Flashes of lightning streak across a cloudy sky as a storm rolls into the bay at Trieste, Italy. Here we found our inspiration for Naurelle Grey’s dramatic veins and electric white backdrop. We wanted to capture the unearthly still between lightning appearing and thunder’s clap, the thrill you feel watching this feat of almost unearthly power, and the memory that stays with you even after the night is once again velvety, starless and still. Candescent flashes illuminate the clouds, water and the bay beyond for a moment in brilliant light and then entirely disappear.

We recreated the crack of thunder with jutting veins and bold contrasts — echoing the all-encompassing flash, and magnetic energy of a lightning strike, translating it into quartz through dramatic cracks, and contrasts of night and light.