Dear Kay,
A quick look at some peaceful things.
Thousands of Glass Flowers, Spiffed Up
I had the chance to see the famous glass flowers collection at Harvard last fall, not long before it closed for renovation. It was a dim place, with murky lighting over wooden cases. It had that feel of a museum that had lost its benefactor. Still, the plants were glorious.
They’re made of glass, from the 19th century mostly. There are 4,300 of them.
A father and son, German glass artists, worked for more than fifty years on this collection.
They do not look like glass.
And they are all exact renderings of each plant. It’s not decoration; it’s botany.
I left with a teeming curiosity about how they were going to renovate this exhibit. Little tiny Swiffers? It seemed impossible. All the flowers would end up in smithereens. Who even knows how to take on the stunning job of cleaning up 4,300 gorgeous, delicate glass flowers?
The exhibit just reopened after nine months of restoration. Now, with this short video, we get to see exactly how this breathtaking collection, the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, has been restored. (Our reader Genevieve works in the herbarium adjacent to this exhibit. Hi Genevieve!)
These flowers were made in a time when so much was still made by hand. It is surely one of the most epic craft projects in history. Also: the restoration is housekeeping at a grand scale.
Lucy Builds Her Sock Drawer
And of course, you’re not getting out here without a link to something socky. Here, Lucy of Attic 24 gives us a look at her latest sock efforts. I am now at the point that any self-striping yarn is a good self-striping yarn. Sock yarns, I love you all.
Love,
Ann
Glass flowers?! I have to add this exhibit to my bucket list. I love Lucy from Attic 24. She makes the most wonderful blankets.
Dear Ann: Thanks so much for sharing this info about the glass flowers. My grandmother saw the exhibit and talked about it often, always with a tone of wonder. I had forgotten all about it so your post brought back wonderful memories. I should go see the new exhibit–she’d want me to! (Love your blog–thanks for that too)
I love that this exhibit is a link to your grandmother. So wonderful.
Those glass flowers blew my mind. They’re such a well-kept secret. I always wondered why the museum wasn’t stacked two high with dazzled visitors. I bought the book so I could flip through it at home and remember.
We’re taking the kids in July, are renovations finished?
Wow. Just wow. I’d not heard of the glass flowers. Wow.
Thank you for sharing the video link as well. We have forgotten so much about these pocket museums as a society.
What a great list that would be–the small, hidden collections of cool things.
Maybe a blog post, asking for suggestions? This glass botanical collection is extraordinary.
I haven’t seen the glass flowers since I was in high school but had been thinking about them recently. I work in Harvard Square and walk through the yard every day. Looks like I’ll be checking them out again (and again and again). Thanks!
Ooh! Ooh! I LOVE Blaschka, who is experiencing something of a renaissance lately. There’s a new book on his marine work out that looks great to a geek like me: http://www.ucpress.edu/blog/tag/blaschka/
That book makes me totally crazy. Thanks for making my day. Wow.
Thanks! Cambridge is in my “neck of the woods” and I will be sure to visit the glass flowers when the real flowers are gone and the snow is on the ground. I saw them a zillion years ago, and I agree they did seem to have lost their benefactor. I can’t wait to see them all cleaned up in their new display cases.
I appreciate the post.
Thanks for the glass flowers; they’re incredible. Wish I’d caught the exhibit when we took the grandsons up to Boston last June.
But what really got me in this post is that you, too, are a fan of Attic 24. I confess I don’t read her blog as often as I read yours, but it is definitely the antidote to a grey day. What joyful color!
The timing of this post is perfect as I will be in Cambridge next week. This exhibit was on my “maybe” list but it just jumped high on the list. Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! Please report back.
Talk about sparking joy.
Amen sister! And the thing is every day you two are sending me joyfully down the rabbit hole with these links…I can spend hours! The glass flowers (and sea creatures) are amazing. Today from Attic 24 I went to Winwick Mum and her basic sock pattern (downloaded) and tutorials, then to twhinkle’s sock drawer on Ravelry and you know what that does. I’ll never get anything done! Well, except knitting.
PS – who knew there would be a Pinterest collection of antique socks? 🙂
Those gorgeous flowers would get broken in my house after about 2.5 seconds, either by kids or cat, but they’re stunningly beautiful!!!
I haven’t had as much time to knit over the past week, but I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday so I’m using that to my advantage and planning a day of knitting on the couch. Happy Friday everyone!
Wow, the glass flowers. Long long ago my BFF and I were part of some teen conference in Boston. I remember next to nothing about the conference, but BFF and I insisted that the chaperone take us to see the glass flowers, because of Marianne Moore’s poem. Even dim and dusty, they were amazing.
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/silence-2
That poem–I had not read it before. Wow backatcha. It speaks especially to me now that my college-age son David is now a boarder here at my inn. An inn, yes–that may be the only way I will be able to handle his comings and goings.
The Blaschkas also created glass models of marine life, which the Corning Museum of Glass has collected. A bunch of ’em are on display right now and are truly a marvel. (http://www.cmog.org/collection/exhibitions/blaschka) As is the whole museum, frankly. And if you go, be sure to take the opportunity to make your own glass object in the studio. You won’t regret it.
