The Staghorn Fern.

As an artist, one can’t help but be influenced by all the surrounds you. One of my earliest plant memories as a child involved the most incredible green element hanging over my grandmother’s sink. I studied its graphic nature and brown alien like characteristics at its base. Then I began to wonder how on earth something could survive wrapped in moss, delicately tied to a board, and then to be suspended on a wall. Where was the soil?

   

My grandmother, being the most incredible green thumb I have ever known, explained to me that it loved being above the sink because of the steam that would arise from her doing dishes in hot water. The Staghorn, by character, is very reminiscent of an air plant. In nature, Staghorns thrive in humid climates originating from South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, or even New Guinea.

When my grandmother passed a few years ago, she left a small amount of money to everyone of her 18 grandchildren for travel or education purposes only. I used a portion of my inheritance to leave the country for the first time by myself, and travel to Brazil for Carnival. I couldn’t help but feel her presence the entire trip. I had a permanent smile because everywhere I went there were Staghorns. They were growing wild off of telephone poles like weeds!

     

Staghorns have become extremely prevalent in the design industry these days, appearing on creative platforms such as, event photography, retail spaces, blogs and Pinterest. I can’t help but love to see how other designers are conceptualizing such a versatile organic element, and giving it new life time and time again.

     

How does your Stag Horn grow?