Blue Flower Paperweight Botanical - Contemporary Floral Glass Art

Artist: Paul Stankard
Title: Blue Flower Paperweight
Medium: Handblown Glass
Size: 4.3"h, 2.5"w, 2.5"d
Inscription: Signed by artist
Condition: Museum quality, no chips or cracks
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

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Paul Stankard's elegant blue flower paperweight showcases the artist's impressive ability to create delicate and highly detailed botanicals through glass. The intricate, curving stems and highly realistic flowers show why Stankard is considered one of the contemporary masters of glass art. Stankard's work has elevated the once perfunctory paperweight to the status of fine art. Paul Stankard's blue flower paperweight is signed by the artist and comes with a Gallery Certificate of Authenticity.

Paul Stankard has revolutionized the paperweight and made a name for himself as one of the most talented glass artists in the world. He is crediting with elevating the paperweight from an office supply to the level of fine art, with his work now showcase in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Louvre in Paris.
Born in 1943, Stankard began his glass career working as a glassblower making scientific instruments. In 1969, he began experimenting with paperweights in a quest to use his technical proficiency in glass blowing for something more creative. The technique Paul Stankard used created botanicals inside the paperweights with such hyper-realism that many people thought the paperweights included actual flowers. Stankard creates each element of the paperweight individually, paying close attention to every detail from color to texture before assembling the final product. His work takes in the entire scope of nature, extending far beyond placing a pretty floral bloom in a paperweight: he often includes insects, roots, and complete natural systems. While the majority of popular glass artists in the world today create modern work, Stankard’s classical and timeless designs created with stunning realism allow his work to stand out.
The spiritual element of botany plays an important role in Stankard’s work. He emphasizes that beauty can be found in unexpected places. In addition to being a glass artist, Paul Stankard is also a prolific author who has written several poems, articles, and two books.