For a few months, The Muses gleamed in the water feature at Missouri Botanical Garden as part of Craig Mitchell Smith’s Garden and Glass exhibition. The water feature is a circle of jets of water that shoot up from the ground, reach the extent of their energy, and bubble back down.
The wire muses with their shimmering glass costumes certainly seemed to inspire a little girl who was fascinated by them. I was in two minds whether to add in more pictures from the exhibition but will save those for another day.
Instead I’ll leave you with a picture of tropical plants taken the same day in the glasshouse – nature being the greatest muse of all.
Shared for Becky’s BrightSquares
Susan Rushton 
Love that fountain with those shimmering costumes.
It’s hard to be sure, thinking back, but I think they were kinetic.
ooh I think I would be like that little girl staring at this, but you are right nature is the greatest muse of them all
She looked as if she wanted to wade in and join them.
I would have joined her!
The Seven Muses fountain is a beautiful touch, Susan, and those tropical plants would look right at home in my garden.
I was just correcting the title as you commented Joanne. There are nine and the title is just The Muses. The tropical plants would be shivering here though the sky is blue.
That’s GLASS??? How amazing! And to think of Nature as Muse is a new thought for me — thank you! That particular muse certainly came through in that second photo; it’s a beauty!
It must be less delicate than it looks to survive outside.
Nature is the best muse. I’ll be interested to see more though, because I’m not at all sure about these other muses from what you show us today.
The others are flowers, so quite different.
What a lovely fountain. And you have caught it well – I can’t imagine it was easy with all the light bouncing of muses and water
I’d have liked to be able to get a little nearer, but paddling wasn’t allowed. 🙂
Oh, fantastic! I can see why that little girl was so fascinated. Looking forward to seeing more.
No frogs I’m afraid, Laurie, though I imagine he’d make good ones if he were minded to.
Beautiful these dansing muses above the water 🙂
Two very different images! I guess I’d always go for water 🙂 🙂
Not having heard of Craig Mitchell Smith, I looked him up: “Originally a painter, theatrical set designer, home restorer, and flower arranger, Smith followed a random road into fused glassmaking that has now taken him around the world. Entirely self-taught in glass, the artist believes that his eclectic background and skills with stagecraft influence his methods and how he thinks about his current medium. Smith’s aesthetic is decidedly theatrical, his style quite painterly.”