Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise is made entirely from flameworked borosilicate glass. This piece is directly influenced by a childhood experience when my mother pointed to some vegetation while on vacation and told me to look at the bird of paradise. I thought it was strange that she was pointing to flowers, as I could find no animal and she never let me forget my confusion. So, I created this piece to get a leg-up in the long-running joke between my mother and me. 
The piece is 18.5" x 9" x 9". The Victorian inspired stand that display the cage and flowers is 3.5 ' tall and was turned on a lathe.