MICHELLE PENNINGTON

REFLECTIONS OF A GARDEN

by Michelle Pennington
MEDIUM Handblown glass with murrini

At the age of 16 I had the opportunity to travel to Claude Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny, France. I vaguely remember the experience since it happened so long ago, but I do remember scenes of lush greens and brightly colored flowers surrounding us as we walked through the property. I wanted to incorporate flowers in my work not only to reflect upon my experience in those gardens, but also to include some history of glassblowing since my chosen medium is glass. The technique used to make the flowers is called millefiori which is a type of murrini that looks like flowers and dates back centuries, influenced by both Egyptian and Italian cultures.

I love the idea that as a modern artist, we draw influences from so many artists, cultures, and techniques throughout history and can still reappropriate these techniques into new works of art.