Christiane Lenz

Handmade, personal
From water and earth, life arises — that of plants and that of humans — and to it life returns, to bloom again in another form. The beauty, dignity, and consolation of this cycle take form in these urns.

Each urn is made according to the old traditions of papermaking, pottery, and earthen construction, from clay, loam, recycled paper, and plant fibres.

Grasses, leaves, seeds, plant stems, mosses, and the loam itself all come from the surrounding region.

From this mixture a vessel is built in spherical or seed-like form, shaped to your wishes, then dried and finely sanded.

This usually takes 2 to 6 days. The urn is then very hard and stable.

Once the ashes are placed inside, the urn is firmly sealed.

This urn dissolves without residue in water, in the earth, or simply outdoors, becoming again part of the surrounding nature.

It can also be kept indoors as a remembrance and art object.

Each urn is unique.

Special wishes
For your urn, you may choose your favourite plants, or plants from a particular place — from the seashore or the high mountains.

It is also possible to incorporate a letter or a remembrance paper. The production time, including drying, may then be longer depending on the work involved.

As a longtime nurse, I have repeatedly and intensively engaged with death and impermanence.

As a visual artist (visarte) I have also worked for a long time on these themes, with recycled and natural materials and their processing, searching out old craft traditions and experimenting with new techniques.

Get in touch. I'll gladly answer your questions in a personal conversation.