DNA Artwork: A Unique Memorial Gift
Giving a memorial gift is a great way to show a loved one how much you care about their loss and the difficulties they’ll undergo in the months ahead. In addition to things like funeral flowers, people often choose pretty mementos like engraved plaques, ornamental urns, memory journals, or statuettes.
While of all these make appropriate presents, there isn’t a whole lot of personalization involved. To find a truly one-of-a-kind memorial gift, you may want to get closer to the deceased. A lot closer. As close as his or her DNA.
DNA Artwork
DNA artwork bridges the scientific and artistic communities by creating large, visually appealing works of art that depend entirely on a person’s unique DNA. Offered from several different companies and in several different formats, the most popular version on the market right now are the DNA Portraits offered by a company known as dna11.
The process is fairly complex and takes a while (usually around 6 weeks). You send in a DNA sample through their kit, their lab runs it through a special gel to find the unique code, and it is turned into a digitally-enhanced canvas picture.
Of course, when you’re considering this for a deceased family member or friend, getting a DNA sample may not be that easy. Because the company prefers a cheek swab over something sloughed off (like hair in a brush or clipped fingernails), you may need to coordinate with the funeral home in order to get the sample taken.
Other Personalized Art Options
The company dna11 doesn’t stop at DNA. Other options for personalized artwork include an ancestry portrait, which tracks your bloodlines to show your ancestry origins (and is captured in a QR code on canvas that will take you to your very own ancestry portrait website). You can also do a fingerprint painting or a lip print painting—both of which come in a variety of colors, though these will necessarily be more difficult to get once a person is deceased.
Why Choose Personalized Artwork?
There is a bit of hassle involved with this kind of memorial gift. After all, you have to get DNA or fingerprints from the deceased, send away to a company for the product, and wait for results. And for some people, seeing a cold, scientific reminder of the deceased on the wall might be too much to bear.
However, if the deceased or those left behind have a love of science, or if they liked the idea of where technology will take us in the future, this could be the perfect parting gift. Tasteful and elegant and one-of-a-kind, DNA art is just one of the many types of memorial items you can buy to honor the deceased.
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