQrGi8Dtk_ZvrYfNKpGLIQtZQ1nIbDrdEsi0LnUSvxbMIo6EPKoCxVKGh9A4NcOeqfsdjOHrS46fx3DOq1ppgTsJ_hNl-_ni-eKL7AB0lDjCTWVwoXcxsYEc0/s400/20100224_6433_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 301px;" /></a><br />
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After the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">shradha</span>, comes the food offering. I can't look at this photo without remembering some of the countless funeral lunches I have attended. In my community, the meal is mostly about fellowship and sharing stories. In this part of the world the emphasis is providing hospitality to others and gaining their blessings. In addition to the meal, these holy men are honored with flowers, and given clothing and money on behalf of the deceased. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFBYJ8Raojud0n_euirII0spFFSCZTShn80TyU9dqJB90tZJz6dcTwjuJGPgJ-VncA-n5WreH_9hagx1Zl-BeZWRboYbpmQl2VeL_Xptd9Ey37Y_tle7LFnJ2M5DwtTVR4oXpsXjh09nC/s1600-h/20100224_6437_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu-cermony-funeral-repast" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445743989611337650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFBYJ8Raojud0n_euirII0spFFSCZTShn80TyU9dqJB90tZJz6dcTwjuJGPgJ-VncA-n5WreH_9hagx1Zl-BeZWRboYbpmQl2VeL_Xptd9Ey37Y_tle7LFnJ2M5DwtTVR4oXpsXjh09nC/s400/20100224_6437_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 301px;" /></a><br />
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Following the food offering, those attending the ceremonies go their separate ways, but first, many stop to pay their respects once more.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53-eXblAOiA4GWgYAEmxJ2EaJqC-ytqY4nHmOei5tqlNzGnNNnMkuk1cJZ35KYgGnwCa-nwVtNsD1d5QlBMyJ_lzY9bEFFk6O_5a4Z-xjJSNXq-Z4-KPwx0wQOc6tp_-NDjmslTFaOgVD/s1600-h/20100224_6466_thumb.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="hindu-ceremony-buddhist-death" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445743842355494578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53-eXblAOiA4GWgYAEmxJ2EaJqC-ytqY4nHmOei5tqlNzGnNNnMkuk1cJZ35KYgGnwCa-nwVtNsD1d5QlBMyJ_lzY9bEFFk6O_5a4Z-xjJSNXq-Z4-KPwx0wQOc6tp_-NDjmslTFaOgVD/s400/20100224_6466_thumb.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Finally, from Richard's post, here are a few words written on the occasion of A. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Ramana's</span> death by someone close to him. I think that they speak beautifully about not just the phenomenon of death, but about our connection as humans to one another. No matter what our culture, our traditions or our spiritual perspective, in our humanity and caring for each other, we are all the same.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Everything is ended!</span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
The wave has merged with the Ocean,<br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
<br />
proving and assuring – once again – </span></span></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
that the Ocean alone exists<br />
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<br />
and that waves are part &<br />
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parcel of the Ocean!</span></span></span></b></span></b></span></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-46038668849371067652012-10-30T09:28:00.000-05:002012-10-31T11:39:14.175-05:00Bicycles and Cemeteries: Making Cemeteries Relevant, Part 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">March 4, 2010</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The relationship between bicyclists and cemeteries is a varied and often contentious one. On one extreme, bicycling is prohibited in National Cemeteries. This restriction has prompted protests from both visitors and commuters, but is supported by many people as well. On the other end of the spectrum, Sunset Hill Cemetery in Eugene, Oregon offers the use of a bicycle hearse, allowing for meaningful and carbon free transportation of the deceased to their place of rest.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkveKTgxHHQjpXqVFrBjRG_O461Zov8wiHwMLpDL61BAJdaDnSijIbTTg_sbbMS-Ivcr11IqEb13yJpks_e2JhMSOBFadWoVTd_W2EaRs2hcwfPN9fT4-F3fwFpBEokpVU8imPUb1EWGe/s1600-h/lovely+two.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img alt="cemetery bicycle lane green" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444144746998073266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkveKTgxHHQjpXqVFrBjRG_O461Zov8wiHwMLpDL61BAJdaDnSijIbTTg_sbbMS-Ivcr11IqEb13yJpks_e2JhMSOBFadWoVTd_W2EaRs2hcwfPN9fT4-F3fwFpBEokpVU8imPUb1EWGe/s400/lovely+two.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 311px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An Evening Ride in the Cemetery from the <a href="http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html">Lovely Bicycle!</a> blog</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The recreational nature of bicycling is considered to be disrespectful to the solemnity of the cemetery, military rites, committal services and grieving families by the Veterans Administration. Also prohibited at National Cemeteries are jogging and picnicking. Along with automobiles, bicycles are often prohibited from using National Cemetery roads for transit. The VA states that in order to accommodate the high volume of funeral processions, all vehicles not involved in processions must be parked at the cemetery entrance. This restriction has rankled bicyclists from <a href="http://www.thewashcycle.com/2009/06/no-bicycles-in-arlington-cemetery.html">Arlington</a> to <a href="http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2010-03-01-69171.113116_Bicyclists_want_cemetery_access_back.html#print">Santa Monica</a> who wish to bike in and through National Cemeteries for recreational use, and for safety in commuting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The concern for supporters of this restriction is that the specialness of the cemetery will be lost. That National Cemeteries will become no different from National Parks, with barbecues and Frisbee games taking place among the headstones. Proponents of the restrictions fear a slippery slope leading to highways running through sacred ground, disrupting the respectful rites and deeply emotional services which are the purpose of the cemetery. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEaL1aTPTF6g2eMAcyjzZpGr29DjpHRMP1vO-jbSKDxWJFIybCblvjFOIIVqG3d-BIH9zbtQszp44D7SinNJO6kFtNtZFoHJv5F3LP79fkzuaH6DgsuX_gKY597UtaaF7VWFlRJqviatH/s1600-h/day+dead+bike.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img alt="cemetery bicycle lane" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444129684773441042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEaL1aTPTF6g2eMAcyjzZpGr29DjpHRMP1vO-jbSKDxWJFIybCblvjFOIIVqG3d-BIH9zbtQszp44D7SinNJO6kFtNtZFoHJv5F3LP79fkzuaH6DgsuX_gKY597UtaaF7VWFlRJqviatH/s400/day+dead+bike.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 285px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
