This past October my wife, sons, and I, met up with my wife's brothers' families at Lake Tahoe to remember my wife's parents and spread their ashes together. The event was not necessarily a somber event as both parents had passed away some years back. The day turned out to be not only beautiful, but very spiritual and memorable as well. Many of the memories shared gravitated toward both parents' love for their family and friends. To memorialize the occasion I wanted to design a pen that would incorporate elements from both the event itself and something representing both parents.
My middle son (who has also done some pen turning) and I found a piece of timber on the lake shore closest to the parents' final resting location. The best I can tell the timber is Jeffrey Pine. I decided to use the timber on blanks for the lower barrel, and incorporate pieces of both parents' urns as well. These pieces would form the center ring of the lower portion of the pen. My father-in-law's urn was made from ivory acrylic and my mother-in-law's urn was made from walnut. Because the timber was close to the color of the ivory acrylic, the best design for the ring was to use two pieces of the walnut on the outside and one piece of ivory acrylic on the inside.
For the upper barrel of the pen I decided to create a collage of photos from the weekend and then create the upper portions through label casting. I decided to use Fancy Slimline pen kits from Exotic Blanks in the pens for the ladies and black and gold Slimlines for the men.
As I ventured through the process, I began to realize how much knowledge I had gain this past year from reading posts and tutorials from all of you. Whether it was the tutorial on label casting from Cody Walker, the numerous postings and comments on stabilizing, or the sharing of information on the always challenging finishing process, you all had made some contribution in the creation of these pens. I would be remiss if I did not mention JTTheClockman's advice on taking my time and being patient during every step was consistently present in my mind throughout the process.
The pens were given to each family member on Christmas day, and by the number of teared up eyes I would say they process was a success. There has not been a day I can think of when I have not been online reading your posts, being awed by your incredible creations, and expanding my knowledge into this exciting craft we all have ventured into. So to you my extended family, I want to say thank you all for being a bright spot in a very challenging year.
God bless you all.
Enjoy the photos.
Tim
My middle son (who has also done some pen turning) and I found a piece of timber on the lake shore closest to the parents' final resting location. The best I can tell the timber is Jeffrey Pine. I decided to use the timber on blanks for the lower barrel, and incorporate pieces of both parents' urns as well. These pieces would form the center ring of the lower portion of the pen. My father-in-law's urn was made from ivory acrylic and my mother-in-law's urn was made from walnut. Because the timber was close to the color of the ivory acrylic, the best design for the ring was to use two pieces of the walnut on the outside and one piece of ivory acrylic on the inside.
For the upper barrel of the pen I decided to create a collage of photos from the weekend and then create the upper portions through label casting. I decided to use Fancy Slimline pen kits from Exotic Blanks in the pens for the ladies and black and gold Slimlines for the men.
As I ventured through the process, I began to realize how much knowledge I had gain this past year from reading posts and tutorials from all of you. Whether it was the tutorial on label casting from Cody Walker, the numerous postings and comments on stabilizing, or the sharing of information on the always challenging finishing process, you all had made some contribution in the creation of these pens. I would be remiss if I did not mention JTTheClockman's advice on taking my time and being patient during every step was consistently present in my mind throughout the process.
The pens were given to each family member on Christmas day, and by the number of teared up eyes I would say they process was a success. There has not been a day I can think of when I have not been online reading your posts, being awed by your incredible creations, and expanding my knowledge into this exciting craft we all have ventured into. So to you my extended family, I want to say thank you all for being a bright spot in a very challenging year.
God bless you all.
Enjoy the photos.
Tim