Corinne Marie, Coffin Artist

Corinne Marie originally began working with wood stain when her sister, Dienna Genther, asked her  to decorate the pine furniture she was making at The Old Pine Box. That eventually led to decorating the coffins and urns.

albuquerqueARTS: How are they selling in comparison to unadorned coffins?

We sell considerably more unadorned coffins as most of our customers come to us looking for the simple, quality made, unfinished and inexpensive plain pine coffin, which is difficult to find these days. The Old Pine Box crafts coffins in a variety of woods so customers who are looking for something a little more elegant than Pine can usually find another unadorned coffin that’s still within their budget. Also, we’ve had quite a few customers purchase unadorned coffins so they or family members and friends could decorate them by drawing or painting or even wood-carving.

albuquerqueARTS: How did you and your sister get into this business?

Many factors contributed to the creation of The Old Pine Box but the desire to offer an alternative to the conventional funeral home caskets was certainly the driving force. We wanted to create beautiful and elegant coffins that retain the natural simplicity without inner-spring mattresses, foam, upholstery or other superfluous accessories. We also wanted to create coffins that had personality and didn’t all look the same.

albuquerqueARTS:Do people request certain motifs? Do you make suggestions to them?

We provide examples and post Artwork I’ve done in the past on our Website The Old Pine Box . We’ve had customers request similar art. Roses and Our Lady of Guadalupe are popular themes. We do get requests for specific motifs but would certainly welcome more. Earlier this year I stained the image of a fighter aircraft on the coffin of a Korean War veteran which was unique to his personal history. I enjoy doing requested artwork and feel privileged whenever I get the opportunity to customize a coffin specific to an individual’s story. I believe the idea of customizing coffins to this degree is a new concept in this country that people are just starting to recognize. When I ask folks, “So, what would you like pictured on your coffin?” most don’t have a ready answer…except the ones who say “Chocolate!”

albuquerqueARTS: Is this a creative outlet for you?

Wood staining and gardening. Wood staining is about as challenging and unforgiving as gardening in the southwest. It isn’t like drawing or painting where, if you make a mistake, you can just erase or paint over it. There’s no margin for error so it requires a great deal of forethought. The stain immediately becomes one with the wood and even after I finish an image it continues to change and evolve as the wood ages (though I don’t usually get to witness this phenomenon with the coffins). The best part about working with wood and stain is that it literally takes on a life of its own. To do this type of work one must really enjoy the creative process and be less attached to the finished product because, after all, it will eventually be buried or burnt up.

See more Handmade Coffin Art and Wood Furniture  at The Old Pine Box

— editor albuquerqueARTS, Stephanie Hainsfurther