There are many references to trees in the Bible. The Tree of Life is like the bookends, appearing in Genesis in the Garden of Eden and in Revelation in the New Jerusalem. In between is the most important tree: the tree of the crucifixion that held Jesus as he absorbed the sin for all of mankind.
There is a legend that Christ was crucified on a dogwood tree. However, we don’t really know what kind of tree was used. There is one artifact of foot bones from a crucifixion that had fragments of olive wood near the end of an iron spike, and acacia wood near the head. There is also speculation that the Romans could have used pine trees.
The type of tree, however, is not important. What is important is that Jesus was crucified and rose again three days later. This fulfilled the prophecies given hundreds of years in advance and allowed us to accept His sacrifice to become part of God’s family.
The tree texture used in my work comes from a custom mold I made of a small branch. The mold took on the texture of the bark. This allows me to reproduce it directly from nature. The resulting silver pieces are the star of the Greater Love Collection. Each piece of jewelry uses this powerful symbol as a reminder of the love Jesus has for humanity and for us as individuals.
Here are links to jewelry using trees and the symbol of the cross: