The Mourning Benches are low, portable cedar benches carved and decorated with images inspired by the Mount Auburn Cemetery’s flora.

This project was motivated by the experience of visiting my late husband’s gravesite near the cemetery’s Azalea Path. The only way I could be close to his grave required sitting on cold, wet, or frozen ground. I longed for a way to be near him and to comfortably commune with his spirit in nature. I made a bench for this purpose. For my artist’s residency, I fabricated similar seating so that fellow mourners and visitors might also find solace.

The nine benches have titles: Leaf and Tree, Life Forces, Absence and Presence, After Uvalde, Circulation, In Repose, Quiet, Autumn, and Matter and Spirit. The titles are engraved on the same plaques used by the Cemetery’s arborists for tree identification and are attached to the underside of each bench.

Eight of the benches are cedar, which makes them light and weatherproof. They have handles for portability. When you sit facing the handle, you can look down to see and touch the small incised drawings and carved objects that rest on the front corners. One heavy bench is made of African Sapele wood. It can be positioned for someone who cannot carry a heavy object.

I invite you to borrow a mourning bench to visit the grave of a friend or beloved, or, to sit in contemplation. Contact me to arrange this.
jsackerman44@comcast.net or #jillsees on Instagram.