The young glassmaker in the Harvard video says that the Blaschkas had skills that no one today can match. Other glassmakers can look at this work yet not attain it. A magic trick, basically. How did they do that?
Little tiny sprites who came into the hot studio each night to finish up the fiddly bits?
The Glass Flowers should be included with the Wonders of the World, in my opinion.
And that Peabody Museum is such a treasure!
When my kids were little we spent many rainy days among the totem poles there making peaceful happy memories. This post just made my morning!
Thank you for sharing….
The flowers are crazy amazing. The diligence and effort…the craftsmanship…alll for something so fragile…is just hard to imagine. Makes me think of Tim Hawkinson for some reason.
And, I love Lucy. Haven’t visited her in a while and it is nice to be reminded of her sunshine.
That is good news, that Harvard has renovated their space. Blaschka father and son also did marine invertebrates that are currently on view at the Corning Museum of Glass. Knitting road trip! http://www.cmog.org/collection/exhibitions/blaschka
Boy was that video amazing! So many things out in the world to see and experience. Thank you Ann for posting this video!
Unbelievable & amazing! Thanks for sharing!
I have seen the glass flowers and they are astonishing. Halfway through the heel flap of second sock now, thank you Ann for the knit a long. I’m gittin’ her done!
So many beautiful things to see. Thank you for sharing.
Gosh, Ann, you really hit the nail on the head about the ambience of the MCZ! I often walked through it on my way from Point A to Point B, and always felt that I might have been accidentally locked inside an abandoned warehouse of worldly wonders. Alone.
Fascinating. Thanks for sharing this. Like someone already said, in addition to adding this to my wishlist, it makes me want to look around for exhibits nearer to home. I’m sure there are plenty that I could take advantage of. I haven’t checked out Attic 24 in a while (it’s such a happy, colorful blog), so it was nice to check out her socks. I caught the bug and started a sock last night with yarn from a previously frogged sock. Maybe this time I’ll get the right fit of pattern to yarn. I also found a pair of slippers that I abandoned for some reason, so I’ll have to get back on those. I wanted to mention to Kay that I’ve been working on a mindless, garter stitch baktus scarf (triangular scarf/shawl). A little snack between bigger projects. I highly recommend it for it’s superior zen qualities. I actually finished one and went straight into another – that’s how crazy busy my other (not knitting) life is right now!
I had never heard of these flowers before, but have already told my husband that we MUST go someday to see them!!! And those socks! I’m busily finishing my second sock, and will try this weekend two at a time!!! Reading this blog each morning makes me so happy!!!
Me too! Reading this blog has become a morning ritual, like taking my vitamins every morning!
Oh boy Oh boy oh boyoboyoboy! A collection of weird little museums! Please please do this!
I have two nominations: The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, which is a medical museum with wax models of the weirdest and grossest medical specimens EVER! (Kids love it.) Here’s a video of gangrene of the face: http://muttermuseum.org/videos/
The other one is in Kansas — when we were moving across country and headed for an overnight with a friend in Kansas, she recommended a detour so we could see The Garden of Eden in concrete. Definitely worth a detour! http://www.garden-of-eden-lucas-kansas.com/
What other nominees do your readers have? (I think I have just made you the Curator of Weird Little Museums.)
I saw this exhibit in the late ’80s. My mother & I toured Boston while my father was on a business trip. I remember clearly our disappointment in the facility and how we thought the flowers could’ve better displayed and lighted. The glass cases were dark and scratched even then. Next time I make my way to Boston, I’ll be sure to visit again. Thanks for the video!
Wow! I see a trip in my future! The video was wonderful, thank you so much!
The glass flowers are incredible! I paused on the sweet peas at 6:04 to study them. I need to plan a trip to Cambridge! Thank you for sharing this.
This made my heart sing…thank you!
Wow! 4,300 exquisite glass flowers, then we find out that there is even more work dedicated to the Sea! I remember looking at an exhibit of Depression glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It did give me a peaceful feeling. What is it about glass? In the case of the flowers, their fragile detail is awe inspiring and mesmerizing.
With regard to the socks, seeing those hand knit socks lined up in the drawers also gives me a peaceful feeling, but in a different way. It’s that substantial, secure feeling that I get when seeing a stack of completed hand knits (or things crocheted or quilted). I somehow feel a connection to the generations of knitters, crocheters, and quilters who have gone before me.
An especially nice post this is. Thank you Ann.
LoveDiane
The video was so great! My memory is of a dark and dusty room. Will make sure to put a Harvard visit on my To Do list.
Every time I read Lucy’s blog and see her beautiful pictures of England I end up on Craigslist trying to find an Englishman to marry me so I can emigrate.
I hope everyone gets to come visit the glass flowers! The team did an amazing job and the precision of the botany only makes it more breathtaking! Right now the pollination series with Bees and such is out, but only for a few months.
There are benches right outside the room perfect to sit and knit while pondering flowers made of glass!
How serendipitous that you should write about the glass flowers the day after I saw them in their renovated home, while at Harvard for a reunion. I last saw them in my college days in the 1980s and they are spectacular in the new space.
Please have a look at the Blaschka glass creatures in the Natural History Museum in Dublin, Ireland!
http://www.museum.ie/Natural-History/Exhibitions/Currently-Closed-Exhibitions/Crystal-Jellies