Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Marimo

Today I though I would share with you my family of MarimoCladophora aegagropila, or marimo, are spherical shaped filament algae bits that thrive at the bottom of chilly lakes. The shape is cause by the current in the water, rolling them into a ball over time. The slow growing algae can be found in only a few lakes in Japan and Iceland. Marimo enjoy shade and cool water, similar to how life would have been in their natural environment. Their water needs to be changed about once a week, but other than that they are very simple pets!

baby marimo

Micro-marimo

Papa Marimo

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Collections and New Plants

As you may have noticed, I just finished updating my blog layout. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out and I'm sure I will continue tweaking things until I get it all perfect. Let me know what you think! Today I wanted to share some of my favorite little collections of treasures in my house. I will admit that I love gathering tiny, fascinating objects and arranging them in small nooks and on little shelves. Some of the objects pictured here are porcupine quills, shell fossils, an air plant, dried flowers, snake ribs, a real starfish, baby marimo, and an illustration by Julianna Swaney.



I also love collecting matchboxes. These are two of my favorites. Also, two different species of tillandsia as well as a fittonia verschaffeltii (or nerve plant) in a glass bottle. 


I recently purchased three new plants which I'm very exited about!  The first one I haven't be able to identify yet, but I do believe it is a tropical plant. The lime green and pink plant is a solenostemon scutellarioides, which is part of the nettle family. Below is my carnivorous plant terrarium, still going strong. The last little guy is a vine called cissus tuberosa, part of the grape family. I didn't know anything about it when I picked it up at The Volunteer Park Conservatory's gift shop, but have since done some research and am excited to see it grow! 





Monday, May 20, 2013

Field Notebook Necklace

Today I worked on two new ideas I've had for a bit now. They are both related to the natural sciences. I wanted to recreate a Botanist's notebook with a specimen sample within one of the glass vials. So, I did some miniature sketches, collected soem lichen, and came up with this:



The other idea I had is a continuation of my fascination with the galaxy. I've made a galaxy orb as well as a Magellanic Cloud necklace in the past. So, I chose to represent a nebula this time. I also made some new terrarium earrings. 


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Shop Makeover

My shop has been in need of a makeover for a while now and I've finally finished! While photographing my new bone necklaces I was inspired to re-photograph all the items in the shop using a new background from a page of my favorite notebook. The Rite in the Rain notebooks are field guides with waterproof pages. I'll be adding four new necklaces tomorrow!



Saturday, May 18, 2013

The Conservatory

One of my all time favorite places in Seattle is The Conservatory. It's amazing how many different plants are able to thrive inside the gigantic greenhouse. There is a huge collection of plants from all over the world. Each room has a unique theme representing a different part of the globe: Palm House, Cactus House, Fern House, Bromeliad House. I particularly enjoyed their large collection of Tillandsia (part of the bromeliad family) and all of the succulents and cacti. 






The Volunteer Park Conservatory is modeled after London's Crystal Palace and was built in 1912! It was designed by architects John Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. It such a pretty place to visit anytime of the year. It can really cheer you up in the winter or fall on a gloomy Seattle day. On my last visit, the sun was out and it was beautiful! I even picked up some unique plants in the gift shop.


Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Natural Sciences: Botany

What I've been reading lately:



If you haven't read or browsed through the pages of one of Amy Stewart's books, I highly recommend that you get your hands on one of them. They are all very detailed and extremely fascinating. Her latest book, The Drunken Botanist is a particular favorite of mine. It discusses plants in relation to alcohol with history, drink recipes, illustrations, and more!

My carnivorous plant terrarium

I've also taken a keen interest in carnivorous plants over the past few months. They are known for being very difficult to maintain by gardeners and often aren't found in plant shops because of it. So far, with much attention, I've been able to properly care for my Venus Flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula) and Pitcher plant (Sarracenia).  I recently visited an oddities shop in Pioneer Square called The Belfrey. They have tons of beautiful carnivorous plant terrariums in addition to many other interesting antiques. If you are ever in the Seattle area, it's definitely worth checking out. Here are some picture I snapped of their plant collection. 



1. Drosera capensis 2. Sarracenia rubra hybrid 3. Sarracenia rubra hybrid 4. Drosera adelae

While attempting to identify the carnivorous plant species above, I came across this awesome chart. I can't find a source for it but it's been making its way around Tumblr for quite some time. If anyone knows where it comes from, please let me know. 

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Bone Necklaces

I am very excited to announce the release of some new vial necklaces I've been working on! They are desert and science themed and contain animal bones as well as stones, pebbles, mosses and lichens. Lately, I've been fascinated with the natural sciences, in particular, botany and the decay process of plants and animals. I also love the idea of being able to wear items one would normally find in a natural history museum. Here, I've attempted to mimic specimen showcases boxes in a vial form.