Reflective Light: Reiman Gardens features sculpture exhibit ‘Glass in Flight’

Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune
·3 min read
Children play near the Wandering Glider sculpture, which is part of the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens. Twenty sculptures depicting beetles, dragonflies, bees and butterflies are made of steel and glass.
Children play near the Wandering Glider sculpture, which is part of the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens. Twenty sculptures depicting beetles, dragonflies, bees and butterflies are made of steel and glass.

An art exhibit at Reiman Gardens gloriously combines steel and glass, catching light and elevating its subject: Insects.

“Glass in Flight” punctuates the 17 acres at Reiman Gardens with 20 sculptures by Tucson, Arizona-based artist Alex Heveri.

Heveri painstakingly created each sculpture to mimic the appearance of beneficial insects and pollinators, including butterflies, bees, dragonflies and beetles.

She works with various mediums, but she used steel and glass for this botanical garden exhibit.

“This is a stained glass, but it's an unusual type of glass. It's called dalle de verre or antique slab glass,” Heveri said in a video on her website. “They used to use this glass a long time ago in churches and they still do but they used to set it in with concrete.”

It’s rare for artists to sculpt with this glass, she said.

“It can be fragile and sometimes difficult to work with,” Heveri said.

Yellow Stag Beetle sculpture is part of the Glass in Flight exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens in Ames.
Yellow Stag Beetle sculpture is part of the Glass in Flight exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens in Ames.

Welding is done before the glass is installed. Cutting each piece of glass can take up to an hour to complete.

“For each piece of glass, I’m doing multiple cuts on the edges,” she said. “Then I chip it on each side and the corners with a chipper to give it a facet.

“The purpose of that facet is to have the glass sparkle when the sun hits it. … It gives it an added dimension.”

Although much of Heveri’s prior work has been abstract, for the botanical gardens exhibit, she tried to make the sculptures look like actual insects.

Heveri has sculpted with steel and glass for nearly 30 years. Her work requires heavy equipment, including a forklift, a 2-ton stationary crane, a plasma cutter and a big workshop where she does her own welding.

The grand finale of “Glass in Flight” is a beehive arch, which she spent several months designing. Using many steel hexagons, Heveri inserted some with steel for stability and a few with colored glass to resemble honey.

The bees are made with endcaps used for fencing or piping.

The “Glass in Flight” exhibit is part of Reiman Gardens 2023 theme, Light and Reflection, which celebrates how things transform in reflection.

Visitors look at the Firecracker Skimmer sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.
Visitors look at the Firecracker Skimmer sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.

“The result of a reflection is never a carbon copy, but something that is transformed in the process, like an image in a body of water or the exchange of information. Color and light, along with actions, thoughts, and behaviors are all altered by the act of bending or looking back,” a news release from Reiman Gardens stated.

The “Glass in Flight” exhibit is open through Oct. 8 and viewing is included with admission to Reiman Gardens.

Visitors look at the More Bees Please! sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.
Visitors look at the More Bees Please! sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.

Garden Art Fair is Sunday at Reiman Gardens

Reiman Gardens’ 20th annual Garden Art Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

More than 60 artists will display and sell their garden- and nature-inspired art.

Artwork will include jewelry, painting, pottery, woodwork, glass, home decor, photography, sculpture and fabric arts.

Blue Dasher is part of the Glass in Flight exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.
Blue Dasher is part of the Glass in Flight exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.

Food will be available for purchase from Sandwich Studio and Sweet Swirls food trucks just outside Reiman Garden’s east entrance gate.

More: Four Ames men open Sandwich Studio food truck featuring handcrafted sandwiches, sides

Visitors look at the Wandering Glider sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.
Visitors look at the Wandering Glider sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.

Reiman Gardens members and pre-purchased ticket holders will enter through the east gate. General admission visitors will enter through the main entrance.

The art fair is free for members and ISU students with ID. It will be included in the regular cost of admission for all other visitors.

Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

Visitors look at the Blue Mountain Swallowtail sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.
Visitors look at the Blue Mountain Swallowtail sculpture in the "Glass in Flight" exhibition by Alex Heveri at Reiman Gardens.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: 'Glass in Flight' shows colorful glass insects at Ames' Reiman Gardens