In Irish sagas, plants have magical powers. The elder, rowan and thorn are still planted around houses to keep off witches. And, in Ireland and the Isle of Man, the thorn is thought to be the resort of faeries, and they are probably representatives of the older tree spirits and gods of groves and forests.
Materials: The Irish thorn leaves are cast in bronze and accented with white freshwater pearls. The wires are 925 silver.
Measures: 1.25" L
This unique jewelry is made by creating molds directly from botanical elements in a process similar to lost-wax casting. While traditional lost-wax casting begins with a hand-carved model of wax, Michael Michaud instead uses an actual leaf, branch or flower in place of the wax model. A mold is created around the botanical element and as it is heated the plant matter burns away and leaves behind a beautifully detailed mold of itself.