Reliquary

This cabinet houses several relics. In part, it holds a candle snuffer given to me by my Nana, given to her on her wedding day. The snuffer’s witch hat point is supported by a long black stem with three round curls at its tail. Within the walls also live my past calendar pages. As a month of life passes, its tangible tracker is ritualistically rolled and placed inside. Made from a block of found Maine driftwood, centuries old wood from the walls of my family home, other reclaimed wood from past pieces, and salvaged architectural hinges, this piece collages together memories and experiences overlapped within a lifetime. Forms from the natural contours of the woodgrain and the scaration on the board surfaces collaborate with the shape of the candle snuffer, Celtic illuminated manuscripts, and hometown history to describe a sense of place. Old nail holes become eyes of a winged skull, stemming from colonial New England cemeteries, and watch over my living room as a memento mori. An active headstone, it reminds me to attend to the lit flame of life, remember, and love the living.