Tombstone Craft

Tombstone Craftwomen The Gravestone Girls Turn Genealogy Into Art

Brenda Sullivan spends much of her time with dead people.

This is fine by her—it’s just another day on the job.

But Brenda is no mortician or pathologist. She is the founder of Massachusetts-based Gravestone Girls, a team of craftswomen who use old New England tombstones to create art with a genealogical twist. Together with her friends, Maggie White and Melissa Anderson, Brenda brings the past to life through whimsical and detailed casts of old American funerary art.

With increased interest in family history, connecting with our ancestors helps us to understand who they were and what they valued.

“The images on those colonial period grave markers directly spoke to the population about their morality and mortality,” says Brenda. Such tombstones could reach both the literate and the illiterate in early modern America. She talks about the “strict orthodoxy” that influenced their culture and “influenced the images on tombstones as a picture language to easily and quickly remind the living of their obligation to preserve the cleanliness of their immortal soul by their contributions in this world.”

Early gravestones are richly symbolic, featuring recognizable symbols such as hourglasses, angels, weeping willows and skulls. Less familiar are the bats on Susanna Jayne’s 1778 tombstone from Marblehead, Massachusetts, for example, or the coffincarrying imps on the 1700 tombstone of Peter Tufts in Malden. The designs are as varied as they are beautiful and many have a primitive charm.

Rather than attempting to replicate a tombstone in full, the Gravestone Girls often highlight the handiwork of master carvers by creating castings which feature detail work from a particular stone.

Castings are available in various finishes, from “Afterlife Almond” to “Black Plague.” Though their color choices may show a tongue-in-cheek humor, the Gravestone Girls are professionals who take history seriously—every item comes with a reference card giving information about the person, death date, cemetery location and symbolism. The Gravestone Girls draw from historic stones in the New England area, though they can produce custom pieces from ancestors’ tombstones upon request. With a background in preservation and conservation, the Gravestone Girls are mindful of these past treasures and use processes which ensure the safety of the tombstones. They only cast from structurally sound stones and always obtain permission from cemeteries. Their casting material is nontoxic and does not use oils, harsh chemicals or abrasives, and they’re quick to clean every gravestone “to ensure no trace of our presence is left behind.”

When asked about her preoccupation with the cemetery, Brenda points out that their varied clientele shows they’re not alone.

“When I encounter cemetery lovers, they often think they’re alone in the genre or part of a finite group of appreciators, which couldn’t be farther from the truth,” she says. “Our beloved customers are oddities collectors, genealogists, historians, archaeologists, librarians, anthropologists, moms, grandmothers, folks who live next to cemeteries and many more.”

In addition to their product offerings, the Gravestone Girls teach classes in the New England area on gravestone rubbing and lecture on the symbolism and history of cemetery art. Go online at gravestonegirls.com to see a catalogue of available pieces and learn more about their process.

Photo by Gravestone Girls Casting is a meticulous process that starts with surveying the original tombstone. Brenda Sullivan with some of her fabulous funerary art. Photo by Gravestone Girls

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be pre-downloaded. Group bookings at the school are limited to the stake level, so ward groups requesting access are redirected to Madera Ranch. Restrooms are available throughout the campus; however, larger groups are encouraged to rent additional portable facilities. As only select rooms have air conditioning, the prime season for hosting conferences at the school is between October and April.

To check availability for an upcoming conference, contact Coy Lindblom via email: coylindblom@gmail.com. For ward groups, Madera Ranch can be booked through Terri Newman at 480-222-5816. If you are considering a service project for the city of Superior, contact Superior Chamber of Commerce at 602-625-3151 for upcoming opportunities during your scheduled time. When booking the school, the stake presidency will be required to do an on-site walkthrough of the facilities before the reservation is confirmed. Additional instructions for booking are available upon contact.

Dr. Paul R. Sandstrom 7448 E.Main St. | Mesa,AZ 85207 | 480.396.8684 | www.drsandstrom.com

MEET JOAN GREENE

Q: Please tell the readers about your background and preparation for the office you are seeking. I am an Arizona native and I grew up in central Phoenix. I went to Sunnyslope High and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Psychology. I am a small business owner who started my business with only $500, which was enough money for stationery and business cards. I am proud to say I am celebrating my 33rd year in business. During this time, I have worked with sole proprietors, Main Street businesses and billion-dollar companies. The businesses have one thing in common, they all had a problem and I helped them solve it. I am fiscally responsible and fiscally smart. The skills and proven strategies I have used in my business of 33 years will be the skills I use to put us back on the path for prosperity and security for everyone. I have the business experience to grow the economy. I know what our kitchen table problems are, and I will provide realistic solutions. I have the foresight to know our problems of today are not the problems of tomorrow. We need a Congresswoman who is proactive and not reactive. I am very involved in animal rescue and giving back to our Community. I started a second company that raises money and awareness for nonprofits. I also volunteered for Hospice of the Valley as a Pet Therapy Team with my Golden Retriever until he passed away. I believe we need more compassion in government.

Q: What are the local issues the people in your district view as needing to be addressed? Well, there are many! Affordable healthcare that covers pre-existing conditions. Strengthening Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Lower drug prices. Jobs that pay a livable wage. Quality, affordable education so our children have opportunities to succeed. Environmental protection which includes jobs for the now and the future. Keeping our public lands public. Not using our Veterans and their families as photo ops while voting against them.

Q: Would you put this district in the Liberal Progressive, Pragmatic Progressive Camp, or Centrist? I would label this as the Human District. We all want opportunities and financial security for our families. This includes quality education, affordable healthcare, lower drug prices, livable wages, affordable housing and a secure retirement. We want Country before Party and we want to get rid of the corruption that is and has been part of government for far too long. These are not partisan issues but every human’s issues.” I consider myself a pragmatic, financially responsible moderate Democrat who believes you must be open to new ideas and have the skills to look at issues and problems from all angles. The world is changing so fast we cannot solve tomorrow’s problems using yesterday’s outdated thinking .

More of this exclusive interview with Joan Greene will be available in the May June 2020 issue of The Arizona Beehive.

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