Everybody loves to have plants around. They bring you tremendous energy, clean up the air and help us relax and feel good. But how about moss? And how about moss as art? Recently, in the world of natural décor, reindeer moss has stepped up as an alternative to plants and flowers.
Reindeer moss is actually a type of lichen that comes in a preserved form, which means it doesn’t require any maintenance at all! Creative people, heed this: the design possibilities are endless! Just to inspire you, I’d like to share some projects we did over the last years.
Mossart Tiles : The secret is the same with the ceilings as with the walls: you glue handfuls of the moss with hot glue onto sheets of sturdy corrugated plastic.
On a ceiling: Hatch Design, a firm in Kelowna, BC, has installed panels of spring green reindeer moss on their ceiling. They wanted the fresh look of the moss, plus the sound absorption capacity. The result is mind-blowing!
On a wall: by using the same principle, it’s not hard to install the tiles on a vertical surface. You can cover biiiiigggg surfaces or smaller ones. Tip : always think of framing the project somehow to hide the side of the tiles.
Mossart signs and logos: each fiber of lichen is just like a pixel on a computer screen: you can only create shapes that are detailed to a certain point. Overall, the result depends on the size of your project and the care with which you glue the moss.
Mossart frames: everybody’s got an old empty frame they don’t know what to do with. This could be perfect for a rustic or modern Mossart frame.
Mixing colors
The reindeer moss comes in 13 different colors, and I know that the artist in you is already wondering which shades will look best when mixed together. In the end it’s only a matter of taste, and hopefully the pictures you see here will inspire you!
Choosing which Color
You see that there’s a lot of green in what we’ve done, but for their kitchen this family chose Silver Grey, for a very eye-pleasing result.
The reindeer moss, harvested sustainably in Norway, is preserved using only natural products. First, the water in it is replaced with glycerine, and then the moss is dyed with food dye. Preserved means it is not live, and the versatile material can be played with in many, many ways – have you seen the glass-top coffee table with moss underneath? Who doesn’t dream of having coffee on top of a bed of green reindeer moss in the comfort of their living room?
You can get bags of moss for your own creations on Etsy. Tip: it takes about 9lbs of moss to make 5 square feet of Mossart tiles!
About the Author
Fred Collay is one of the creators of the cool green-art design company By Nature. Fred and his partner, Nicolas Rousseau, offer innovative, creative, alternative indoor plant products and ideas. You can see a tour of the By Nature studio in Vancouver here and here.
You might also like this Rainbow Moss Art DIY project
Or this Moss heart frame project:
Hi
Beautiful creations
Can you please suggest what can be used instead of reindeer moss as it is difficult to find it in India Chandigarh
Thanks
Please can you help me!
I am looking for a preserved green moss that doesn’t wash out when I uses whit natural plants
Thanks for your help
Hi Etty, do you mean the moss colour doesn’t allow the green plants to stand out? There are many other moss colours available. Have a look!
Can you get the type of moss that grows outdoors on the north side of my fence and make an art project with it or get it to grow on rocks.
Can you tell me how to maintain the moss so it doesn’t get dusty? We love the idea of using it on the ceiling for sound absorbing but worried about the dust mites! Thank you so much!
Hi Kate,
I have had moss art up for about 5 years and it hasn’t gotten dusty, so I’ve not thought of this. I would think that perhaps blowing a hair dryer over it would remove any surface dust and then a spritz with a mister would keep it soft. The moss does dry out if it’s in a very dry location so a bit of misting isn’t a bad thing.
Absolutely stunning creations!
Could you give me any recommendations on the type of glue I could use to connect moss to the wood base?
Aww, sorry for my last question! I found the answer within your lovely article!
No need to apologize! I’m glad you found the answer. have fun!