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<a href="http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/religion/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A bicycle in flowers during the Day of the Dead in Mexico</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the other side of the continuum, many cemeteries not only allow, but encourage bicycle traffic. The administrators of these cemeteries argue that the more a community is involved in its cemetery, the more they appreciate the beauty and historical significance of the space. As communities become involved, they develop a sense of 'ownership', a desire to keep up and protect the space, and are more likely to choose interment there for themselves and their family members. Not only are bicycle paths encouraged; bird watching is facilitated, religious and ethnic festivals are held and tours, film festivals, and concerts are taking place in cemeteries all over North America.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At issue is the question of who and what a cemetery is for, and what use is appropriate within its walls. Should we respect the dead with solemn silence, focusing only on their passing and the sadness of their loss, or should other emotions and activities be allowed to play a part in our interaction? (In previous posts, I have explored this topic along with the challenges that cemeteries face in remaining <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/08/japanese-cemeteries-fill-up-while.html">relevant</a>; the idea of the cemetery as <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/03/sanctuary-living-in-cemetery.html">Sanctuary</a>, and <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/12/sanctuary-part-2-moving-in.html">dwelling</a> place; and the limits of Freedom of <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/12/christmas-tail-in-long-island-speech.html">Speech</a> in Cemeteries.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unfortunately, in recent years cemeteries have lost much of the relevance they once had. Cemeteries are more and more often seen as a <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/01/zoned-out.html">waste of space</a>, or a gloomy reminder of our inconvenient mortality. For many, they are not a desirable place to visit, much less rest forever. People choose to cremate and scatter in a place that reminds them of life and the spirit of the deceased, rather than bury in a cemetery. Often the unintended consequence of scattering is that mourners have no special place to visit their loved ones; no place to go to share an achievement or setback with their loved one, no place to go to include their loved one in <a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/12/christmas-graves.html">holiday</a> traditions, to continue a very real and important relationship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some cemeteries have made great strides to change their environments and burial options to suit these changing tastes, but many traditional cemeteries already have wonderful and desirable features to enjoy - if only the public would take the time to explore them. This is why cemeteries must allow the activities of life to have a place among the dead.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIDd-mkdK4PQOrEpff_DwaeHuQq_dedOKk0piFqJV-vfjt-n6xFVsAJPh2lBgYrVyqE7yqtKdU79BTIjYfdDoXJ-A7kUTXnf2uon0bu03uDq8R1EYDVgzM9hyNEiN4E_qyyH2lKfIX7zN/s1600-h/lovely+bicycle.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img alt="cemetery bicycle lane funeral" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444129491355750610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIDd-mkdK4PQOrEpff_DwaeHuQq_dedOKk0piFqJV-vfjt-n6xFVsAJPh2lBgYrVyqE7yqtKdU79BTIjYfdDoXJ-A7kUTXnf2uon0bu03uDq8R1EYDVgzM9hyNEiN4E_qyyH2lKfIX7zN/s400/lovely+bicycle.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 375px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Riding a bike through a Provincetown, Mass Cemetery from <a href="http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html">A Lovely Bicycle</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here is an excerpt from this wonderful blog</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">... I present you also with this photo of me and Marianne cycling through <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Provincetown</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> at dusk. I spent part of my childhood in a small <st1:place st="on">New England</st1:place> town, where we lived down the street from a very old graveyard. Its presence seemed entirely normal; my friends and I would even take walks there after dark. Only later did I discover that graveyards freaked other people out. That and old Victorian houses with floorboards that creak even when no one is walking on them. Go figure!</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcx2ZJwtk1oGdhZxUfwZUGtzyr0lxJ8ieMWhyphenhyphenfbP2D8P6gBCQBBQlt5hXn7SKD63JEyywVbloaisi3zhBSa9o8jCvsrXvsp5nG7QXq9eL2fwL1n9D9cKrN5GtliE_5so1suOOOajGKRQoF/s1600-h/20100125_bikerack400.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img alt="cemetery bicycle lane memorial art" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444129333994074962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcx2ZJwtk1oGdhZxUfwZUGtzyr0lxJ8ieMWhyphenhyphenfbP2D8P6gBCQBBQlt5hXn7SKD63JEyywVbloaisi3zhBSa9o8jCvsrXvsp5nG7QXq9eL2fwL1n9D9cKrN5GtliE_5so1suOOOajGKRQoF/s400/20100125_bikerack400.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 289px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal;"><st1:city><st1:place></st1:place></st1:city>Ryerson University Design Student Katy Alter wins First Prize in a Bicycle Rack Design Contest sponsored by innovative <st1:place><st1:placename><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/09/making-cemeteries-relevant-part-2.html">Mount Pleasant</a></st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> in <st1:city><st1:place>Toronto</st1:place></st1:city></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal;"><st1:city><st1:place></st1:place></st1:city>Here is an example of bringing the life of a community into the cemetery, and enriching both in the process. The following is an excerpt from an article by Antoinette Mercurio from the Ryerson University <a href="http://www.ryerson.ca/news/news/General_Public/20100125_bikerack.html">Website</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Third-year interior design student Katy Alter won first place, with her partner Jeff Cogliati, master of architecture, in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mount Pleasant</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> bike rack competition. Students were asked to create specially-designed bicycle racks for <st1:city st="on">Toronto</st1:city>'s historic <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Mount Pleasant</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The idea is that the racks will enhance the bicycle-friendly environment that exists within the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mount Pleasant</st1:place></st1:city> grounds. Andrew Furman selected seven third- and fourth-year students in his interior design course to take on the challenge, letting them choose teammates from any discipline across the university. The first place prize of $3,000 went to Katy Alter, third-year interior design, and her partner Jeff Cogliati, master of architecture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Alter and Cogliati designed "The Lotus," a dynamic, functional and sculptured bike rack that's practical in purpose but artistic in vision as well. They chose the lotus flower because it symbolizes regeneration and the continuing cycle of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"We wanted to create something that blended in with the cemetery and was sensitive to the surroundings," Alter said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The design jury was chaired by Ryerson alumna and renowned landscape architect Janet Rosenberg and included Daniel Doz, dean, Faculty of Communication & Design; Andy Barrie, host of Metro Morning, CBC Radio; Christopher Hume, urban issues and architecture columnist, Toronto Star; and Glenn McClary, President and CEO, Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"When <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mount Pleasant</st1:place></st1:city> approached us about this unique challenge for our students, we were thrilled to be part of this opportunity," Doz said. "This kind of joint initiative speaks to so many aspects of what Ryerson is about - in particular, challenging our students with unique experiential learning opportunities in engaging with our community." The winning team will begin to produce their prototype in April.