At the ICCFA expo, several vendors are showing examples of glass art that incorporates a small portion of a loved one’s cremated remains.
Leatrice Guttentag was on the 80th floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Surviving the massive trauma of that day gave her a new perspective on life. She left the work world of business and finance to focus on glass art.
“I realized life’s too short to chase things that you don’t love,” said Guttentag. She started Glass Remembrance and found a way to love what she does and helps her clients hold the ones they love near.
The image above shows the cremated remains as a swirl of white inside the glass sphere. Guttentag also incorporates cremains in glass fountains, flowers, icicles, hearts, jewelry, and beads. She also makes enclosures for keepsakes, such as locks of hair or the tags that belonged to beloved pets.
In today’s highly mobile society, people can be separated from a loved one’s resting place. These glass creations serve as portable tributes that people can take anywhere.
“I love it when a client receives the finished product and they tell me it’s the first time they’ve smiled since the death occurred,” said Guttentag.
Another company at the expo, Ashes in Glass, was showing memorial creations which incorporate cremains that include vases, bowls, plates, pendants, paperweights, and glass starfish.