Chapter 3 Inspiration

Gooseberry Twig

I have produced a body of organic contemporary jewellery that is inspired by Plants. One of my most significant sources of inspiration has been the Physalis peruviana, more commonly known as the Cape gooseberry plant (Seeds for Africa, 2019) which I came across in my environment. I have also been inspired by the ‘Magrietjie’ flower (an Afrikaans name for a daisy-like flower) in Childhood memories where I made use of these flowers during play as a child.

Figure 1 below shows a drying gooseberry twig. The image has served as inspiration for many of my jewellery pieces. I captured this image because I thought that the shadows formed were interesting.

Figure 1 - van der Linden, A., (2019) Image
of a gooseberry twig drying

Poem:

Shadows

Hanging, Shrivelled up
reflecting eerie shadows
a sombre mystery