Oamaru Stone Memorials Aimee’s sculpture

To be asked to do a memorial for someone is something I feel very honoured to do. you want the sculpture to represent the person but also for the person who commissioned the piece.

I believe grief is one of the hardest emotions that we as people go through, as there is many mixed feelings.

I would like to share one of the memorials I have recently had the privilege to carve and the process it took to get to the final art work

It started with a message from Aimee’s Mum, she had seen my work and wondered if I could help carve something special for her daughter.

1. The first thing I always ask is:

   Have you seen any pieces of my work that fit into the idea you have in mind.

   The reason I ask this as most artists have a certain style and I want to make sure I am the right fit for them .

2.  The next stage was to meet with Aimee’s Mum and learn about her and her daughter. I like to know about the person as this helps  with my ideas. 

I have to admit it can be emotional and I felt sad because I am sure if I had meet Aimee we would have been friends. She had a great love for cats and the beach.

Then once we have a design, I went for a trip to Parkside Quarries to get the right piece of Oamaru stone for Aimee.

I communicate often with progress pictures and idea’s I may have come up with.

While carving Aimee’s sculpture I knew that her Mum has collected shells off the beach, and originally we were going to incorporate them into the sculpture. But I had an idea as over time shells can fade. I made a section in the front (where you can see I have placed temporary stones) this area is for Amiee’s Mum to place her shells after her walks.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

From my own experience I find when I am missing my loved ones I light a candle. There is something about this that gives me piece and relaxing to be able to sit and think of them. A bit like sending a message to the beyond.

So my next idea was an area to place a tea-light candle so you can stop, breath and have a quiet special moment for remembering.