I don’t know about you but we had a very wet spring in the Philadelphia area.  Watching my spring flowers bloom makes me think of some of Frederick Carder’s floral Art Nouveau designs.  Paraphrasing from Tom Dimitroff’s book Frederick Carder and Steuben Glass, page 120, Tom states, “Another basic element of art nouveau was its reverence for natural forms. Yet it rejected literal imitations of them, dealing with them in imaginative and interpretive ways.  Nature and all of its components including, but not limited to, birds and insects, flowers and plants, became the ultimate inspiration for art nouveau artists.”  Continuing on page 121 Tom states, “Natural themes and forms and the use of color were elements of Art Nouveau that Carder enthusiastically integrated into his works.  He had embraced these elements from the very beginning of his glass making career at Stevens and Williams.”

Below are some Art Nouveau flower form pieces from the CSGA website.

This past weekend was the Eastern National Antique Show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, touted as “the best show for glass in the country!”  CSGA set up a booth to increase the exposure and awareness of Steuben glass, and also to our club as a place to engage and learn more about these wonderful works.  Please enjoy a couple of photos of the glorious display of several different Steuben glass types.

Thank you to Scott Coots and Karen Beeman for their work in making the display possible, and to Debra Dodd Knickerbocker for her photo.