Have you ever held an honesty seedpod in your hand? I have strong childhood memories in my Granny’s garden, of taking the delicate papery shells and rubbing them between my fingers to gently release the seeds. I was captivated by how something so fragile could hold something so precious, and keep hold throughout a whole winter.
This is the inspiration behind my new limited Lunaria collection of drop earring and necklaces.
Each piece in the Lunaria collection uniquely reflects the delicacy of the honesty pod. The layered fine silver carries a gentle lustre inspired by the translucent, papery membrane.
Nature’s inspiration
As it turns out these paper-like pods of Lunaria Annua are actually ‘silicles’ (not actually botanical seedpods) - a specific type of seed capsule which has two fused ‘carpels’ (these are the female parts of the flower). This is the beauty of working on a new collection of pieces - it’s not just about sketching and planning, it’s exploring and discovering. The final designs are a culmination of all these things.
Did you also know that sometimes these silicles are known as ‘moonpennies’? Very apt, I think - I was surprised that my Granny hadn’t mentioned this to me when I was little, although I think I recollect she might have referred to them as penny flowers.
I love that the common name ‘honesty’ is thought to have arisen in the 16th Century to reflect the ‘truthfulness' of how the translucent membranes revealed their contents.
The magic of metal clay
Just as I have enjoyed exploring the meanings and symbolisms of Lunaria Annua, I have also enjoyed exploring a new material. My idea for a collection of pieces inspired by Lunaria has been around for some time, but I haven’t been convinced about their execution, and had failed to achieve what I had in my head using sterling silver and traditional silversmithing techniques. So, it was a somewhat break-through moment when I truly discovered the potential of silver metal clay.
Silver metal clay has the consistency of normal clay, but is is made up of tiny particles of fine silver, water and a binder. It is worked very much like clay - rolling, texturing, shaping - and then it is fired. This is where the true magic of science happens. The heat burns away the binder and gets rid of the water, so you are left with a pure piece of fine silver. This has a beautiful quality about it; a very soft lustre which can then be polished in various ways to achieve some really lovely effects. Silver metal clay has turned out to be the perfect medium for me to finally be able to create my Lunaria collection.
A celebration of uniqueness
I’m all about celebrating the beauty of the individual. Every piece in the Lunaria collection is one-of-a-kind, individually crafted by hand in my garden studio (in front of a vase of honesty!) These are not mass-produced pieces; they are wearable works of art which hold an echo of nature.
I invite you to explore the Lunaria collection and discover a piece that perhaps takes you back to your childhood.