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d3c3c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">For the full article visit</span> <a href="http://www.ryerson.ca/news/news/General_Public/20100125_bikerack.html">Ryerson.ca</a></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3em99wn2opoo02B42yC6zzyQRE2XccUpfjZG4UIwB_MVugSw9uf8vjX6-yqr6izu5pAuYqWYBg8S8aqAHWTP_gKx3ZPWeEiAZfYDGPyMGuZUPsjCMx-r4cQ5EbVXtTDzE-2aBUKVWxFGF/s1600-h/bike_hearse500.jpg"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img alt="bicycle hearse cycling memorial" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444129245416544802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3em99wn2opoo02B42yC6zzyQRE2XccUpfjZG4UIwB_MVugSw9uf8vjX6-yqr6izu5pAuYqWYBg8S8aqAHWTP_gKx3ZPWeEiAZfYDGPyMGuZUPsjCMx-r4cQ5EbVXtTDzE-2aBUKVWxFGF/s400/bike_hearse500.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 270px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify; width: 400px;" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This photo from <a href="http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=3945">GroovyGreen.com</a> shows Wade Lind, the owner of <st1:place><st1:placename>Sunset</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Hills</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> in Eugene Oregon with his Bicycle Hearse. Inside the hearse is a 'green casket' made of renewable. biodegradable and lightweight materials. This hearse would conceiva<span class="Apple-style-span">bly be allowed within National Cemeteries as it serves a very real, as well as symbolic purpose in the funeral rites and procession!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Activities in cemeteries need to be circumscribed out of respect to their residents, and to remain special and peaceful places for communion and contemplation. However, there is a danger in restricting too much of life's activities within the cemetery walls. Only by opening them up to life, will cemeteries be appreciated, valued and relevant to the needs of the communities they serve. It is my hope that cemeterians will continue to find innovative ways to welcome the life of the community into the cemetery, and that our communities will once again realize how much cemeteries have to offer.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i>Please visit my post on Ghost Bikes: Memorial and Protest</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i> at</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/01/ghost-bikes.html">http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/01/ghost-bikes.html</a></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i>Please visit these posts highlighting innovation in funerals and cemeteries:</i></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/06/blog-post.html" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;">Making Cemeteries Relevant: Feng Shui in Minnesota</a></span></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/09/making-cemeteries-relevant-part-2.html" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Making Cemeteries Relevant: Part 2, Innovation in Toronto</span></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2009/11/technology-facilitates-ritual-at.html" style="color: #e1771e; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Technology Facilitates Ritual at Japanese Cemetery</span></a></li>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-79701613500258518652012-09-07T16:27:00.002-05:002012-09-07T16:28:54.339-05:00Antiview, The Death of the Interview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>ANTIVIEW</b>, a project by Australian journalist Max Opray, frames interview in a negative perspective. According to Opray, it was " born from the death of the interview. When journalists stopped asking new questions, and interviewees stopped answering from the heart. For a long time now, most interviews involve the same set of questions to the same type of celebrities, who regurgitate the same stale answers again, and again, and again.</div>
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So, what if instead of asking people who they are, someone asks who they <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">aren’t</em>? What kind of answers would people give? And what would we learn about them from who they don’t think they are?</div>
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And so Antiview was created. The one rule is that every question has to be negatively-framed: How <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">wouldn’t</em> you describe yourself? What <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">doesn’t</em> motivate you? If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">wouldn’t</em> you bring?</div>
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In the same spirit, Antiguides explain how not to do something, while Antiquotes offer wisdom in a negatively-framed form."</div>
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<span style="background-color: #111111; color: #ebebeb;">This week, Opray interview yours truly. Follow this</span><span style="color: yellow;"> <a href="http://antiview.net/2012/09/07/undertaker-patrick-mcnally-is-not-a-merchant-of-death/" style="background-color: white;">link</a></span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: #111111; color: #ebebeb;">to read it</span></div>
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-38057714962035251902012-08-30T08:10:00.002-05:002012-08-30T08:10:27.491-05:00My Friend Mott-ly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<u>My Friend Mott-ly</u> is a project near and dear to my heart. This documentary, by Chris Snipes, tells the story of Lee 'Mott-ly' Tisdale. Mott-ly was a dear friend and a talented artist, whose courage and vision shone through his devastating illnesses.<br />
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Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-69152487543568996032012-08-10T02:20:00.000-05:002012-08-10T10:55:52.642-05:00A Night for All Souls: An Interview with Paula Jardine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Night for All Souls is a yearly event held at </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mountain View</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cemetery</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vancouver</span></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BC</span></st1:state></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Returning for its sixth year 'A night' provides opportunities for the public to commemorate their dead in a family oriented community art event. Activities this year include a popular sugar skull crafting workshop, music, candles, the serving of tea, and the opportunity to create personal memorials. Visual and performing artists come together with members of the community to share and contribute to this wonderful event. Paula Jardine, Mountain View Cemetery's Artist in Residence, and the creator of this event has graciously agreed to discuss this project on The Daily Undertaker</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3M-rgtVK7sHBTFVzArI1ro-FXkF_9XPNBpoSUrf8BVMRAir6VQ3Mgi5ffJtGYsknwge_fPwEXd2_D91KsFJjOYEFrb75Hhn38GxN1z5WgIBvdTiRv3z0vxMBm_ds8MJOVKsOxdNi3axp/s1600/IMG_8237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3M-rgtVK7sHBTFVzArI1ro-FXkF_9XPNBpoSUrf8BVMRAir6VQ3Mgi5ffJtGYsknwge_fPwEXd2_D91KsFJjOYEFrb75Hhn38GxN1z5WgIBvdTiRv3z0vxMBm_ds8MJOVKsOxdNi3axp/s320/IMG_8237.