An outdoor sculpture exhibition at Botanica is a colorful celebration of insects
Stained-glass bugs at Botanica
“I’m hoping to inspire people to be curious about, to love insects in a big way,” says artist Alex Heveri.
Her exhibition “Glass in Flight 2” opened yesterday at Botanica, where it will be on view through July 30. It includes 16 steel and glass sculpture installations on display throughout the grounds of Wichita’s botanical gardens.
Heveri, who is also an attorney, works from a large home studio in Tucson, Arizona, where she fabricates her sculptures using dalle de verre, a technique for creating stained glass that was popular in the 1950s and '60s. She is, as far as she knows, the only artist to incorporate it into sculpture.
As a girl, Heveri spent her childhood chasing insects and other creatures that inhabited the desert landscape. She also attended Catholic mass daily at a church decorated with stained-glass windows. “Glass in Flight 2” combines those two pieces of her personal history. Heveri wants to encourage viewers to revere insects — to experience “entomophilia.” She believes that increasing affection for the natural world is the most effective way to advance conservation efforts.
At Botanica, each sculpture is accompanied by a sign with information about each insect and its habitat. Many are placed purposefully: “Monarch Butterfly Archway,” for example, is installed on a path next to a bed planted with milkweed, the only source of food for monarchs. In a brief talk on Friday evening, Heveri credited botanical gardens for their role in increasing numbers of the migratory pollinators.
Botanica, 701 N. Amidon St., is open to the public from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, except for major holidays. General admission is $12 for adults and $10 for children.
— Emily Christensen is the managing editor of the SHOUT.
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