My good buddy’s wife’s father died and they came in and asked if we could make them several urns.  I was honored and we set about designing something hand made and unpolished.  We started with old cobblestone that were hand made a hundred years ago.  I chose four that were similar in size and all were smaller at the top than the bottom.  We cut the bottom smooth, found the square line to cut the top, and then core drilled them.

Urns are sold by size, large is 200 cubic inches, medium 100 CI, small 25- 35 CI.  Small urns are generally used for mantles or other home display.  We choose small because we scatter most of Bill Wagley’s ashes in Owls Head, where he loved to hike and spend time with his friends.

Robert, our artist in residence produces our urns.  He finds rocks that display great character and shape.  My favorites are the oval rocks that mimic the classic vase shape.  All of our urns are unique and one of a kind.  They are made with attention to detail and skill, deliberate and with good intentions, not bumped out in mass production.  They will honor a love one in a meaningful way.

We are building 10 fireplaces in 4 chimneys and all the fireboxes have herringbone firebrick. We used high duty soaps (split firebrick).

Many of the second floor fireplaces are off set so we pour bridge deck concrete slabs to move them around.  We will be doing deer isle patios, steps and entries late this summer.

These  Garden Granite Cremation Urns are made from natural quarried granite.

This piece will stand as a lasting tribute to your loved one for generations.

Here is the beginning of the inside work being installed.

here is the outside of the chimney of the same fireplace seen above.

The design was a classic landscape, depicting clouds above a lake dotted with islands.

First,we took picture, Jane made drawings and then Jane transferred them to the template.   Jane made a big template (11′ x 4′) of our design using wallpaper turned over, an ideal material for the project because it is heavier and won’t disintegrate as easily when wet.

Afterward, she transferred the design onto tracing paper. After cutting out the tracing paper, we then traced the design onto slate and began cutting out pieces for the design.

Jane cutting slate

Richard working with the template and then cutting slate using a grinder and a small diamond blade.

Once all the slate was cut, we brought the pieces to Lon’s house to install in his entry.

In the end, the pattern is striking and clear.

The landscaping is almost finished.

We cut perfect circles out of square bluestone to make a stepping stone path.  We cut the first stone into the

patio to make a transition to the walkway.

The stepping stones lead to the round patio, which is squared and rectangular bluestone.

The back porch is resquared slate with nice tight mortar joints that we carefully worked to get as close as possible.

We veneered the house and these pillars with a split face stone called Norumbega that we trimmed to fit extremely tight .

We made two grate settings, one for charcoal and one for wood.  We finished this with a jack arch over the wood-box.  We used quoined granite corners and made the firebox out of firebrick and waterproof fireclay thin mortar. We made work surfaces from salt and pepper granite, and a granite apron to catch any ashes.

Ron Howard and Mike Collins, a couple of our masons are  working on the octagon, a real challenge for rectangular modular shapes.  It mean a lot of cuts.  Fred Scannell has been managing this job and coordinating all the different facets.

We used heritage south west blend bricks, which have black, tan, white and red tones.

granite firepit

One of our suppliers, Joe Bixby brought us this wonderful, firebrick lined firepit.  Joe did a great job trimming and fitting the  granite in to a tight circle cap.  This is a true work of art.  It is 4’6″ outside and 3′ inside.

We built a fieldstone  planter, same width only taller and set it in our zen garden as part of our display in the celebration area.