I like to imagine that long ago someone who loved Cornwall put this is a collection together… perhaps one day they were walking along the wild coastal path and found an unusual white lichen growing in a little mossy valley. They took it home as a treasure, and a memory of a very special place.

In reality, I made the miniature lichen myself, to fit the tin. I started with soft porcelain clay, shaping it with my fingers and a few simple hand tools. It was fired in my kiln to 1245 degrees centigrade.

The map was published in 1940. I haven’t been able to date the tin, but I have discovered that telegraph typewriters only had capital letters - interesting! I added a wire loop, as the sculpture looks great hung from a simple hook or nail (nail not included).

The tin is rubbed and bruised in places with a couple of dents on the lid, and on the back too. The warm silver/gold finish is wearing away in places on the lid, and has gone completely on the sides. To me this shows its age, and adds to the beauty of the piece.

The tin is about 4.5cm wide and tall, and including the wire loop it’s about 6.5cm tall. With the lid on the tin is about 2cm deep. On the back of the tin I’ve written the title, date and signed it too.

Please note that I’ve done my best to match the colours in the photograph to the sculpture, but colours can look different on other screens.

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