Working with human ash???

Jude Rose · #1 2011-09-19, 6:34pm

Hi all. Just got a request from a potential customer about using his daughter's cremated remains in a chrysalis bead. Whoa.
I figure it's not really any different from using some enamel. It will burn away quickly, yes? No?
Um, I guess the question is,
"Is there ANYONE else here who has done this?!!!"

I'm tempted to make up a little vessel as well. Then make a stopper and glue it on so it never comes off?

houptdavid · #2 2011-09-19, 6:38pm

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/se...archid=7107728

Jude Rose · #3 2011-09-19, 6:57pm

Thanks, David, but for some reason the link doesn't work for me. Maybe it's behind the paywall? What search terms did you use? My mind seems to go blank

Deborah · #4 2011-09-19, 7:07pm

I made beads with my brother-in-law's ashes. You can see them on my blog. ( David Beads) I just wound some glass on the mandrel, dipped the glass in the ashes, and encased them. The most surprising thing was that there was still moisture in the ash. I wasn't expecting that from cremated remains.

houptdavid · #5 2011-09-19, 7:16pm

Cremains (??? should work)

Jude Rose · #6 2011-09-19, 7:26pm

Got it. Never even knew that term before, thank you!

Deb, those beads are so beautiful and touching.

Nitadee · #7 2011-09-19, 7:32pm

Hi Jude, they are commonly called Memory Beads.
They are easy to make, but do be aware of cracking issues.
It does happen from time to time, so, that being said, use as little ashes
as possible. When placed on a dark (cobalt or black) background, they can look like
stars, or a galixy bead.
Hugs,
Nita

AVTrout · #8 2011-09-19, 7:46pm

Here's the link to a free tut by glasszone: http://lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=

Alaska · #9 2011-09-20, 1:24am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almost Gothic

Here's the link to a free tut by glasszone: http://lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=

This link does not work. The number after the equal sign is missing.

Some other hints....

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh....php?p=3716307

DarkFlowerBead · #10 2011-09-20, 2:39am

I've done it with the cremains of a beloved pet. Use it just like frit but do not introduce the unencased ash directly into the flame. Paricularly effective on a dark background.

Firebrand Beads · #11 2011-09-20, 10:35am

you want to sift it down, and only use the fine particles, FWIW.

bluhealer · #12 2011-09-20, 2:52pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firebrand Beads

you want to sift it down, and only use the fine particles, FWIW.

Yes, this.

I also found that it needs to be encased fairly deep, or it can work it's way to the surface/cause bubbling.

FiredDesires · #13 2011-09-20, 3:55pm

Go with what Jenny & Carolyn told you. You don't need alot either, I had a customer bring me a huge baggie of her brothers ashes, I just needed less than a teaspoon.
Use the finest of the cremains, very powdery..sift if you must to remove chunks or bigger particles and then respectfully return what is not used to the bag/container.
I roll my base bead (I use cobalt transp) in the ash and heavily encase, areas left exposed with ash will have a pitted look, similar to a baking soda bead.
Even under the encasement, the ashes will fizz/bubble and look like a foam..I sometimes add some dichroic and the pieces really end up looking like a galaxy. Good luck.

Cinnamon · #14 2011-09-20, 9:54pm

I spotted your question about human ash and read through the posts. DeAnna (The Glasszone) posted a free tutorial some time ago. I decided to copy it and save it in case I would ever consider doing this with my dog's ashes. I see someone gave you the link of such but it didn't work for you.

DeAnna is a really wonderful lady and I feel certain she would have posted her free tutorial here for you to see. Since she didn't get to chime in I thought I would go ahead and paste her here tutorial. I take no credit for the making of the tutorial- it's all DeAnna's. If the pic she included doesn't come up, I'll go on and paste it in just a bit in a next post. OK! Ne
Cremains In A Bead - A Loving *FREE* Tutorial by DeAnne Buchanan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"CREMAINS IN A BEAD - A LOVING TUTORIAL"

by DeAnne Buchanan/The Glass Zone

(All material contained within this Tutorial is protected by Copyright, "The Glass Zone" DeAnne Buchanan, 2009; all rights reserved.)

