I Have Always Been Fascinated,

by the art of glassblowing,

and was thrilled when I saw these examples of the craft by glass artist Laura Hart, above a Attacus Atlas,

  Kaiser-i-Hind

 Large Tree Nymph

 Queen Alexandra Birdwing

 Scarce Swallowtail

 Spanish Moon Moth

 Yellow Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail, for her “Butterflies” series, the artist has recreated rare species and subspecies from around the world with bright colors and symmetrical designs and never uses the same species twice, Hart casts the bodies of her one-of-a-kind insects using the lost wax molding and pate deverre kiln casting processes, each delicate sculpture is around 18cm wide, a glass fusing method is used to make the realistic wings in stages, with intense hues and translucent sections outlined in black, the sections form tiny stained glass windows, altering the light that passes through and reflecting onto the tables and display stands, Sterling silver pieces are added to complete the sculptures, forming the legs, antennae, and proboscides of the colorful creatures, to see more of Laura Hart’s glass works, check out the artist’s Facebook page, fascinating, well it is for me.