1. Cremation urns may be cast in steel, assembled out of driftwood, machined on industrial lathes or hand-made out of salt, yet ultimately all of these urns have a couple common purposes: to hold and to heal. Rather than be cauterized, buried or sequestered in a columbary the vessels are destined for a increase  visible final resting place -- a mantel, perhaps, or a family room bookshelf, maybe  a spot in the garden.

The dead, you see, soon are coming home. Though the majority of Americans are still buried, more are choosing to get cremated. Rates have risen from 23.6% in 1997 to a arranged 39% in 2010, according to the National Funeral Directors Assn., and the figure is expecting to hit 60% around 2025. With this rise in cremation comes the emergence of a field that's related: urn as decorative art.

Funerary urns come in all types and forms these days, from small keepsake matching sets for easy division among relatives to large or small sculpture that can hold the whole family -- three or four people, all together.

"Each piece is like a person," said Maureen Lonesome, who runs the Sonora County gallery Art Honors Life, specializing in funerary vessels. "It's like you're at a party. Some people have lampshades on their heads, some are talking very seriously, some are just posing, beautiful and elegantly. They can be whimsical, stately, charming. Each has character."Thats why having art on the cremation urn shows your character.

The creative growth in what has been a long tradition-bound field can be traced of several factors. Cremation is considered less prohibited by religions than in eras past. The practice also can be less expensive than purchasing a plot and staging a casket burial. Perhaps most essential: Ashes are compact. Modern families who move frequently and disperse themselves geographically often find comfort in bringing Dad or Grandma or any other family member with them rather than making all-too-rare treks to a far away cemetery