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Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
FEATURED
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10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know" />
10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know: NHPCO stresses that hospice is about living fully, not preparing for death. -
Man of Many Faces" />
Man of Many Faces: A niece says goodbye to her favorite gay uncle, in whom she confided about her own sexuality -
Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off" />
Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off: A look at the religion's final prayer procession for the dying
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Tag Archives: Art
The Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation
A modern architectural testament to the lives lost during the holocaust
There is an extensive roster of famous holocaust memorials throughout the world. Many of them share innovative modernist architecture and are as aesthetically elegant as they are haunting. The Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation is an exemplary model; erected … Continue reading
The Madonna as a Symbol of Life
Images of the Virgin Mary have been the greatest representation of life and purity in art and culture throughout Western history
This Tuesday, many people around the world will celebrate Christmas. For many in Western culture, the holiday has come to simply represent things like family, giving, and togetherness. But for Christians, it is still the celebration of the birth of … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Christianity, Christmas, God, Jesus Christ, Life in Art, Madonna, Mary, Symbolism in Art, The Madonna
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Re-Thinking How Our Culture Experiences the Cemetery
Using your memorial to add beauty to the world
In addition to our growing inclination towards contemporary practices like cremation and green burial, there is one simpler way for us to re-imagine the cultural staple that is the cemetery. What if we see the grounds as a gallery of … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural Perspectives
Tagged Art, Burial, Cemeteries, Cemetery, Cultural Perspectives, Death, Manila, Mindanao, Natural burial
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The Womb Coffin
Project Womb combines ingenuity and beautiful design to help you create the perfect legacy
The Womb Coffin was conceived by designer Diddo as part of Project Womb, a project designed to address the aesthetics of the afterlife. The project brings the conversation about death and the memories of a lost loved one into the same realm … Continue reading
PaperWhite by Bradley L Bowers
The stunning vases explore life and death
Bradley L. Bowers’ PaperWhite series explores the beauty of life, death, and decay through these stunning paper vases. from the artist: The concept of planned permanence frightens me. I believe nothing should be made to last for eternity. Death is … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Beauty, Bradley L Bowers, Crafts, Decay, Design, Life and Death, Vase
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Erwin Olaf: Grief
Stylish fine art photography images give new expression to grief, loss, and longing
Erwin Olaf: Grief Photographer and filmmaker Erwin Olaf is known in the art world for his flawless style, a combination of art, fashion, and care that portrays the deepest emotions with the simplest images. In his 2007 collection, Grief, Olaf … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Design, Erwin Olaf, Film, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Photographer
1 Comment
Return to the Sea
Saltworks by Motoi Yamamoto aid the artist's healing through grief.
Return to the Sea: Saltworks by Motoi Yamamoto from John Reynolds & Lee Donaldson on Vimeo. Japanese installation artist Motoi Yamamoto was born in Onomichi, Hiroshima, and worked in a dockyard before studying at Kanazawa College of Art. He now … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Design, Grief, Healing, Motoi Yamamoto, Salt Labyrinth
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Shelves for Life
This multifunctional furniture design lasts more than a lifetime!
