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Glassblowing artist Michael Gray sits in his dark hot shop with his face illumated in faint red with the light from the glory hole.

Commemorating Your Loved One: The Memorial Series

Loss is an experience everyone encounters, and the mourning process can be very difficult. People often struggle to find a way to honour their loved one and keep their memory close. Memorial glass art provides a way to commemorate your dearly departed.

Loss is an experience everyone encounters, and the mourning process can be very difficult. People often struggle to find a way to honour their loved one and keep their memory close. Memorial glass art provides a way to commemorate your dearly departed.

In 2012, Michael Gray, current owner and glassblower at Gray Art Glass, experienced this difficulty firsthand after the passing of his father, Kevin, the founder of the studio.

Michael was on the other side of the country when Kevin passed after a courageous battle with cancer. When Michael returned home, he made an urn to hold his father’s ashes.

This was his first time making a piece like that and he found the experience extremely cathartic. Through this process he realized that he could create memorial glass art that would help others with their mourning process as well.

With that, we'd like to introduce you to our Memorial series.

Each piece is created with absolute respect for your loved one and is as unique as they were.

To create each memorial piece, Michael carefully adds cremation ash to hot glass and then permanently seals it into the piece by gathering clear glass over it. Once the piece cools, the ash adds a subtle sparkling streak that serves as a lasting reminder of your loved one.

To learn more about this process and this special work, watch the video below.

 

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Do you have other questions about memorial glass art? Visit our memorial glass FAQ page or email us at gallery@grayartglass.com.