Grandiflora: Gamrath Glass Arrives at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

In celebration of the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens 20th anniversary, garden lovers can view Grandiflora the latest exhibition is on view through the end of September. The exhibition features dozens of glass sculptures featuring florals that include 10 foot orchids, venus flytraps and cattelyas made up of hundreds of pieces of glass.

The self-guided tour begins in the rotunda where you can learn a bit of about the artist before featuring out into the garden. The glass sculptures can be seen throughout the garden, including the Orchid Observatory, so be sure to pick up a map at the front desk before beginning your tour to avoiding missing any of the sculptures.

Artist Statement

The most beautiful, extravagant man-made object could never creatively equal the simplest and smallest naturally occurring life form. The purpose of creating this series on a macro scale is to bring to light the beauty that exists within the micro scale of nature. Through the rigors of day-to-day life in an urban setting, I find it all too easy to overlook the natural beauty that has ultimately birthed us as a species. Small paints, although minuscule in comparison to our human-sized way of existing, are overwhelmingly perplexing when held inches away from one’s face. The vast majority of people will seldom grasp this seemingly secret perception of existence. When I scale life forms up to be larger than a person, they can observed with this perspective from across the room due to the overwhelming physical presence they command. It is my hope that when people admire my large-scale renderings, they become curious and captivated by the hints of realism I incorporate into my designs. I encourage people to attempt to observe with the same eyes through which I humbly and graciously experience our natural world. – Jason Gamrath

I love walking through the garden with it’s sun dappled pathways… for a few moments you feel transported to another world… another place… and feel completely at peace.