Designer William Warren has mastered the art of multifunctional design with the Shelves for Life, a self-initiated project to further explore ideas of built-in sentimentality in our possessions. The product is designed to encourage strong emotional relationships with our belongings … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Casket, Coffin, Death, Design, Funeral, Furniture, Memorial, Shelves for Life, William Warren
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An Ancient Practice: Aboriginal Burial Ceremonies
Taking a look at the first environmentally friendly funeral
The Aborigines of Australia might represent the oldest living culture in the world. Aboriginal culture is most commonly known for its unique artistic technique evolving from the red ochre pigment cave paintings that started cropping up 60,000 years ago, but … Continue reading
A Beach Heart for Madeline
A glorious memorial to honor the loss of a loved one
This summer, Bay Area artist Page Hodel brought together family, friends, and fans of her Monday Hearts for Madalene to craft a heart from the most sympathetic medium she could find: humans. Dozens gathered at this beach on the Pacific … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Bay Area, California, Flash mob, Loss, Memorial, Monday Hearts for Madalene, Ovarian Cancer, Pacific Ocean, Pacifica
2 Comments
Ancient Chinese Funerary Practices
Artwork from the Jin Dynasty shows life-after-life in 12th-century China
Unlike what we know of classic Christian death mythology, in which the hope is for the soul to escape to Heaven after life on earth, early Chinese beliefs surrounding death expected the core of your being to remain intact right … Continue reading
Loss and Consequences: The Drunk Driving Project
Students design visual messages to warn of the serious consequences of drunk driving
The Maryland Highway Safety Office and Urbanite Baltimore Magazine partner in Loss and Consequences: The Drunk Driving Project to develop unique anti-drunk driving messages that focus on the possible consequences of drunk driving: loss. The project utilizes the creativity of … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Ads, Art, Death, Driving under the influence, Drunk Driving, Loss and Consequences, Maryland
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“Come Play One More Day” by Angela Rose
Sculpture garden offers a space for families to grieve the loss of a child
Artist and mother Angela Rose has drawn from her private grief to create a public sanctuary for others who have endured the loss of a child. She spent a year contemplating the lives of nine children whose family members and … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Angela Rose, Art, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Loss of a Child, Sculpture, Sculpture trail, Visual Art
1 Comment
Grace Before Dying
Photography of the end-of-life at Louisiana State Penitentiary
These photographs, taken at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, make up the collection Grace Before Dying, which looks at how, through hospice, volunteer inmates assert and affirm their humanity in an environment designed to isolate and punish. More than 85% of … Continue reading
A Coffin Design that Facilitates a Family’s Right to Say Goodbye
The Disaster Coffin replaces the body bag and allows families to perform funeral rites
Hungarian designer Adam Miklosi has created a brilliant design that finds the ultimate balance between aesthetics and function. His LR16 Disaster Coffin addresses the need for a mass-production casket that allows for the facilitation of dignified funeral rituals. Traditionally, in … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Burial, Coffin, Death, Design, Family, Funeral, Funeral Rites, Natural burial
4 Comments
‘When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone’ by Philip Gould [Video]
An intimate portrait of a man in his final days
“In six weeks’ time I will be dead. I will be cremated. I will face huge fear,” Philip Gould opens this video in his final weeks before losing the battle to esophageal cancer. “But it IS an extraordinary experience…” he continues. … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Art, Esophageal cancer, Philip Gould, terminal illness, Video
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Exploring Grief, Loss, Death and Dying
Bloggers exploring the end-of-life through poetry, art, and prose.
Exploring Death This anonymous blogger created the blog entitled SarSaparillameliSSa to explore her world through photography and the written word. “The Tree that Bleeds” is a poem dedicated to exploring death. Here’s an excerpt: Long sunset shadows chill his bones. … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Blogging, Death, Grief, Healing, Loss, Poetry
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A Memorial You Can See From the Heavens
Rancher in Argentina Designs His Ranch to Fulfill his Late Wife's Dream
If you’re set to fly over General Levalle, Argentina any time soon, keep an eye out for this spectacular design surrounding this family’s ranch. The gigantic guitar made of trees was the dream of Graciela Yraizoz, the matron of the … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Argentina, Art, Death, Design, Family, Loss, Memorial
2 Comments
Controversial Art Finds a Home in the East Bay
Varese Layzer's Artwork Joins Others' Addressing the Loss of a Loved One
Photographer Varese Layzer has found a welcoming home for her collection Making Room, photographs that document her experience of clearing out her childhood home after her mother’s death. Nine months ago, the collection was removed from its promised (and contracted) … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Installation, Krowswork, Loss of a Loved One, photography, San Francisco Bay Area, Video
2 Comments
Art Guides Children and Parents Through Grief
"Dancing with Midwives" Expresses One Woman's Grieving Process After the Loss of a Child
Author Ann Faison‘s understanding of grief began with her own grieving process after giving birth to her still-born child. She is trained as a visual artist, a musician, and a healer, so her healing process naturally leads to a focus … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Art, Books, Children, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Healing, Loss of a Child
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