Orchids Inspire Seattle Glass Artist

Giant Phalaenopsis orchids cling to a stalk of sturdy bamboo. Exotic Pink Lady Slippers emerge from the hollow in a moss-encrusted rock. Delicate Dendrobium orchids curl around a leafy branch. You’re not in the steamy Philippine jungle and, despite the fact that they look like you could pluck them from the jungle floor, these aren’t living orchids. The amazing orchid creations that surround you when you step into Collectanea Botanica - Orchidaceae at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus, Ohio are made of glass!

The work of acclaimed Seattle glass artist Debora Moore, these exquisite glass orchids exhibit the same dazzling colors and sensuously curving shapes as the natural flowers after which they are patterned. Moore’s glass orchids are a featured exhibit in the conservatory’s Orchids! Vibrant Victoriana which runs through April 8, 2012.

More than 1,400 live orchids bloom in the Conservatory’s Dorothy M. Davis Showhouse, transforming the indoor space into an elegant outdoor Victorian garden. Sea captains returning from the South Seas and South America introduced orchids to Europe and America in the mid-1800s, sparking a fascination with these unusual flowers that continues today. The popularity of orchid growing and collecting during the Victorian Era created a market for these exotic plants that sent orchid hunters to the far corners of the world in search of new species.

More than 20,000 orchid species have been identified around the world, providing artist Moore with plenty of inspiration for her unique glass creations. With the exception of the frozen plains of Antarctica and the world’s great deserts, orchid exists in nearly every place on the Earth. But you don’t have to travel the world to enjoy the amazing variety of orchids that grace our planet. For the next two months, you can immerse yourself in the orchid world at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

To see pictures of Debora Moore's glass orchids, click here!

photo credit: happy via