April–June 2026

The Curiosities Project

Non-living terrariums with dried moss and found objects in repurposed glass vessels

Introduction

In a land far away, just around the corner, sat a square yellow house. In the back of the yard was a big, scraggly tree so tall and so ugly you could see it from the edge of town.

For a few years of my life, I called this yellow house and scraggly tree home.

Into this scraggly tree, my dad trimmed branches to make a “door” and “window.” I would spread a blanket over the dirt and lean my head against the trunk, my hair getting tangled in the rough bark. The only thing I had to worry about were those pesky spiders.

I played under there for hours. Each day, I would fill my pockets full of little treasures I’d collected by the river, in the forest, or at the ocean to decorate my special tree palace.

Project Evolution

Holding a glass vessel I found at the flea market, I was transported back to my imaginative 7-year-old self. How might I transform this little glass jar into an imaginary world? How could I make it a game, with secret rules known only to myself?

I decided that I would use only what I could find, repurpose, or was gifted. Over several months, I visited Goodwill and a local flea market to collect glass vessels of different sizes and shapes. I never knew what I would find. I simply purchased items that were interesting. When I saw strange little items that drew my attention, I collected those, too.

With a limited palette of dried mosses, sand, and sticks I picked up on walks through my neighborhood, I played with composition in each of the jars. I imagined how I might have arranged them as a little girl, while still using my adult art sensibilities to edit.

The resulting pieces are lovely, intriguing, and yet incomplete. They leave space for the viewer to imagine their own stories, explore their memories, and appreciate things that were important to them at different points in their life.

Conclusion

I think my younger self would be delighted with these pieces. She probably would have elbowed adult me out of the way to make her own little worlds with moss and strange objects. Then told me epic sagas about them.

Making this project reminded me that the little, ordinary things are just as important as the big, expensive ones. I love the sense of fascination that bloomed as I became aware of all the strange and wonderful things around me.