Art from what's left

Once a leaf.
Once a pod.
Now art.

Natural materials and upcycled finds. Handmade in Dubai.

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Round wall piece made of curled orchid tree seed pods and dry palm strips around a center of seeds on paper

Work

Once was. Now is.

Every piece starts as something found on the ground, or something thrown away.

Dried giant milkweed pods and stems arranged on a green board in an orange frame
Once was dry giant milkweed pods, flowers and pod parts, from a plant that grows widely in the region. Now a framed piece on a deep green background.
Woven wall hanging of seed pods, branches and grass with a knotted jute fringe
Once was seed pods, branches, grass and a palm spathe. Now a woven wall hanging with a knotted jute fringe.
Wall hanging made of branches, bark, grass, seed pods and braided white fabric tied with twine
Once was branches, seed pods, grass and an old shirt. Now a woven wall hanging.
Glass vase holding driftwood branches, some painted white with black hand-drawn patterns
Once was driftwood. Now a vase of branches, some with hand-painted black and white patterns.
Dark, green and yellow feathers standing upright in a pale base
Once was feathers that fell from the sky, parakeet feathers among them. Now a standing feather piece.
Canvas memory board with a dragonfly, shells, lichen, seaweed, a pine cone and a feather arranged in rows
Once was shells, lichen, seaweed and a dragonfly. Now a memory of a summer in Finland, found on walks while staying with friends.

Stories

Where it comes from

Every material has a life before it becomes art.

Narjess standing barefoot on rippled desert sand under a clear blue sky, with small green shrubs behind her

Where I look

Treasures I find

Nature leaves small gifts for anyone who looks. Driftwood on the shore. A pod under a tree. A feather on the ground.

Orchid tree seed pods on the tree, dry ones twisted open with brown seeds inside and a green one still closed

Material story

The orchid tree pod

An orchid tree pod bursts open as it dries, then twists into a spiral. The longer it stays in the sun, the tighter it curls. Put it in water and it loosens again.

Narjess in a car beside a pile of cut date palm fronds and a dry fruit stalk, collected from a park

Where I find

The palm cuttings

A friend trimmed their date palms, and I drove home with a car full of fronds and fruit stalks. Garden trimmings are often thrown away. These will become art.

Giant milkweed shrub with pale green leaves, small purple flowers and a round green pod

Material story

The giant milkweed

Giant milkweed grows wild in the UAE, and often turns up as a weed in backyards. When its pod bursts, the seeds fly away on silky tufts, carried by the wind.

An open moringa pod lying on gravel, with a row of round brown seeds inside

Material story

The moringa pod

Open a moringa pod and the seeds sit in a neat row, round and brown, inside a pale golden lining. The pods are good materials for art.

A round arrangement of small white and pink shells on pale beach sand

A piece I left behind

Left on the beach

I made this circle from shells on the beach and left it on the sand. The tide will take it back. Beauty does not have to last to be worth making.

About

Hello, I'm Narjess

I make art from what nature lets go.

Most of my materials are found or given, here in the UAE. When I travel, I bring back small finds from the landscape too. Each one becomes art that remembers its place.

Others see waste. I see shape, and a second life.

And I see what once was...

Narjess holding a round nest-shaped piece made of dry leaf strips

Find me here

Follow along for new pieces and the making of them.

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