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2007: credit Claire Alexander</span> - </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chinese altar 8237 : Walter Quan demonstrates his family's way of honouring the ancestors with food and incense offerings, and folding joss paper and burning it. There is a lovely casual exchange of different customs with people who drop by, and it's also an opportunity for non asian people to feel welcomed to learn and participate</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pat McNally:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> In your work with A Night for All Souls, you have created and facilitated many wonderful ceremonies and rituals acknowledging our dead and the loss we experience in their passing. What specific personal and community needs does this festival address? </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Paula Jardine:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The Night for All Souls grew out of work I had been doing with Marina Szijarto- who I work with closely on this event. Really what we were trying to do was reclaim traditions that our own ancestors seemed to have forgotten to pass on to us. We may not live in the village where our ancestors are buried, but that human impulse to remember the dead – as a way of keeping them in our lives – is still there. It seemed to us that artists have an important role to play in the sacred life of our increasingly secular society: that even if someone is not religious it doesn’t mean they don’t have spiritual needs. The biggest gift of the night for all souls is I think the social aspect; except at funerals or memorials, we do not invite conversation about death and it’s presence in our lives. At this event, we are surrounded by people who, simply by being present, have acknowledged that they share that experience. People create memorial shrines, or write messages and names on prayer flags, or the memorial triptych that Marina has created, and we can see that we are not alone. We inspire each other with our words, and with the beauty of our creations. It is a very supportive environment- not somber, but definitely caring and gentle. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Infant area cradle, Haruko Okano<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> One of the really remarkable and inspiring parts of A night for All Souls is that many different cultures, faiths and traditions are incorporated and welcomed. Is there something universal that we can all relate to in this? Could this be a model for how we engage and relate to others? </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PJ: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Well death is definitely something that all cultures share! I believe that culture is a living thing, not static; by bringing our own traditions and sharing them, we influence each other and something new is made. It’s something that may be truly Canadian, that willingness to share culture and allow it to transform to meet our needs.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We chose this time of year because it is traditional in so many northern hemisphere traditions, all soul’s, all hallows eve, Celtic New Year. And there was also discussion about how “under siege” the cemetery is around Hallowe’en, and a sense that by reinforcing the sacred nature of the cemetery it would make it safer.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Triptych: Marina Szijarto<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We initially thought this event would appeal to people without a strong cultural or religious tradition, but we are finding that many religious people of different backgrounds also come: perhaps death, being the great equalizer, is also the light of truth, that is, it illuminates the central tenant of all the religions, which is Love. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PM:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Children experience death just as the rest of us do, but they often lack the communication skills and perspective that can help adults share and move through their grief. What can an experience like participating in All Souls give to children?</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PJ:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I think it has a normalizing effect. We were just talking about that at our Sugar Skulls workshop (another borrowed tradition that people have been making their own) and how having a traditional time set aside to talk about death, and those who have come before us, creates an opportunity for children to understand that they are part of a continuum, and that death is a natural part of life. Importantly, it introduces children to the idea of death when it is not a calamity. We have beautiful paper and votive candles and flowers for the creation of personal memorials at the event as well, and we’ve found we don’t have to explain that to children, in fact they seem to inspire the adults.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbqo-HkEsE46BS8TMbNfmRh7u4oka0qYLQA75hvnEX7RI6nFhkVuowoYkLhOKFM4C7SaQrmaXaXV7SCgXHknuOibZQgaMtc697fA9eFhp9rF5QouvR4kKUZU7Qh16gh7rB2pAqFGgO_Vb/s1600/IMG_8137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbqo-HkEsE46BS8TMbNfmRh7u4oka0qYLQA75hvnEX7RI6nFhkVuowoYkLhOKFM4C7SaQrmaXaXV7SCgXHknuOibZQgaMtc697fA9eFhp9rF5QouvR4kKUZU7Qh16gh7rB2pAqFGgO_Vb/s320/IMG_8137.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friend: Nicole Dextras<br />
(chinese pavillion in background)<br />
photo credit: Claire Alexander </span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PM:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The intersection of Art and Death is a major theme on The Daily Undertaker. What are your thoughts about the role of art in grasping and dealing with the sometimes overwhelming and unknowable reality of our mortality?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PJ:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Art allows us an opportunity to disengage our rational mind and swim in the poetic. The expression of our feelings through art can be therapeutic both for the creator and the viewer; simple gestures can be cathartic and help us heal. One year artist Nicole Dextras created a memorial to a friend with ice letters: the letters melted throughout the evening as a visible expression of the impermanence of our own lives; another artist created a wooden ship that was also a flying phoenix, to carry the memory of her father: the works of the artists who create things for all souls uplift us all to greater heights of beauty and expression.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PM:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Throughout human existence, the places of the dead and the places of the living have alternately been shared and separate. In bringing the living into Mountain View Cemetery through arts and cultural events, our perception of these places, and our place within them changes. What are your thoughts on the separation and bringing together of these two worlds?