Fiori

As anyone familiar with Dale Chihuly’s glass installations can attest, he is heavily influenced by the beauty of the natural world, especially flowers. The Mille Fiori in the Chihuly Collection is a magnificent example of his art imitating the botanical realm. Fiori means “flowers” in Italian, a perfect segue into the works of two local artists featured in this exhibition, Jane Bunker and Edelweiss Walker.

About Jane Bunker

“Seeing beauty in a flower could awaken humans, however briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of their own innermost being.” – Eckhart Tolle

“This is why I paint. When what I see touches my heart, brings me joy, and gives me peace, I paint so that I might share those experiences with another. When I began my project to raise money for college scholarships for St. Petersburg African American scholars through the sale of my paintings, I chose lilies for their diversity of color, their rhythms, and their luminosity.”

Jane’s serious art journey began at an adult art school when she was ten. Eventually, she majored in art at Stanford University, but she was also drawn to help people so she took a detour from painting to become a psychologist. About 25 years ago, she returned to her first love and began to focus exclusively on her art. She is fortunate to be represented by a number of galleries in Santa Fe, NM; Aspen, CO; Chatham, NY and Boise, ID and to have had a solo show at the New Britain Museum of American Art.

About Edelweis Walker

Edelweis has always had a great interest in art; whether it was drawing, painting, or sculpting, she was eager to try new mediums, and enjoyed creating.  She continued to take a variety of art classes after she graduated from college and worked mainly in ceramics and wheel thrown pottery.  In 1999, she learned stained glass and then shortly after, began learning fused glass.

Blown art glass had always captured her interest, and in 2011 she attended a glass blowing demonstration at the Morean Arts Center Hot Shop.  Within the month she was signed up for a beginner’s glass blowing class. There she met her teacher, and now her glass blowing partner, David Spurgeon.

In 2014, she quit her job as an X-Ray Technologist in order to pursue her passion in glassblowing full time.  She worked as a demonstration artist and a glass blowing instructor.  Edelweis now works out of her own home studio and is continuing her passion for glass blowing as well as being a wife, mother and grandmother.

Included in your Chihuly Collection tickets. Get Tickets