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ongis mutan logo with hammer and point, tooth and blade chisels.    Remembrances & Memorials    ongis mutan OM 3D logo.

    Remembrances of people, ideals and events and are among the oldest purposes of decorative stone carvings. We erect a monolith, or hang a plaque or present a stone carving for three major reasons.
Doctors Sato in Tokyo with their family name stone. I can carve inscriptions in any typeface.     Many philosophers would remind us we live in a world of people rather than things. I enjoy carving someone's name on a stone to present to them as a tribute to their influence, importance or achievement. They are always impressed and delighted. This is a family name stone in a modern Japanese kanji typeface of my own design. My first work to go overseas went to a member of the Japanese royal family in 1965.

    We often pay tribute to an idea, a philosophy or a guiding principle of faith so that others might share our pursuit of enlightenment. I prefer the more human precision of hand carving, with an ancient and weathered look. To me this is more beautiful than machine precision and excessively polished surfaces.
Limestone wedding commemorative made to look weathered at the request of the client.
    We likewise commission a suitable commemorative to mark one of life's milestones-- an anniversary, business achievement, birth or marriage, citizenship or graduation.

    A friend wanted a stone to mark his golden wedding anniversary. He carefully explained that he felt "a little weathered" by that half century, and wanted a stone from Texas. I chose a highly fossiliferous limestone, and carved the six inch stone in a difficult typeface, highly raised and tightly kerned.

    Each of my remembrance stones is a completely unique work of art, carved expressly for the person and the event, to be enjoyed and treasured forever.
memorials were a fitting remembrance to the deceased until about 70 years ago, when the groundskeepers began dictating style.
     When a loved one passes away, our choice of a memorial to their memory is important and difficult. The simple flat memorial resting at ground level has become the norm in America during the last few decades. This has been instituted by an industry whose only concern is the cost of mowing the lawn.

    This practice is lamentable. My memorial sculptures are as individual as the person they memorialize. Foresightful clients often help design their own memorial in advance, and most often enjoy the process thoroughly.
Headstone for a faithful canine companion, a limestone cylinder 8
    When we lose a beloved animal companion our grief can be almost equally acute. Here is a simple eight inch diameter cylinder of Indiana Limestone with the name of the little Schnauzer dog deeply inscribed in a lightlearted typeface, along with "faithful canine friend" and some other information.

    Such a memorial can help bring a smile to one's face to accompany the tear of fond memory. It gives tangible relief to our loss, "lest we forget" how dear are all the departed who were a part of our life.