Rememberance Plaques

These two plaques were supposed to be completed in time to give to both my father and father-in-law before my wedding…well here we are a year and a half later! Oh well, at least they got them!

The first plaque is made with curly maple and purple heart inlay. It is to commemorate my mother-in-law. The inscription on the plaque reads in Arabic essentially “God rest her soul”. It is the phrase you say in Arabic when speaking of a loved one that has passed away. In the center of the plaque is a metal printed photo of my mother-in-law (hopefully it will prolong the life of the photo) framed with purple heart. The top of the plaque is a cross carrying a dried rose from my mother-in-law’s funeral I picked up almost 4 years ago. It is a miracle alone that that rose survived about 5 relocations during my college/early adult life!

The second plaque is made of bubinga and hard maple inlay. It is to commemorate my mother. The photo in the center is a picture of my mother framed with hard maple. I did not have a rose from my mother’s funeral since her funeral was over a decade ago, however like any wood worker I decided why not carve one! I started to carve the rose out of a solid block, but after realizing I would not achieve the detail I wanted I decided to make individual petals and glue the rose together. It turned out better than I could have hoped for (thank God!). The rose petals are made of hard maple set on a walnut “base” for the bud of the flower. The rose and “leaves” below the rose are meant to resemble a cross. The opposite corner of the plaque also curves out to mirror the curves of the rose/stem.

Both pieces are finished with a polyurethane/boiled linseed oil mixture to bring out the figured wood then topped with a semi-gloss spar urethane.

Both my father and father-in-law loved the gifts and I am incredibly glad I took my time in making the plaques in order to make exactly what was necessary!

Thanks for looking and God bless!

Matt