Make Way for Irises On Parade

Throughout May, irises bloomed everywhere around here, and my town was preparing for their annual Iris Festival and Parade. My yard had at least a dozen different varieties of Irises, and this year, the lavender and deep purple ones captured my attention.

When preparing for the Keizer Art Festival, I knew I wanted to create something special that would mean something to the people who live in the area. While looking at the details of the Festival, I discovered something I didn’t know about my hometown. Keizer is the “Iris Capital of the World,” or at least that’s what it says on the Chamber’s website. So, that is what I decided to create. Fused glass Irises!

The fused glass Iris designs came together quickly. I was already inspired by my own purple Irises, so it was easy to shift my focus to selecting the glass for the project. I chose some “striking” purple frit and added some violet and lavender-colored iridescent sheet glass for an added rainbow effect on the larger blooms, and used glass stringers and confetti to add in a few sparkling stems and leaves, then finished each one off with a sprinkle of marigold yellow frit in the center of each flower. This color combination was perfect!

When I first completed all the Iris garden scenes, before fusing, I looked at them side-by-side and felt they needed a little something extra. That’s when it came to me. I added clusters of iridescent clear glass frit in the sky above the flowers. I hoped that this would give the finished pieces the look and feel of a typical Spring day sprinkled with rain, clear sky, and rainbows.

Since these designs and my inspiration to create them flooded the studio, I decided to also create a small run of Garden Irises to decorate your flower pots and indoor plants with. These bright purple Irises are sure to add a pop of color to your garden and home year-round.

The Irises on Parade Collection celebrates my garden, the Iris Capital of the World (Keizer), and the colorful springtime flowers we have throughout Oregon. The 1st edition of this design sold out quickly, so I created another run. This is the 2nd Edition of Irises On Parade, and eight variations in several different sizes were made in this run.

Introducing Irises On Parade!