We do not get to choose how we die

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But we can choose what to do with our remains.

So it was just a matter of time before someone came up with the notion of adding an artistic touch to one’s final resting place. Funeria, a funerary arts agency based in Sonoma County, is doing just that with its “Ashes to Art’ exhibit.

No caskets or sarcophagi will be on display at Funeria’s Graton, Calif., gallery, as this exhibit is targeted specifically to vessels containing loved ones’ ashes. Artists were challenged to devise urns, vessels and reliquaries in a variety of mediums.

There are common sense solutions too. If you’ve ever received a relative’s ashes in a sandwich baggie and then attempted to scatter them on a windless day, you know it can be a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

On display are sensitive solutions to this problem, such as cast bronze scattering spoons or hollowed out wooden staffs to add some dignity and ceremony to the often delicate task.

Having one’s ashes blasted off into space seems to be a popular choice lately, but if you’re not Scotty from ‘Star Trek’ or Hunter S. Thompson, a hollowed out aluminum rocket ship is offered by designer Christopher Rizzo. His and many other one of-a-kind pieces will be on display through Nov. 30. The exhibit is sponsored by L.A.’s Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary.

--Liesl Bradner