Gideon's urn

                             Loops and knots.

                      Net.

                                      You can see how the lid is warped in this pic.

                And it wasn't warped before - live and learn!

I made Gideon's urn.  The first I made this spring, but I wasn't quite happy with it.  The second I think turned out good.  Unfortunately, the lid warped in the glaze firing, and that has complicated matters a little.  The plan was to use yarn made of Gideon's hair to tie the lid on, but with it being warped, that doesn't quite work now.  I figure I will use wax or something else to hold the lid in place, and the yarn will still tie it on, but I am still unsure what to do with the yarn from a design perspective.  I have a plan for adding beads as well, it's kind of my signature to bead on pots. 

Anyway, if you can imagine the yarn being tied to hold the lid on, then what about the ends of the yarn? Do they hang down, how long, what about something more creative? I initially imagined swirls of yarn, but it will not keep a curl forever. Then I thought about a net-like design that is somehow knitted (woven) or tied (with loops) to reflect the branches of the tree (the urn is in the shape of a tree and decorated with leaves.)  Not sure, I think I will let my mom, who crochets and knits and who is used to working with yarn figure it out, but I am unsure even how to send it to her!  It's hard to describe, but I have to thread the yarn though the holes in the lid and base and then do the beading, well, that's kind of hard to do with Gideon being in there first.  So, need to overcome some final technical difficulties:

1. How to keep the knots tied tight?  Maybe mom knows knots.

2. What substance should we use to keep it closed?  

3. What to do with yarn - crosses? knitted/woven net? loops and knots (with beads)?

I guess I should say I made Gideon's urn as a tree thinking of him - he loved to be outside and just the "tree of life".  Inspiration for crosses is obvious, loops and knots reflect his curls which captured us all, and the woven net just seems to fit and is something I think mom could do well with.