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Meet the Artist

Where Memory
Meets Earth.

The hands behind every Ash & Earth memorial — crafting permanence from plaster, ashes, and 35 years of mastery.

Matt DeBenedetto, Ash & Earth artisan and founder, working plaster with a float trowel against a textured wall
Matt DeBenedetto

A Lifelong Plaster Artisan

Every Ash & Earth memorial is crafted by hand by Matt DeBenedetto, a lifelong plaster artisan who believes that remembrance deserves something more meaningful than an urn or a shelf.

Using natural plaster, earth pigments, and the ashes of your beloved companion, Matt carefully creates each memorial panel as a permanent tribute — one that becomes part of the home and a sacred place of reflection.

Each piece is shaped slowly and intentionally, using traditional plastering techniques refined over more than three decades. No two memorials are ever the same, because every life, every story, and every memory is unique.

"For Matt, this work is not simply construction. It is a quiet collaboration between earth, memory, and craftsmanship — creating a place where love can remain present long after goodbye."

By the Numbers

Craft Built Over a Lifetime

35+
Years of Plastering
100%
Handcrafted
1
Panel at a Time
∞
Artist Guarantee
The Origin Story

An Idea That Had Been Waiting

Matt has been working with plaster for over 35 years — walls, textures, finishes, restorations. It has always been his craft, his language, his way of thinking about permanence and beauty.

But Ash & Earth began differently. It began with a feeling — the sense that when a pet passes away, families deserve more than a container. They deserve something alive. Something they can look at, reach out and touch, and feel connected to.

"I had this idea for a while," Matt says. "And I love animals. When you put those two things together, it just made sense."

The first commission came from a family in Australia — Sasha's family — who found Matt through a Facebook pet bereavement group. They mailed ashes across the Pacific. He made something that made them weep with gratitude. And he knew this work was real.

Ash & Earth is still new. Still growing. But every panel Matt creates carries 35 years of mastery and something newer still: the conviction that grief, handled with care, can become art.

See the Work
An Ash & Earth panel in the studio — a plaster board with a printed photo of Sasha alongside the mailed ash package from Australia, the first commission
Ash & Earth artist studio — photo reference, plaster palette, and flowers laid on a marble surface
The Craft

Natural Materials,
Sacred Intention

Matt works exclusively with natural lime plaster — the same material used in historic frescoes and ancient architecture. It cures to a luminous, mineral-rich surface that catches light in a way no paint or synthetic material can replicate.

Earth pigments are mixed in small batches to achieve warm, organic tones that complement any home. No two batches are exactly the same — a quiet reminder that no two lives are either.

The ashes are introduced carefully, at a precise point in the plastering process, where they become permanently bonded to the panel — not as an afterthought, but as the heart of the piece.

The photo is printed at gallery quality and mounted 1/8” above the surface, creating depth, shadow, and a presence that frames who your companion was.

Giving Back

This Work Gives Back
to the Animals

A portion of every Ash & Earth commission is donated to local animal rescue organizations. For Matt, it's not a marketing strategy — it's the only way this work makes sense. The bond between people and their pets is the whole reason Ash & Earth exists.

Our Belief

Your Pet Had a Character
Worth Celebrating

Ash & Earth exists on a simple belief: the way we honor those we've lost says something about how much we loved them. Your companion deserves more than a box on a mantle. They deserve a living memorial — something that breathes, catches light, and brings you peace every time you look at it.

That they can have a living memory.

Something to look at and touch.

Begin Your Commission
Commission Inquiries Welcome

Ready to Honor Your Companion?

Crafted to Live in Light

Reach out with questions, or begin your commission today. Matt personally responds to every inquiry.

Begin Your Custom Panel Contact Matt Directly