The birch is one of my favourite trees, and the inspiration for several of my designs. I love their tall, graceful shape, the bright golden colour of their leaves in autumn, and their distinctive pale bark, which peels back in strips.
Known as the goddess tree or lady of the woods, the birch is one of the first trees to come into leaf in the spring. It is associated with protection, renewal and new beginnings, and with the zodiac sign Capricorn.
It is the strongly marked bark of the birch that I use most often in my jewellery. I reproduce the horizontal ‘stripes’ using either a slim file, or the edge of a hammer. I generally oxidise the finished piece, then give the surface a polish, leaving the dark oxidisation in the file or hammer marks.
Birch jewellery makes a lovely symbolic gift, whether it is for Christmas, to celebrate the birth of a child or a winter birthday, or to commemorate a fifth (wood) wedding anniversary. Take a look in my online shop to see my current range of birch bark designs.
Lovely designs, Caroline. It’s great how you’ve shared the birch tree images that inspire the line patterns in your beautiful jewelry pieces.