“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.” – George Bernard Shaw
Green trumpets growing among the green foliage. — Photo by Pat Bean
Weekly Photo Challenge: Merge
These brillantly hued flowers will last forever — or until broken. — Photo by Pat Bean
In the summer of 2006, Dale Chihuly and the St. Louis Botanical Gardens got together. The world-recognized glass artist created an exhibit to merge his art with nature’s art in the garden’s geodesic dome greenhouse. I had merged with St. Louis at the same time.
As I walked through the dome’s earthy rain forest, I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Usually I find too much time with a camera in front of my eyes dulls my senses. So I snap a picture or two, then put my camera away and bring out my notebook.
Glass meteorite for the garden. — Photo by Pat Bean
While it’s said “one picture is worth a thousand words,” as a writer I appreciate that it takes words to express that idea.
But this day, staring at Chihuly’s colorful glass creations that represented everything from reeds and Mexican hats, to herons and meteorite balls plopped down among a bounty of foliage, to brilliantly hued flowers and snaky vines,, left me wordless.
When I later looked at the photos, I found I had mingled Chihuly’s art with the creations of nature so well that I sometimes had to stop and ask myself which was which.
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