Walking into Krista Johnson’s home is like wandering into an art gallery of warm, intriguing glass pieces, as colorful and comforting as a spring garden of wildflowers.
The light fixture in the entryway is a swirling and bubbled piece created by a protégé of glass master Dale Chihuly, and the fixture over the dining table is a lovely recreation of cattail flowers. The walls are bright colors, and windows all over filter in easy spring light.
These decorations are to be expected of an artist who used to run a gallery in Boca Raton, Florida, before moving back to her home in the Flathead Valley, but these incredible pieces are only noticed in a secondary way, once the real draw here is fully examined.
The true centerpiece, where all the energy of this colorful house seems to sit, is the glass-top table in the living room, which showcases dozens of shiny baubles, from necklace pendants to rings.
Each includes a unique piece of glass with rivulets of color splashing here and there in the light. But each piece also includes a thin, white-silvery line or pool, containing the cremains – the ashes that result from cremation – of a person or animal.
Johnson owns and operates Over the Rainbow Memorials, which offers custom jewelry and keepsakes that incorporate ashes as a way to celebrate and honor those who have been loved and lost.
“This is so much more than a piece of jewelry,” Johnson said.
A glassworker for 15 years, Johnson stumbled into the business thanks in part to the traits that serve her well now: compassion, empathy, and the urge to comfort. It started more than 10 years ago, when a friend’s dog died. The four-legged family member was supposed to be in the friend’s wedding, and Johnson used some of the ashes in a piece of jewelry for her.
“We did it like that, just for ourselves,” she said.
After doing the same for other friends, Johnson realized there were many people out there wanting such memorials. Over the Rainbow started, and was featured in a magazine put out by Costco, shared with millions of customers.
Business boomed, and Johnson began working with families who lost human relatives more than those who wanted to memorialize pets.
It’s not hard to imagine Johnson, with her effusive personality and need to care for those who come to her house – “I can’t help myself,” she said, bringing water to a pair of visitors who hadn’t requested it – sitting here with the people and families who come to her with stories of their loved ones.
She lets them talk as long as they want; some consultations last hours. This is all part of it, she said.
“I think it’s really important that we talk about these things,” Johnson said. “That’s very healing, to think about the next step. Every day, I cry and I laugh.”
For the process, Johnson needs about a teaspoon of the ashes. That can create many pieces, she said, and allows the family to hold on to some of the ashes and feel comfortable with spreading the rest elsewhere.
“Having something tangible to hold onto gives us the opportunity to talk about them when they’re gone,” Johnson said.
These memorial pieces can be worn daily, and the wearer is under no obligation to tell other people about them. That’s a nice aspect about it, Johnson said, because it gives the wearer that degree of comfort, to share with whom they choose.
Lying against her sternum is a pendant of black and green glass in the simple shape of a heart, and it contains the ashes of her black Lab Deacon, who she got as a puppy and lived with until he was 15. Just mentioning him brings out stories of hikes and swimming, and a smile to Johnson’s face.
Johnson can create nearly any sort of memorial piece – she’s not limited to jewelry. Past clients have had her make belt buckles, a motorcycle gas cap, poker medallions, golf ball markers, suncatchers, urns, and more.
Another popular item, especially with children, are touchstones, which feature the glass and some decorative leather and beading, and can be kept close, like in a pocket, to soothe the owner.
Her workshop overlooks the chicken coop in her backyard and includes a couple of kilns, which melt the glass pieces at upwards of 1,800 degrees. Each piece can take anywhere from 48 hours to a week, and she has about 30 studio appointments each year. The creations start at $200. She’s also not limited to ashes. Johnson will also use pieces of fur, hair, or a mane in her glass, and has also memorialized snippets of baby blankets to help families cope with and honor miscarriages.
Each piece is “very personal to create,” and Johnson said she knows each one individually.
“I can look at a piece and say, ‘That’s the dog that ate pizza boxes,’” Johnson said.
While she understands that memorial jewelry isn’t for everyone, the people Johnson does meet stay with her, and form connections to others who come to see her.
In a place where strangers share some of their deepest pains and joys, Johnson is a buoy of calmness and peace, willing to join them on their journey.
“I wouldn’t have ever thought that this would be what I’m doing,” she said. “Nobody comes here and says, ‘Oh, I didn’t really like this person.’ [Each piece] is brought with love and it’s received with love.”
For more information on Over the Rainbow Memorials, visit www.otrmemorials.com or call 406-257-3484.