June 8 – October 13, 2024
Explore the seven-acre MSV gardens and discover 30 larger-than-life glass sculptures of flowers, insects, and more! This beautiful outdoor exhibition features the work of Craig Mitchell Smith, one of America’s most innovative kiln-glass artists. Gardens of Glass highlights include a chandelier of 600 autumn-colored glass leaves suspended from a maple tree, a 16-foot-tall stainless-steel dandelion topped with a iridescent glass puffball, and a sculpture inspired by apple blossoms, created just for the MSV exhibition.
Gardens of Glass opens on June 8 and will be on view in the MSV gardens through October 13, 2024.
Exhibition fee (includes gallery admission): $15, $10 youth (13–18)/senior (60+), $5 for ages 5–12, free to ages 4 & under, and free to MSV members. Discount admission tickets are available online at this link. The MSV is a Museums for All participant and offers free general admission to those receiving food assistance (must present EBT card at admissions to enjoy Museums for All benefit). Note: while MSV gallery admission is always free to ages 12 & under and free to all on Wednesdays, these free-admission offers do not include Gardens of Glass or the house & gardens from June 8–October 13, 2024.
A detail of "Hollyhocks," a sculpture made in 2021 by Craig Mitchell Smith. This piece was inspired by the original celluloid hollyhocks used in the production of the "Wizard of Oz." Smith saw them during a backstage tour at Disney World.
"Lilly of the Valley," 2021, by Craig Mitchell Smith. As if emerging from the ground, this stainless-steel stem with textured and polished leaves holds nodding bells of frosted glass. It's placement in the Family Cemetery in the gardens at the MSV honors the Museum's benefactor Julian Wood Glass Jr. (who is buried in Oklahoma) and his partner R. Lee Taylor (interred in the wall of the cemetery), the creators of the gardens. Tradition holds that the blossoms of the lily of the valley represent falling tears.
A detail of one of the flowers in "Apple Blossom," one of Craig Mitchell Smith's newest works. Created in 2024 specifically for the MSV display of "Gardens of Glass," the sculpture features delicate whisper-pink blossoms created using a previously unknown glass-forming technique developed by Smith. The bark on the stainless-steel branch is drawn with liquid weld.
Glass artist Craig Mitchell Smith with his new sculpture "Apple Blossom." Created in 2024 especially for specifically for the MSV display of "Gardens of Glass," the piece celebrates the Valley's rich apple heritage and Winchester's famed annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.
Craig Mitchell Smith found inspiration for his 2021 piece "Orange Blossom" in a childhood memory of an ornate brooch worn by his grandmother. This larger-than-life piece is constructed of stainless steel with bold, orange, tangerine, and yellow glass "gems."
At 16 feet tall, "Making A Wish" is one of the highlights in "Gardens of Glass." Created by Craig Mitchell Smith in 2017, this complex, stainless-steel dandelion is topped with a puffball made of iridescent glass. Look for the fly-aways in the gardens.
In addition to creating with glass, Craig Mitchell Smith works with metal. He is pictured here making the stainless-steel branches for his "Apple Blossom" sculpture.
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