Monday, February 9, 2009

For the Dearly Departed Artist


Did you know that the ashes from an average sized person provide enough carbon to create 240 pencils? London artist and product designer Nadine Jarvis has created "Carbon Copies", a unique urn that transforms ashes into the act of writing, material remains into ethereal musings.


The pencils are stamped with the name of the person whose ashes they contain. This beautiful wooden box also contains a sharpener, so every time the pencil is sharpened, the shavings return to the box, symbolically recreating the cycle "ashes to ashes". When the final pencil has been sharpened, ashes are once again resting in this box. But this time, they've also literally left behind written musings and memories. Imagine having a pencil of this significance! Every word I'd write would be meaningful, at least in gesture if not in thought. Every doodle would seem doubly inspired.

Nadine Jarvis has other work I hope to feature soon. Although her work is conceptual, I hope that someday this sort of thing is readily available. In the meantime, please check out her website: www.nadinejarvis.com.


Nadine Jarvis photo by Blyth.

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