I've compiled a preview of some of the pieces that will be included in the new Verdure collection, a body of work inspired by the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. These rainforests are teeming with life, and have a quiet sense of age. Old growth Cedar trees and Sitka pines are ubiquitous to the region, and host trailing mosses and ferns that cover their spreading limbs like emerald draperies. The air is so ripe with moisture that it mists up from the ground, feeding an abundance of mushrooms and fungus that sprout from the forest detritus. This collection of jewelry is centered around unique moss agates, mostly found in Oregon, with plume and Priday moss agates as well. I spent countless hours poring over my old photos of my time hiking trails outside of Portland, and researching the mosses and fungi, and general flora that grow in that region.
The names for many of these earrings and necklaces, rings and bracelets, are taken from the scientific classification of these plants. Epiphytes are air plants that take their nutrients from the air around them, rather than the plants and trees they grow on. Bryophytes are a classification of mosses growing in this region whose characteristics reminded me of these wonderful stones. Tillandsia are another type of air plant whose sage green coloring and reaching leaves are repeated in the moss agate pieces named for them. I worked the silver in intentional ways, seeking organic forms that look like twisting vines or twining roots.
My time in the PNW was brief, but magical, and left a lasting impression. The hope with this collection is to embody that experience in a small way with a piece of sculptural and tactile jewelry. Email subscribers will get collection release dates on May 20th.
1 comment
Being born, raised and living in Washington State, I love these pieces that reflect the beautiful forests of home.