Crafting Our Dog's Memorial
When our dog Digby died after twelve years, I wanted to make something worthy of him. This film follows that project: a lidded memorial urn, turned from sycamore with a lid of newtonia, coloured with the Intrinsic Colour range and finished in polished satin lacquer.
I worked through the decisions behind the form and proportions, the hollowing of the sycamore body, and a colouring process that went wrong before it went right. The urn stands 195mm tall with a 100mm body. Small numbers for something that carried so much.
It's a film about making a piece on the lathe, but it's also a film about making something for someone you've loved. If you want to see how I approached the form, the hollowing, the colour and the finish, it covers the whole process. And if you've ever wanted to turn something for a companion of your own, I hope it gives you the nerve to try.