This one of a kind work of art is The Eternal Shield. Created by the master wood turner and founder of Artistic Urns, Clark McMullen has pushed the envelope in the funeral industry with this hand made unique urn. Inspired by a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, requested from a Director in Upper Manhattan and brought to reality on a custom built lathe, the Eternal Shield is the ultimate definition of the urn that does not look like an urn.

Each Eternal Shield is named, numbered and signed by Clark McMullen. A truly innovative approach to providing families solutions they can feel proud of - When Ordinary Won’t Do.

This urn was made from the Chestnut Oak. Also named the Rock Oak, as it thrives along the ridge tops of the Appalachian mountains in rocky soils. Native to the Eastern United States, it is readily identified by its massively-ridged dark gray-brown bark, the thickest of any eastern North American oak.

The bark has a high tannin content and prior to the 20th century was heavily used in the leather tanning. The wood has a dark brown heartwood and lighter sapwood, and is known for its heavy, close-grained density being fairly rot-proof. Commercial uses include fencing, railroad ties, and other uses where the wood comes into contact with soil.

The thought of taking an entire "slice" from a majestic oak and shaping it into a convex piece of modern art challenged my mind on how it would turn out and how would I get there. It was fun, it was frustrating and it was rewarding - kind of like life sometimes! I name it 'Genesis', as it is my first shield of hopefully many more in the future. Clark McMullen