Link to Documentary on CBC website by Jenalene Antony

Saskatoon glass artist specializes in memorial pieces infused with ashes of loved ones and pets

Link to the Article on CBC website by Anna-May Zeviar and Jenalene Antony

Alchemizing grief: Saskatoon glass artist infuses jewelry with ashes of lost loved ones

Brandon Vukelic has been mesmerized by marbles since he was a child.

He loved the swirls of colour and magical designs, each with their own unique world. Then, in his early 20s, he discovered glass art on social media.

“I just like, found so many beautiful, creative things people are doing. It was absolutely mind blowing,” he said.

The 32-year-old was inspired to learn the craft, so he headed to Edmonton for a weekend of classes. After that, he immersed himself in experimentation, learning from YouTube videos and other peoples in the Saskatchewan glass blowing community.

Now, Vukelic works out of his Saskatoon studio as a professional glass artist. He uses a torch and glass rods to create vases, marbles and jewelry for his clients.

He also offers a way to preserve memories of those who are no longer with us. Many of the pieces are infused with the ashes of his clients' loved ones and beloved pets.

Brandon Vukelic is a Saskatoon-based artist who creates memorial pieces for his clients. He says this helps them process their emotions and brings them closer to their loved ones as they grieve.

A sense of connection

It was Vukelic’s friend and mentor AuKeeRa Rayne-Low who first asked him to add ashes to a piece. She'd seen one of the marbles he'd created, and it inspired her to ask him to make one for her, using her parents' ashes. She said it’s something she’d been wanting for a long time.

“There’s people who won't even touch ash,” Rayne-Low said. “[Brandon] takes the time to try and create something that represents the person, and who they really were, and are. When they can feel any sense of connection, it gives people permission to remember beautiful things, happy things.”

Brandon Vukelic shows AuKeeRa Rayne-Low a glass marble that incorporates the ashes of her late parents.
Photo Credit: Jenalene Antony & CBC

The piece he created for Rayne-Low is a large blue marble, surrounded by a blue ring, swirling cloud-like flecks and a silver flume that catches the light. The cluster of white flecks are the cremains of Rayne-Low’s parents.

Since making that first memorial piece, Vukelic has created hundreds more. He said talking about death is tough, and many people would rather avoid it, but his pieces help celebrate a person’s life.

“I get to be in this really intimate spot. I get to feel how much people love and miss their people,” he said. “If you can be a support, or be a positive influencer there, or hold space for somebody and like, share your life, then you never know, you might be the candle in someone's darkness.”

One of the glass marbles Brandon Vukelic has made. Each is unique, and some contain the ashes of loved ones.
Photo Credit: Jenalene Antony & CBC

Curiosity sparks joy

Amy Holowach and Marcus Story have an amber-coloured glass pendant made with the ashes of their beloved dog Lily.

“Brandon can take the emotion and the energy from somebody and turn it into something beautiful,” Holowach said.

Amy Holowach and Marcus Story walk in Saskatoon with their dog Gauge. Holowach wears a pendant with the ashes of her previous dog, Lily.
Photo Credit: Jenalene Antony & CBC

Holowach said she gets compliments on the pendant all the time, and people are intrigued when they hear about it.

“They're like, ‘Oh, that's so pretty, what is that?’ And I’m like, ‘This is my dog,'” she laughed. “And they kind of take a step back."

Talking about the piece also brings back all the special moments of joy she shared with Lily, she said.

Story said it’s clear Vukelic loves doing what he does.

“You can see that spark light in some people when they're doing something, when they find something that they really like,” he said.

A desire to connect

Making such personal art allows Vukelic to connect with clients on a deeper level. That focus on connection and compassion is intentional. He said he spent many of his early years feeling like a lone wolf and struggling to fit in.

That's because he was born with an underdeveloped cochlea, a genetic condition he shares with his brother and father. Vukelic was diagnosed with 60 per cent hearing loss and has been wearing hearing aids since he was a toddler. He said his experience gave him a strong desire to connect with others.

“I think that's something I worked on in life. And just being able to connect and communicate with people effectively, like, became really important to me because it was like, kind of tough,” he said.

Brandon’s parents Becky and Tony Vukelic wear and hold some of their son’s glass jewelry. The one of a kind pieces sell for about $150 to $300 dollars each.
Photo Credit: Jenalene Antony & CBC

Brandon’s parents Becky and Tony Vukelic describe their son as highly empathetic.

“I think that he makes people feel comfortable,” Becky said. “To even look deep inside of themselves for their emotions and their understanding of what's going on in their lives.”

Brandon said he knows he can’t make someone’s pain go away, or change anything when someone loses a pet or a loved one. But he’s grateful he’s able to help in a small way.

Connection to a life

Vukelic plans to keep learning and developing his skills so he can offer more intricate and beautiful memorials in the future. He also wants to take more lessons from artists he admires and, eventually, build his dream studio.

“I have an opportunity to alchemize grief and suffering into just giving them something back that can help transmute some of that for them,” he said.

“It's an object that they can hold, or have a connection to, with that life. And if that brings even a microscopic amount of ease to someone's suffering, then great. I did my job.”

Brandon Vukelic hopes to learn other glass blowing techniques so he can create more intricate memorials for people in the future.
Photo Credit: Jenalene Antony & CBC

Written by Anna May Zeviar with notes from Jenalene Antony. All credit and rights belong to them and CBC.