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PJ: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> When I first approached the manager, Glen Hodges, the cemetery was going through a major renewal, driven by a public process that established a master plan for regenerating interment space. One of the things that surfaced in the public process was a desire for public and community arts in the cemetery: A Night for All Souls addresses a community need to feel engaged with the cemetery; and to claim it as an active public space. My feelings about that are best expressed by this quote from Maria Papacostaki’s book, "The Town of the Forty Churches" :</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“ ...so they slept their eternal sleep, resting assured that those left behind would continue looking after them according to their traditions and familiar ways, because every one of us will end up in the same place and all of us long to know that after we have crossed the dark river, we are still loved, and remembered and looked after.”</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzYvuPy_z4zPCBeMBTtBF6WPWtc47diDEGwREYM4fNG21lOkqrOAl8wCgZRPu5aIaD7E2YTOD0o2-sNZkIUQcOpVlkispVskA8dZGiht7BihSsLGepd6wvdItxa_2F9C3pCbhTLXpyLLO/s1600/IMG_8226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzYvuPy_z4zPCBeMBTtBF6WPWtc47diDEGwREYM4fNG21lOkqrOAl8wCgZRPu5aIaD7E2YTOD0o2-sNZkIUQcOpVlkispVskA8dZGiht7BihSsLGepd6wvdItxa_2F9C3pCbhTLXpyLLO/s320/IMG_8226.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Phoenix: Tamara Unroe<br />
photo credit: Claire Alexander</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PM:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> What do you think our culture would look like if more artists were engaged to be civil servants?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PJ:</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Artists are creative problem solvers; I do actually think that it should be policy to have an artist on every team within the city structure, especially in engineering. There would be less emphasis on doing things for purely practical reasons, so there would be more whimsy. We might have more beauty in general, and roads might be less straight (or maybe they would be invisible!) And artists know how to stretch a dollar, that’s for sure, so we might even have less debt load!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvpMs3tqze1726eGQFWTgC2p6auwjPK97w_iC4hPlFVpnSs4vSr9JSU8CzC3kIhdIMQGMbQI6UwKmExXe-bPPinqyF18kn0X0t28dIDE_b1jcAb63CD2rMfBgOZ6sBEK-abBZdCvEFDBP/s1600/poster2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvpMs3tqze1726eGQFWTgC2p6auwjPK97w_iC4hPlFVpnSs4vSr9JSU8CzC3kIhdIMQGMbQI6UwKmExXe-bPPinqyF18kn0X0t28dIDE_b1jcAb63CD2rMfBgOZ6sBEK-abBZdCvEFDBP/s320/poster2010.jpg" width="245" /></span></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a schedule of this year's activities. For more information visit </span><a href="http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/nonmarketoperations/mountainview/allsouls/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mountain View Cemetery</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saturday - October 30th</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><st1:time hour="18" minute="0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6pm - 10pm</span></st1:time><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 6th Annual Night for All Souls <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Music, Candles and Flowers<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunday - October 31st</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><st1:time hour="19" minute="0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7pm - 8pm</span></st1:time><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Threshold Choir<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The all-women choir honours the ancient tradition of singing at the bedsides of people<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">who are struggling: some with living, some with dying.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monday - November 1st</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><st1:time hour="19" minute="0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7pm</span></st1:time><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A special showing of the film: A Family Undertaking - Home Funerals in </span><st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tuesday - November 2nd</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><st1:time hour="18" minute="0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6pm - 9pm</span></st1:time><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tea in the evening<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Events take place in Celebration Hall, </span><st1:street><st1:address><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5445 Fraser Street</span></st1:address></st1:street><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> at </span><st1:street><st1:address><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">39th Avenue</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><st1:street><st1:address><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more on Mountain View Cemetery, please visit my </span><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2010/07/making-cemeteries-relevant-part-5.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">interview</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> with Cemetery Manager, Glen Hodges</span></st1:address></st1:street></span><br />
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</div>Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-72650047040936430082012-08-05T06:10:00.000-05:002012-08-05T07:32:10.566-05:00In Lieu of Memorials, Please Send Flowers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioNIcbVC68p4gQSHy8Cqy0t47bbckBk9VPV5b75MWZj4CX7n7kYkoJmVeXHVccObg26wxHCBw75iD3QTQyt3vkgh9M9kwSSjQbBul0jX9YwnEpIXyxBCYeMuw-nbwWoNDw55JELVHYMQ/s1600-h/funerflow.jpg"><img alt="funeral flowers" border="0" id="Funeral flowers" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioNIcbVC68p4gQSHy8Cqy0t47bbckBk9VPV5b75MWZj4CX7n7kYkoJmVeXHVccObg26wxHCBw75iD3QTQyt3vkgh9M9kwSSjQbBul0jX9YwnEpIXyxBCYeMuw-nbwWoNDw55JELVHYMQ/s400/funerflow.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><span style="font-size: 78%;"> </span><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/psag/279220369/"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://flickr.com/photos/psag/279220369/</span></a></div>
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A director I used to work with always said 'flowers are the bain of the funeral director's existence'. Indeed, we spend a lot of our time arranging flowers at the chapel for visitation, then moving them to church for the service, then, taking some to the grave, some to the home, some to this nursing home and that hospice. In the cold weather we have to wrap and unwrap the flowers and plants with plastic so they don't wither away. Pollen satins our white shirts, petals fall and stinky water spills all over in the vehicles. I almost lost a finger in a flower stand accident!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BiaghodrTBTtH4GZniOfbYs9psMlxvjxx0-cySnTNfF3z0uhAcb5t2PF_5O4Je87z1ACzpYulicyEVaZYQOGMEetL4tyDEYlfizLb4nbNkwp_8GXmqFQtJkZMIfr-1DSGhFCt-za4jE/s1600-h/sympathypic.jpg"><img alt="Funeral Floral" border="0" id="funeral flowers" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BiaghodrTBTtH4GZniOfbYs9psMlxvjxx0-cySnTNfF3z0uhAcb5t2PF_5O4Je87z1ACzpYulicyEVaZYQOGMEetL4tyDEYlfizLb4nbNkwp_8GXmqFQtJkZMIfr-1DSGhFCt-za4jE/s400/sympathypic.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a> <a href="http://www.jaynepugh.co.uk/sympathytributes.htm"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://www.jaynepugh.co.uk/sympathytributes.htm</span></a></div>
