sqwook | the nexus of art, science, and skill (Reply)

The book The Glass Flowers of Harvard is truly mesmerizing, and the more you already know, the more amazing it is. The glass flowers were created as ever-lasting teaching tools, and they are rendered with exquisite accuracy. It's so mind-boggling to think of. Emotionally, for me anyway, this is much different than a beautiful photo, because I know that someone actually *made* this, with their own two hands and a solid grasp and care for getting everything right. It's a manifestation of all we can accomplish when we truly care for something, for doing something well. My brain hardly knows what to register the most: Nature! Artistry! Beauty! Botany!

I could not find full-scale photos on teh interwebs, but the book is 8x10 or so, full size color glossies, and only on *some* of the photos is it obvious that these are made of glass and are not living plants. And I'm no slouch at knowing what plants look like.

Article about the flowers:
http://www.journalofantiques.com/Feb04/featurefeb04.htm

On Flickr: (worth clicking)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cienne/104866108/      - flower
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesocks78/442776632/    -maple leaves

Botanical wonders exhibit:
http://www.cmog.org/index.asp?pageId=1559

(and that whole photostream makes me want to hightail it to the nearest natural history museum.)