Moss is just inherently touchable – soft and lush, tactile and spongy. It feels like velvet and its vivid green hues call to mind the deep damp forest. Perhaps this is why we’re so drawn to it – and why so many artists and designers have chosen to use it as a fun and surprising medium in everything from furniture to graffiti. These 12 examples of moss art range from the practical to the outrageous, but they all serve a common purpose: bringing the outdoors in (and even making it wearable.)
Secret Garden: Real Moss Tables by Ayodhya
(image via: design boom)
Even in the most visually stimulating and comfortably appointed modern homes, there tends to be something missing: that little touch that brings a piece of the outdoors in. The Secret Garden collection by Ayodhya provides a visual buffet of dried moss in complementary tones of green under a glass tabletop.
Living Moss Sculptures by Robert Cannon
(images via: robert cannon)
Stone sculptures that appear hard, cold and lifeless suddenly take on new dimension when they become covered in random little patches of naturally occuring moss. Artist Robert Cannon speeds up the process with terraform figures, animals and pillars with intentional pockets where moss can grow, giving them a sense of vitality.
Step Out Onto a Moss Bath Mat
(images via: dornob)
Moss has such a squishy, soft texture that bare feet just can’t resist, and it’s naturally absorbent and water-loving, too. So how perfect is it as a (highly unusual) living bath mat? This concept contains three different types of mosses – ball moss, Island moss and forest moss – within a foam ‘planter’.
Eye-Catching Living Moss Carpet
(image via: inhabitat)
Though the need to water your carpeting may not seem desirable, consider this: the Terramac living moss carpet not only adds to your indoor air quality, but fully biodegrades on its own after 10 years, eliminating the need for disposal. The moss grows within and is protected by a housing of eco-friendly Terramac knitted and spun fabric, which is made from plant-derived fibers. It certainly makes more of an interior design statement than bland beige.
Moss Graffiti by Anna Garforth
(image via: crosshatchling)
Who says graffiti is property defacement? It’s hard to object to beautiful, natural public decoration like the ‘moss graffiti’ of Anna Garforth, who uses the green fuzzy stuff to adorn walls and other surfaces in her project ‘Mossenger’. Garforth’s detailed method involves cutting and shaping sheets of moss, which are then applied to surfaces, but true growing moss graffiti is created by painting with a paste of moss and water.
Mossy Marilyn Monroe Wall
(image via: living wall art)
Far from the eye-popping colors of Andy Warhol, this spin on the artist’s iconic Marilyn Monroe portrait uses cute little balls of living moss in shades of green, brown and red. Designed by Ng Sek San, ‘Mao Marilyn’ was a fixture at the 2010 Singapore Garden Festival.
Living, Growing Moss Necklace
(image via: gnr8)
There’s nothing quite like something green and growing to cheer us up, especially in the depths of winter. Though carrying a potted plant around with you at all times may not be the most feasible way to utilize our natural response to greenery, this necklace will certainly do. It’s a tiny sterling silver pot filled with living Icelandic moss that, like any other plant, must be watered regularly to remain alive.
Moss Chair Blend Right In to the Garden
(image via: casasugar)
Want garden seating that really seems like part of the landscape? Perhaps a DIY moss-covered chair is all that will do. Designer Kyle Schuneman created this one and explains on CasaSugar how to construct your own with dried moss and spray adhesive.
Mossy Kicks Are More For Show
(image via: well cultivated)
If you just happen to know someone who’s very much into both football and moss, perhaps you’ve just stumbled upon the weirdest and most ideal gift ever. Or perhaps not. But either way, these ‘green moss football boots’, offered by Well Cultivated Eco-Friendly Products, are certainly a conversation piece. The shop notes that the boots are too small to actually wear, but could make a great basket for smaller additional gifts.
Mud Man and Moss Maiden
(images via: webecoist)
Like giant subterranean beings emerging from the soil, ‘Mud Man’ and ‘Moss Maiden’ call to mind earth-based pagan deities of old with their grassy tufts of hair, ivy clothing and mossy skin. They were discovered in the UK’s Lost Gardens of Heligan when an explorer took it upon himself to uncover and restore the formerly chaotic, overgrown gardens – just as if they had always been there.
Swirly Moss Wallpaper
(images via: apartment therapy)
Textured wallpaper is nothing new, but burnout velvet and other textiles give way to the fuzzy green vitality of dried moss in this version, created by hand for a renovated home in Tokyo’s Ebisu neighborhood.
Moss Art by Edina Tokodi
(images via: mosstika)
Some artists live, breathe, sleep and eat paint. For Edina Tokodi, it’s much the same, only her medium is at least a little more healthy, natural and edible: moss (of course!). Tokodi brings nature to gritty urban neighborhoods in a fresh and unexpected way with birds, deer, bears and other scenes of nature in places like subways and alleys.