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Often, the family has no idea of what to do with all the flowers and plants they get- who has room for all of this, and do you really want to look at it for a week? In order for the family to be able to write accurate thank-you notes to everyone who sends flowers, the funeral home staff has to make sure there is a description on the back of all the cards of the pieces, and there is almost never a description on the back. Don't even get me started on the giant trees some people send when the family lives in an apartment or nursing home! And then, there's the cost- many families ask 'why not put the money to better use- let's just list a memorial instead.'</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLIA7ltoVh9mU-tiXmOfrttfAb9o331jbgMYqzYd3wVfUFa9_UCizg6aBuk1RYyKeMhUFrFSNIz4u_KDTYguCF3uFEYEp8GNlmK2NGcoMfvPh6-AHU5ZjaVAK_1uXH6Pp_Wf8fB2ItyLw/s1600-h/funeral-flowers.jpg"><img alt="Funeral Florist" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250142066382939362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLIA7ltoVh9mU-tiXmOfrttfAb9o331jbgMYqzYd3wVfUFa9_UCizg6aBuk1RYyKeMhUFrFSNIz4u_KDTYguCF3uFEYEp8GNlmK2NGcoMfvPh6-AHU5ZjaVAK_1uXH6Pp_Wf8fB2ItyLw/s400/funeral-flowers.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a> <a href="http://www.nzflowers.co.nz/93/funeral-flowers/"><span style="font-size: 78%;">http://www.nzflowers.co.nz/93/funeral-flowers/</span></a></div>
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Well, I'm all for donating to worthy charities, and I won't mind only moving five pieces of flowers to church tomorrow, but when I die, I'd like my obituary to read 'In lieu of memorials, please send flowers'. </div>
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Flowers are a visible expression for a grieving family that their friends and family and neighbors and coworkers care and are thinking of them in their loss. When a family comes in before their visitation, the first thing they do after weeping at the casket is look at all the flowers and say 'isn't that nice, aren't these beautiful, look these are from my job! these are from our neighbor!' When they come into the chapel for the service, again there is the visual reminder of all the people who may not have the words to make things any better, but have shown by their actions that this person and this loss are meaningful. Whatever the cost of the flowers, and whatever is done with them afterwards-they made a difference to that family.<br />
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</div>Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-69356342506364293692012-07-17T06:59:00.000-05:002012-07-17T08:02:24.947-05:00A Fitting Tribute<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">12/15/2009</span></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pkbChMJY0jjHgcuRg4FBiVv8B_GDhx1jm1TaxlCqEjwjYHPBtOAKMSK1O-N4bihdeGgVsQO-a6xNbshlREqcHAy4UVOQa37PPE2uVeFqtVq-KUgjG_HDkU18cwpU3TBDSJWS3Z6jhIFm/s1600-h/bilde+(3).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial ritual" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415493626217391762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pkbChMJY0jjHgcuRg4FBiVv8B_GDhx1jm1TaxlCqEjwjYHPBtOAKMSK1O-N4bihdeGgVsQO-a6xNbshlREqcHAy4UVOQa37PPE2uVeFqtVq-KUgjG_HDkU18cwpU3TBDSJWS3Z6jhIFm/s400/bilde+(3).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 194px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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Photos via <a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20091212/NEWS01/912120311/1002">Mansfield News Journal</a></div>
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What makes a funeral or memorial service meaningful? What makes a tribute fitting and moving? This is an issue that has been of great concern to caring funeral directors for many years now, as we strive to meet the changing needs of families. Many different products have come along from candles to casket corners to photo slideshows and dove releases, all offering an opportunity to personalize the funeral experience. These products can be meaningful for some families, but they have a tendency of becoming just one more cookie cutter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGy4c4gV7NZQO2ncpcuaxgWOU7tKpWex8wANkVkO1QdIUoesIi8Xbrr4IuSFFr0GuJkqRiQhF21LnsAOwlUkX-Kwe3DnGjLxg6hdZ7DO6Z-2dVnZz5fYVQbLfbmSuotTiqv9wxhplFbk-X/s1600-h/bilde+(1).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial ritual" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415493499178385986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGy4c4gV7NZQO2ncpcuaxgWOU7tKpWex8wANkVkO1QdIUoesIi8Xbrr4IuSFFr0GuJkqRiQhF21LnsAOwlUkX-Kwe3DnGjLxg6hdZ7DO6Z-2dVnZz5fYVQbLfbmSuotTiqv9wxhplFbk-X/s400/bilde+(1).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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In my professional opinion, creating a meaningful and fitting tribute involves a lot of listening, responding creatively, and enlisting the participation of family and friends. A loving and meaningful expression by the survivors is facilitated, not just sold, and the value of the funeral director is his or her ability to offer experience and ideas, not just products. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDqmDoHODMp9WPE46mRdWhTX6ILHdqhYCBTlPXbqqEfD4h2jsHe58JdGhaLgH666aArDBAeTjEakxBBSUCmLRtJQytSE3Ic9TKhHx2YFqFQgKgM8Vt4MepqmtPaRuv68QH8Yu8nhdVIz7/s1600-h/bilde.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="cemetery memorial ritual" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415493408818494834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDqmDoHODMp9WPE46mRdWhTX6ILHdqhYCBTlPXbqqEfD4h2jsHe58JdGhaLgH666aArDBAeTjEakxBBSUCmLRtJQytSE3Ic9TKhHx2YFqFQgKgM8Vt4MepqmtPaRuv68QH8Yu8nhdVIz7/s400/bilde.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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A wonderful example of a meaningful tribute comes to us from Shiloh, Ohio, where friends got together in bitter cold temperatures to dig by hand, the grave of retired sexton Pete Ferrell. Mr. Ferrell was a friendly giving man who dug hundreds and hundreds of graves by hand over his 50 year career. Even after the use of modern excavating equipment became common, he insisted on digging by hand because he thought it was a better method. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS_J0edkuCzrOzf3D8rlb5Prj93NZd3jS9JIoxxL8flgncxbOYlZjIOZ2xOubnjekXHWBmSO2JekPi-6Hh8CLWdgD-lEcioAtpt_h2V-f-R9qiALVWEnWkcuG4Kt3p2_9A7x8zxIl6Nc6/s1600-h/bilde+(2).jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415493322071771618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS_J0edkuCzrOzf3D8rlb5Prj93NZd3jS9JIoxxL8flgncxbOYlZjIOZ2xOubnjekXHWBmSO2JekPi-6Hh8CLWdgD-lEcioAtpt_h2V-f-R9qiALVWEnWkcuG4Kt3p2_9A7x8zxIl6Nc6/s400/bilde+(2).jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 284px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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The tribute is appropriate to Mr. Farrell's life, work and personality. The participation of his friends makes it an act of love, and a healing and uplifting experience for them. How often do you see people digging a grave by hand in frigid temperatures with big smiles on their faces? These people will never forget their experience. They have acknowledged the reality of the situation, and fully embraced an active role in respectfully laying their friend to rest. Mr. Ferrell would surely be proud, and the survivors have worked through their grief in a positive way. That's what makes a fitting tribute. </div>
