09/23/2021
A memorial bench design request was given to me the summer of 2020. The client wanted to have a bench created, versus a more traditional gravestone marker.
As we have been friends for several years, the couple were acquainted with my body of work and knew I could produce sculptural designs in various materials and formats.
I presented several bench concepts to them, all of which were rejected. During my project research I stumbled across a naturally shaped segment of granite that worked perfectly as a bench. It was “frying pan” shaped with the “handle” end supported by a separate piece of granite.
They were excited about the find because they wanted a natural shape and not a conventional bench. The stone also served as a format to display a carved relief tableau of a lake, pasture, woodlands, and wildlife. They are particularly fond of the landscape and wildlife surrounding them in Van Buren County. An additional carving of a cross and stars representing their faith and children, was added to the support stone.
Connie and Raymond Morris chose nearby Morris Park as the installation site. The public park, north of Stockport, Iowa, is named for their ancestors, whose original homestead and acreage is there with a cabin, a barn with outbuildings, a farm equipment museum, a campground, and a picturesque pond.
The irregular shaped granite bench was installed on a concrete footing, midway up the western hill overlooking the pond. The memorial bench is placed amongst a shade of oaks but appears especially attractive in the mornings when the sun is rising over the pond until noon.
I enjoyed working with my client Connie and Raymond Morris, to design their memorial bench. Connie was cooperative with me, as well as creative, with her vision.
She chose the following scripture to be engraved on the stone: Job 23:10…….But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
