Christmas Cactus from "Mama's Garden"

My mother grew beautiful Christmas cacti. Their blooms were a welcome splash of color during dark, cold winter days. Unlike Mama's cacti, this flameworked soda lime glass cactus can stay in bloom forever.  The piece stands 8" tall, 14.5" wide, and 12" deep. For those of you who have tried sculpting soft glass, you know how challenging it is. It took weeks of experimentation to create the 3 blooming flowers made up of 28 petals surrounding mutifilament stamen cane, 53 joined leaves, and 12 buds. I am proud of the grace and complexity of this piece.

• soda lime glass rods
• wood