sleeping silk pod o1

67.75h x 19.5w x 3d" | A V A I L A B L E

A few years ago, on a walk through the narrow, colorful streets of the little Mexican surf town of Sayulita, I came across these cool bean pods scattered across the path. They had fallen from the Mimosa Tree (aka “Albizia Julibrissin”). As much as I love collecting and inspecting nature’s fallen fragments, I don’t stop for just any old bean pods these days… These pods were special. At 4-15 inches long, these legumes are massive (as bean pods go). Their ridges and curves, bumps and bends, peaks and points, sinews and micro-veins, trace and flow through the forms in ways that seem possible only by the hand of a ceramicist with delicate tools. Every bump in the dry husk represents a potential seed. But strangely most pods don’t contain a full set of seeds even though the indentations for them are there… and are much bigger than the seeds they contain. 

Painting these pods white, positioning them on white, and lining their edges in liquid gold is my way of discovering, studying, and honoring nature’s curious porcelain-like sculptures. White on white brings out their shape and form by isolating and accenting shadows and allowing for the reflection of light. With white on white, you can remove the distractions that color, fleshy anomalies, texture, and the perceived density of a thing create. Staggering the pods in a layered linear arrangement help you see their similarities and fluctuations in shape and personality, moving together like ripples in a stream, or musical notes on a line.

I discovered later that the Mimosa Tree, sometimes called the Persian Silk Tree, is in the family of legumes that can help enrich the soil where it grows. The Persian name means “night sleeper,” and it is known also as the Sleeping Tree in Japan. That is because its leaves fold up at night and during rainstorms. First found in China, it has also been coined the Happiness Tree since it has been used for centuries to treat depression, anxiety and grief. Although native to Asia, this tree was brought to North and Central America in the 1700s by a French botanist. Its exotic bright pink flowers with their high nectar content attract butterflies and hummingbirds, as well as sphinx moths at night. These flowers are prepared in traditional Chinese medicine in a tea known as He Huang Hua, which is associated with pleasure and happiness. So with all of that… Enjoy : )

process