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To read the wonderful article by Dave Polcyn and for more photos, visit </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20091212/NEWS01/912120311/1002">The Mansfield News Journal</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For more stories about meaningful services, visit:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/07/inspiring-services.html">Inspiring Services</a></span></span></div>
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</div>Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-33689014719917662012012-07-16T00:21:00.000-05:002012-07-16T08:32:24.559-05:00Life after Death: Kenneth O'Halloran<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;"><span style="color: #999999;">JANUARY 13, 2011</span></span></h2>
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Irish photographer Kenneth O'Halloran's series "Life after Death" focuses on the artist's father, an aging undertaker. Like many Irish undertakers, and the undertakers of Americas past, the elder O'Halloran's livelihood was supplemented by plying another trade. In his case it was a drapery shop. In the case of my great grandfather, a second generation Irish American in late 19th Century Iowa, it was a hardware store.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjbDrp7FJfvNvYd3qbiM_w0kiEVM8anRuZVyaAErgT18FDXX0EIhH0ezk51HWJt0SnHI9-TJ4K_mPPZpA22zvgTTKKkCKY-LGJ596qDlJYUOITVnfsMOhCjVyR-XDEm9DuOz5OEGl8F96/s1600/father_14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjbDrp7FJfvNvYd3qbiM_w0kiEVM8anRuZVyaAErgT18FDXX0EIhH0ezk51HWJt0SnHI9-TJ4K_mPPZpA22zvgTTKKkCKY-LGJ596qDlJYUOITVnfsMOhCjVyR-XDEm9DuOz5OEGl8F96/s320/father_14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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O'Halloran's portrayal of death within the context of ordinary life, both touching and mundane, provides us with a perspective that has been lost in modern America. These fascinating photos are made even more moving by the undeniable undercurrent of the Undertaker O'Halloran's advancing age and inevitable passing. </div>
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My thanks to Kenneth for his kind permission in allowing me to share these images, and his words with my readers, all of which is his copyrighted property. Enjoy, and please visit the Kenneth O'Halloran <a href="http://kennethohalloran.com/">web site</a> for more of this compelling work. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Though now a more secular society, Ireland still has remnants and relics of the old religious faith, even if many of its devoted followers are typically advanced in age - part of what might be termed a dying generation. The Catholic Church had been one of the country's mainstays. Falling Mass attendances, declining priest numbers and various damaging scandals have shaken the institution and weakened its grip. Despite this my father is a daily Mass-goer; his faith doesn't appear to have flinched."</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The house where I grew up in the west of Ireland is where my father now resides with his wife and their daughter Susan; all the rest of the family have flown the nest, some starting families of their own, one in New York where she has become part of the Irish Diaspora. The religious paraphernalia located throughout this house gives God a central presence and status not uncommon in Ireland at the time. We prayed as a family, like when the Angelus bells struck at noon and six in the evening. We knelt at night to say the Holy Rosary. Many of our rites of passage as children were rooted in Catholicism - our first communion, our confirmation, and so on."</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"My father, who is 80, would not have seen anything remarkable in this. He was merely carrying on the tradition of his own father's generation. Having spent half his life working, he recently retired, closing his drapery store. His undertaker's business continues. For me and others in the family it meant that death was never far away or overtly mysterious. We became accustomed to the dead of our parish being prepared for the final ceremonies before burial. We would often come home from school to see who had died that day."</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"If we truly wanted to make our father proud, we would have mastered the game he followed all his life: hurling. This ancient Irish sport, requiring great dexterity, courage and speed, can still weave a spell on him. Born in a rural community he has seen his own life change and now that of his children too. In recent years he lost a brother to whom he was close. Now I see him deriving great joy from his grandchildren. In their company he seems tranquil. At peace. His work done."</span></blockquote>
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For More, visit <a href="http://kennethohalloran.com/">http://kennethohalloran.com/</a></div>
</div>Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7813821665597068396.post-80076152068081559212012-07-14T04:00:00.000-05:002012-07-14T07:57:00.812-05:00Promession: A Return to the Living Soil<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; letter-spacing: inherit; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;">TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZgl2j1bJo75deNDPWp4JIIQKRJUHUGGRyAMkiFJvlGGZMnGma1PoGOSxFHTGgdLxoLe6sU3aTAQQgkRJ1MBlQLPa68NBQct_6rjY3E9jogRCJiQXUqj5py_CTxnTNTpV_g5AB0BsYYM/s1600-h/susanne_botan2.jpg"><img alt="Susanne Wiight-Mäsak of Promessa AB" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251898613082450722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZgl2j1bJo75deNDPWp4JIIQKRJUHUGGRyAMkiFJvlGGZMnGma1PoGOSxFHTGgdLxoLe6sU3aTAQQgkRJ1MBlQLPa68NBQct_6rjY3E9jogRCJiQXUqj5py_CTxnTNTpV_g5AB0BsYYM/s400/susanne_botan2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a> Promessa Organic AB of Sweden is developing a new method of disposition for the dead called 'promession'. Promession is described as an environmentally friendly form of burial, and could in fact be the greenest of green disposition options. In addition to its green credentials, promession is offered as a more ethical option than cremation or burial. Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, biologist and head of operations at Promessa Organic AB recently gave a very interesting and inspiring presentation at the 90th annual convention of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) and agreed to discuss promession with me for this post.<br />
The process of promession involves a promator, freezing human remains in liquid nitrogen (a byproduct of the compressed oxygen produced already for medical purposes.) Once frozen, the casket and remains are agitated with a shaking motion from a table below them, causing them to shatter into tiny pieces. These pieces are then freeze dried to remove all the moisture from them. Metals are then separated, and after being laid in a biodegradable coffin can be buried, returning all the nutritious components to the soil.<br />
