Recently we experienced several downed power lines directly outside our house. As well as setting fire to our fence, where the live cables were in contact with the ground, they vitrified the surrounding soil, creating bizarre globular forms in a glossy substance as the earth was literally melted and turned to glass.
These mineral deposits, which can occur in nature when lightning strikes the ground, and often take on tube shaped forms, and are known as fulgurites. I was quite taken with the forms themselves, some of which looked like alien creatures, or clusters of bubbles, but was also interested in incorporating the glass-like material into some jewellery, along with the melted copper electrical wires.
Silvereye Studio 