I’ve wanted to present this for a while; I know many people are curious and interested about this process, and maybe I can help others to remember and hold close those they love and miss. It's a beautiful thing, and maybe I can help to remove the "taboo" with a caring and gentle approach, giving you the opportunity to make a cherished and loving memento of someone you love for yourself, your family and/or friends. I hope no one is offended by this!! If so, I apologize in advance. I will be editing this Tutorial in the next week or so to add photos.

Anyway, here's how I work...

BUT, first let me ask you: Have you actually LOOKED at cremains before?

I ask because the first time I did this, I was very hesitant to look at them as I didn't know what to expect!!! I was so surprised to find that they are quite like large grains of sand - not offensive or disturbing in any way - and was immediately relieved. I share this with you as I know this may be a bit of an emotional venture for you, so I just wanted to give you a reassurance that you might be surprised at yourself! I found myself feeling and thinking "loving, kindness and remembrance" thoughts while I worked with them. Surprisingly it was very peaceful and wonderful. I hope by pointing you in this direction, you have a similar experience.

OK - let's get started!

1. Open your cremains container and remove a small amount. Keep in mind that only a little bit is necessary for each 10mm to 18mm bead - definitely a "less is more" thing in this type of bead looks best. Depending on how many beads you plan on making, I would suggest you start with about 1/2 a teaspoon or so.

2. Place the cremains atop a graphite or brass flat surface; I use my 5" x 5" graphite pad so I'm sure to have room to work.

3. Using tweezers, trail through the cremains and make sure you don't have any larger grains or other material. Be aware you might find a bit of bone fragment that will be larger than the other grains. Gently remove any non-uniform particles and return them to your main container. Using a business card or something similar, line up the cremains on the working flat surface so you have a "strip" about 3”-4" long and about 1/2" wide.

4. Select your glass. I have used both opaque and transparent colors. If your desire to see the cremains within the bead, select a nice transparent color as your base and plan to do a final encasing of clear or same color or slightly lighter colored transparent. Alternatively, you can apply the grains to an opaque base and top with either an opaque to encrypt them within (which is OK just to know they are there!) or top with a colored transparent.

5. Create your base bead in your shape of choice. I usually start with 2-3 wraps of glass and make a nice formed round or barrel. I especially like making these on a 3/16" mandrel so they can fit the add-a-bead, Pandora style chains/bracelets.

6. Heat the base bead to a good orange glow (but not so hot as to be soupy or dripping), and as you would apply frit, roll your heated base bead atop the cremains to pick up and embed a small amount. A little bit of pressure as you roll will help to pick them up. If you have a blank spot, heat this one spot and roll again in the cremains to get a fairly even coating.

7. Keeping the bead warm at the back of the flame, heat your encasing rod (colored transparent or opaque) and apply a full encasing layer (I use the "winding" method over the "stripe on" method) to completely cover the cremains. Gently and slowly melt the encasing over the cremains to smooth.

8. Reheat and marver as needed to tidy the ends and reshape the bead or you can reheat and use a press at this point to finalize the bead. Decoration of flowers, dots and/or bubble dots are also nice accents. Note that if you super-heat the encased bead at this point, you may see some melting and spreading of the cremains (as the first bead on the left in my cover picture shows). I personally think it looks interesting, but if you don't want this to happen, be careful and gentle with your heat!

9. Flame anneal the bead and into the kiln it goes.

See! It's just that easy!

The "cover" photo is a set I made to hold the cremains of my beloved kitty. I used several opaque colors in purple, black and white. Some have gold leaf applied, or trails of silver wire on the surface, and some have the cremains completely encrypted (encased) in opaque - but I know they're there!

Hope you find this an interesting and informative Tutorial!

If you find that as much as you'd like to attempt this process yourself but feel uncomfortable or sensitive about the creamins to be worked with, I offer a service at a very reasonable price and will be happy to work with you to create a special memento or set for you and/or your friends and family.

If I can further help, just shoot me a PM and I'll do my best.

Much love,
De
__________________
~DeAnne~

Cinnamon · #15 2011-09-20, 10:30pm

Judy, I pmed you the pic of the Cremains Beads DeAnna posted in her Cremains Tutorial. I attempted to copy and paste the pic but it didn't work here for me. So now, I copied the BBC Image code of the pic from LE.com's Upload Manager hoping the pic can be seen by everyone. Hope this works. My apologies if the pic can't be retrieved.
Neomi