I asked Ms. Wiigh-Mäsak how she came to develop this process. She is both a biologist, and an engineer, and has been keenly interested in gardening and science since youth. A special interest has been composting, and she is careful to point out the difference between decomposition and rotting. According to Ms.Wiigh-Mäsak, proper composting involves decomposition, which requires the same conditions that sustain life: air, proper moisture and proper temperature. These conditions allow for a substance to break down to the nutrient level that can replenish the earth's living soil, and are necessary for enzymes and microorganisms to do their work as well. The alternative to decomposition, says Wiigh-Mäsak, is rotting. Rotting occurs when the remains are too large for the air and soil to act upon their surface readily enough to break down in a positive manner. In the case of rot, the body's substances return to the earth, but not in a form that is enriching and replenishing to the living soil.<br />
Because of her deep interest in composting, Ms. Wiigh-Mäsak was struck by the idea that kitchen scraps are treated with more reverence than the bodies of our loved ones. The nutrients of an apple core, that have been taken from the earth, can be returned to it through proper composting techniques, but the six and a half billion human bodies that have drawn life from the living soil are destined to burn off, rot away or lock away their nutrients, rather than return them in a positive way to the earth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwghTWeKSZvFv_F1PxwUY8p-8VunQPfzJ4e2MqL5Tzojbmi7LLG7XfZYGUxeDyYA-z-xkXEjwWAqJz3rQClbmFVU5Y66uwtJ9Ghs5HM0XsOfxcwnGAJ_bkJ8bKa2fQRTbJZQY7JG148P0/s1600-h/promession-steg1.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251898385986009138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwghTWeKSZvFv_F1PxwUY8p-8VunQPfzJ4e2MqL5Tzojbmi7LLG7XfZYGUxeDyYA-z-xkXEjwWAqJz3rQClbmFVU5Y66uwtJ9Ghs5HM0XsOfxcwnGAJ_bkJ8bKa2fQRTbJZQY7JG148P0/s400/promession-steg1.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a> 1. The corpse is frozen down to -18 °C.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiued-G8v4WfCntjhYisRwLK4GC19aOzJi6BFmslGtGpuw2YakZj4NOu8L9TL3No0myb6cJpCvAAO0YKJBJLhnuejnNjiVQorwIbaI23SdpIuZYFkJWWXKvLzvtyUXuCCa-TblVKCgMwGs/s1600-h/promession-steg2.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251898127588654386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiued-G8v4WfCntjhYisRwLK4GC19aOzJi6BFmslGtGpuw2YakZj4NOu8L9TL3No0myb6cJpCvAAO0YKJBJLhnuejnNjiVQorwIbaI23SdpIuZYFkJWWXKvLzvtyUXuCCa-TblVKCgMwGs/s400/promession-steg2.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a> 2. The coffin with the deceased is lowered into liquid nitrogen. The body becomes very firm and brittle.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLw6VpbUMUpksp7gzfcwyHZJHZ_S2DnfdpAisNcHQ4zFoX33BKbWBWdKBKYrz2Iw9r3i26G_PwxB4UysPwSphyocecO0AiRJRBZf_juPtaYNNnWDP8iomv7VoYZ-GPz32LeppomBCoW8A/s1600-h/promession-steg3.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251897970172934450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLw6VpbUMUpksp7gzfcwyHZJHZ_S2DnfdpAisNcHQ4zFoX33BKbWBWdKBKYrz2Iw9r3i26G_PwxB4UysPwSphyocecO0AiRJRBZf_juPtaYNNnWDP8iomv7VoYZ-GPz32LeppomBCoW8A/s400/promession-steg3.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a>3. The coffin and the body are exposed to a light vibration, disintegrating into dust. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dQLadpEr_or00Rv8yZR6WtJ4scXaTFxfeM4heXKBysVLez-GWnp3uKrN7uHYGpr8hqcM57h54MORvICMW2YIb32rXnULUYHTaSBOmH18M0x5lA6vPyRVVwTPUYT_swh_wEdu_WeuLdI/s1600-h/promession-steg4.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251897791335721586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dQLadpEr_or00Rv8yZR6WtJ4scXaTFxfeM4heXKBysVLez-GWnp3uKrN7uHYGpr8hqcM57h54MORvICMW2YIb32rXnULUYHTaSBOmH18M0x5lA6vPyRVVwTPUYT_swh_wEdu_WeuLdI/s400/promession-steg4.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
4. Mercury and other metals are separated using an induced magnetic field.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCDUf1odQE9H1BkknQDf5stAfhgsWn5ZdofdwUpw98TSBEkXDeL8vyXxc7b9v06SMFex_lLVpFbw6U9LzYtTRyupkVqz-PdQA6RDX7j21lQdSHtK0Lbb-vOWJUaUofG4pR_5_PnvY9cQ/s1600-h/promession-steg5.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251897656878034594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCDUf1odQE9H1BkknQDf5stAfhgsWn5ZdofdwUpw98TSBEkXDeL8vyXxc7b9v06SMFex_lLVpFbw6U9LzYtTRyupkVqz-PdQA6RDX7j21lQdSHtK0Lbb-vOWJUaUofG4pR_5_PnvY9cQ/s400/promession-steg5.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a> 5. 25 - 30 kg of the powder now remains. This is put into a coffin made from maize starch or potato starch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKfP7DTppPi7qlv5qgO6BAL-7Ic4K5ZIor6GDmnBsd9HKW5KKDugxa6y85HUiNMeFm3ZmWYJ8WysvGLmTgJdGDJYi1dC9YmgtMt-GxtaNNaZzdlS0W1RCM00ARkIN6KGRsJB4X8O9pRw/s1600-h/promession-steg6.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251897513649901986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKfP7DTppPi7qlv5qgO6BAL-7Ic4K5ZIor6GDmnBsd9HKW5KKDugxa6y85HUiNMeFm3ZmWYJ8WysvGLmTgJdGDJYi1dC9YmgtMt-GxtaNNaZzdlS0W1RCM00ARkIN6KGRsJB4X8O9pRw/s400/promession-steg6.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
6. The starch coffin is buried shallowly and will turn into compost in 6 - 12 months' time. A tree can be planted on the grave. It will then absorb the nutrients given off.</div>
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Combining her interests in biology and engineering Ms.Wiigh-Mäsak developed the promession concept. She argues that this process in essential for the health of the living soil as well as an appealing and respectful disposition of the dead. According to Ms. Wiigh-Mäsak, even direct burial in a shroud is not as positive for the earth because the mass of the body, and the amount of moisture left in it prevents proper decomposition and results in rotting. What is truly different about promession is the process whereby the body is broken down to a point where the proper composting and a positive return to the living soil is accomplished.<br />
Ms. Wiigh-Mäsak describes the actual physical process of promession to be something that is appealing to witness, a process that even a small child could watch and not be disturbed or frightened.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtVPh0F0KXbIsuoOX4qYDOcWylOs7tKgixooSCdb5dwnWyq41sUmn2VaXJj_ettYmLuh1cTdG8HJ9M1KZn1lS0WStQFky1og0yxrFRajkITi05bnt0yGTKL592cOqi51-uWcrorT_s4M/s1600-h/susanne_botan1.jpg"><img alt="Susanne Wiight-Mäsak of Promessa AB" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251897320352234402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtVPh0F0KXbIsuoOX4qYDOcWylOs7tKgixooSCdb5dwnWyq41sUmn2VaXJj_ettYmLuh1cTdG8HJ9M1KZn1lS0WStQFky1og0yxrFRajkITi05bnt0yGTKL592cOqi51-uWcrorT_s4M/s400/susanne_botan1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><br />
So, how far away are we from having promession as an option to choose from? Promessa is currently preparing for operations in South Korea, where laws have been passed to allow for this form of disposition, and promession has been embraced by the Christian Church there. Sweden is also getting closer to allowing promession as an option. Leaders of many religious denominations have determined that promession is consistent with the tenets of their faith. As far as the future of promession in North America, laws must be passed to allow for promession, and Promessa is currently in the process of selecting licensees and promession providers.<br />
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<em>For more information on Promessa AB and promession visit the web site at </em><a href="http://promessa.se/index_en.asp">http://promessa.se/index_en.asp</a> </div>
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</div>Patrick McNallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264369363269384639noreply@blogger.com13