The phi series of urns was begun after completion of the urn for my grandfather’s ashes.  Working on his urn helped me to reconnect with his spirit and was a wonderful way for me to honor his memory.  He had pursued wood working in his retirement and in many ways was the archetype of my woodworking business.  I had never considered making urns before, but they are a perfect use for the unique reclaimed lumber that I use in my shop.

Phi (The Golden Ratio) is a symbol of a perfect proportional relationship, part in perfect relation to the whole.  It constructs a rectangle which made up of smaller and smaller squares.  Each time the rectangles size increases by adding a new square with dimensions equal to the long side.  The Golden rectangle is a symbol of beauty and perfection, and a recurring theme in nature, known and used in all types of design for millennia.  It lies within the Parthenon, Notre Dam Cathedral, the work of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright as well as many other classic buildings from antiquity to the present.  It generates the unfolding fractal growth of fiddle head ferns.  It is the spiral of the nautilus shell, and the radiating arms of our galaxy. 

The raw form of the container is the loom on which I weave the color, grain, and texture of reclaimed and recycled timbers to form timeless, contemporary vessels which focus the remembering and grieving process.

I am pleased to be expanding the functional and material vocabulary of the phi series urns in exciting ways by partnering fellow Minneapolis Craftsmen metalworker Chris Rand and Glassworker Chris Ahalt.