Griffin or Gryphon?

How do you spell “griffin”? As always, when we spot this ancient image, we try to capture it.

This was on a pillar at a local theater downtown.

Griffin or Gryphon?

The griffin has a narrow appeal. People with that last name, perhaps. Or, medieval architecture enthusiasts. Which rules out Billy Bob Thornton.

This urn style has been around for awhile, but for the family that does want the ancient symbol of protection we’ve added this bronze beauty. Some call it the Sarcophagus. We call it stunning.

This is the only style I’ve ever seen in Urn World with the image of the griffin on it. Price wise, the gryphon urn is not for the family that searching for “cheap urns“. Bronze urns will cost more than $100.00

Our bronze urns use both the lost wax and casting styles. Bronze urns will usually be some of the heaviest, weighing in the range of 25-45 pounds and command the highest price due to the artistry and casting process involved.

May you find gold and sapphires in your nest.

georgecarlin.com

Earlier in July, Carlin’s daughter Kelly and his brother, Patrick, spent a weekend scattering his ashes at his favorite haunts around the country. They stopped in front of the nightclubs he played in New York City, and sprinkled his ashes over the water at a summer camp in New Hampshire where, as a child, Carlin received a necklace for winning the drama competition. He was wearing it the day he died.

Accompanied by old friends from the neighborhood, they also stopped at a park on the edge of Harlem where Carlin grew up.

“The wind blew him around a little bit when Kelly threw his ashes,” Patrick Carlin recalled.

“It was beautiful and touching. I really felt like my dad was smiling very large at the moment,” she said. “I knew I was doing him right.”

Read more on ceremonies and helpful tips for scattering ashes.

Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

BEIJING (Reuters) - Misty May-Treanor had one worry when she came through customs on her way to the Beijing Olympics: what if they confiscated her mother’s ashes?

American May-Treanor sprinkled some of her mother Barbara’s ashes on the beach volleyball court in Athens when she and Kerri Walsh won the semi-final and the final and she was determined to do the same in Beijing.

After winning the semi on Tuesday, and finals last night, May-Treanor pulled out a camera film canister and sprinkled some more of the ashes on to the sand in the Chaoyang Park stadium.

“My Dad packed it for me and I was like ‘What if they take it in customs as I go in?’ but it was all fine,” May-Treanor said after the match. “We can’t leave her home alone.”

(Reporting by Jane Barrett)

Isis is usually shown with her arms spread, always ready to receive. She covered a lot of territory. I was first introduced to Isis as a kid through the magic of television.

My favorite was Wonder Woman, who always prayed to The Mighty Isis.

Lynda Carter

Check that wingspan:

Powerful? Isis was the Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, law, and funeral rituals. One of the most popular goddesses in Egypt, she had her own priests and many temples were built in her honor.

We’ve commissioned several styles of urns in the image of Isis for families to use as a keepsake urn for small portions of ash, flowers, or jewelry, or for smaller pets. We’ve had several cat owners purchase these for their cats named….Isis.

Isis Pet Urn

One of our newer urn styles is inspired by one of the oldest images: The Arc of the Covenant.

Ark of the Covenant Urn

A Wild Ride

The June Bugs (or Japanese Beetles?) invaded the garden and got busy breeding and munching.

It’s hard to believe that the Egyptians worshiped the dung beetle. The scarab symbol is commonly found in hieroglyphics and jewelry designs.

So we have a love hate relationship with the scarab. Urn Garden commissioned a scarab urn that appeals to pet owners (cat owners especially) and families that want a keepsake urn.

Green Scarab Urn

Three Beautiful Things

1. Hummers flying in your face while languishing in the swing

2. popping sweet cherry tomatoes off the vine

3. Pure Gold

The feeding begins. The hummingbirds are off the nest and ravenously attacking the feeders. Very busy training for the trip.

If you love the spirit and energy of the hummingbirds, we have an urn match.

Hummingbird Urn

Our Cloisonne Hummingbird Urn, blends strength and beauty; copper and hand painted fired enamel to create the ancient art of Cloisonne, one of China’s major contributions to the world’s fine arts.

In Native American myth, the hummingbird is a truthful bird that represents beauty, harmony and enjoyment.

That’s a fact!

Politicians had been talking for years about the need to replace the Oregon State Hospital, but didn’t get serious about it until a group of legislators made a grim discovery during a 2004 tour: the cremated remains of 3,600 mental patients in corroding copper canisters in a storage room. The lawmakers were stunned.

“Nobody said anything to anybody,” said Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, who dubbed the chamber “the room of lost souls.”

The remains belonged to patients who died at the hospital from the late 1880s to the mid-1970s, when mental illness was considered so shameful that many patients were all but abandoned by their families in institutions.

After doing some research into the story, Photographer David Maisel got in touch with the hospital administrators – the same hospital, it turns out, where they once filmed One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – and he was granted access to the room in which the canisters were stored.

Maisel set up a temporary photography studio inside the hospital itself. There, he began photographing the canisters one by one.

His book, Library of Dust, will be released later this summer.

Tip of the Hat to: Cleanser

Infinity: Without end.

The precise origin of the infinity symbol ∞ is unclear. It’s possible that it is inspired by older religious/alchemical symbolism. For instance, it has been found in Tibetan rock carvings, and the infinity snake, is often depicted in this shape.

In Chinese culture, today is one of the luckiest days ever: 8-8-8.

The timeless symbol can be found in our Infinity Urn Necklace, and is our most popular selling style of cremation urn jewelry.

Since urn shopping isn’t something families do everyday, there’s the education process. What size do I need?

Usually, the average cremation displacement for an adult ranges 130-180 cubic inches. Most ashes for an adult will fit in a 200 cubic inch capacity urn.

Families that are shopping for an adult urn, might be enticed by website pricing of $39.99. Check the size! Is it a keepsake? Is that the size you need?

More questions? We’re here.

New metal funeral urns from:

My favorite is the black and white cloisonne “Laurel” urn. The Laurel flower symbolizes passion, ambition, and glory. This cloisonne urn can be personalized and is available in other sizes for families that prefer a double size companion urn, or matching keepsake urns.