Award-winning husband and wife artists, John and Lauri Maeder, have discovered a way of removing the delicate fiber from within the green pads of the iconic Opuntia, or, prickly-pear cactus in all of its beautiful and intricate detail. Working from their studio in the historic copper-mining town of Jerome, Arizona, they lovingly fashion this fiber and the outer membrane of the prickly-pear into a variety of beautiful and useful items including jewelry, wall art, architectural panels, lighting, hats, and sculpture. Since all cactus is protected in the open desert, they sustainably harvest their raw materials from their friends’ and neighbors’ landscaping in Jerome, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, and Sedona by trimming overgrown plants otherwise destined for the landfill, making their work an example of a sustainable renewable resource and a form of upcycling. The exclusive process that they use is their own discovery, and they are the only artists using cactus fiber in this manner to present such a wide array of products.
Unique Art and Jewelry Made From Prickly-Pear Cactus
