It’s honestly hard for me to capture the sacred story of this talisman. I have made memorial jewelry before, but spirit has never played such a role in a design like this.
Adding someone’s ashes to a piece of jewelry is sacred. My usual way to incorporate a loved one’s ashes is to blend them into my fine silver metal clay. It changes the texture of the material and what is left is a grittier and more complex surface.
Elizabeth and I decided to design this one a little differently. We laid her daughter’s ashes between the metal and the stone like a catacomb for her to inhabit.
Our original design had radiating lines with her personal symbol on the backside for her to hold close to her heart. As I was getting close to finishing, I felt this desire to incorporate four compass points. After I had sealed the sacred resting spot of Elizabeth’s daughter’s ashes under the stone, the east compass point seemed to disappear.
It was as if her energy had blended with mine, and she was starting to offer her advice on the final design. So, as I looked at it, I first fretting at first that I would have to make the entire thing again. I recognized that if I just leaned into spirit, it would be exactly what it was meant to be.
So, I realized that her plan was to keep just one. The north node. As if reminding her mother of home. And once I adjusted the design to reflect her vision, I knew it was complete. Elizabeth and Beem you are so deeply loved.
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