The Plankton Series by Maria Moyer at West Elm

It was so serendipitous that last night I got an exclusive invite to see the artist Maria Moyer. A ceramic artist living in Manhattan, who specializes in ocean motifs such as plankton in her pottery. The launch of the Plankton Series by artist Maria Moyer in collaboration with West Elm was exciting! The launch featured a presentation from the artist and there was a representative from Oceana with super helpful literature on their organization.  Oceana the nonprofit protecting the word's oceans will receive 5% of the purchase price from each one of Maria's pieces at 40+ stores! How super!!!

I really liked how she spoke about her being on a Plankton Pulpit. Plankton do an awful lot of work for us that goes unrecognized. Trees get a lot of the credit for the air we breath which actually is not the case. Did you know plankton create half of the oxygen we breath?!? That is an incredible amount of work from something that often goes unnoticed. If you want to look at it from another angle, plankton is responsible for half of the worlds food too. If you are one of the 3 Billion people eating seafood it is all thanks to plankton! It just tickled me to be able to see Maria's presentation with her I <3 Plankton screen to start with.

Inspired by the texture and pattern found within plankton she created one of a kind or small, high-end pottery studies all based on the shapes, patterns and textures of various plankton. She likes working with her own fingerprints, and the variations she can create in her pottery by just even using her fingerprints. This collaboration between Moyer and West Elm is extremely exciting because it gives her an avenue to create her art both affordable and available to a wide range of customers. Previously she has worked on more high-end boutique items and jewelry. 

These small vases were inspired by the bio-luminescent plankton. She spoke briefly about the first experience she had with bio-luminescent plankton during her presentation. At a young age she saw how electric looking all the masses can become together.  I really enjoyed listening to her describe how she takes what she is inspired by and then translates that into her process. The real plus is she is even nicer when you get a chance to chat. She is very personable and intriguing and I am very happy I had the opportunity to check out this wonderful event. 

Here is what I brought home to show for it:

clay pot inspired by plankton, by Maria Moyer

I am still not sure if it will house an air plant or a candle... Any thoughts?

XOXO, KC