Turning glass into artwork

The vases at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery are adorned with daisies, cala lilies, roses, poppies, irises and orchards - all created from glass.
It's not surprising that Susan Rankin, who made the vases, is an avid gardener.
"My garden is an inspiration for a lot of my work," said Rankin. She gestures to one vase with white liles and another with red. "For example, I grow a huge variety of liles every summer."
Rankin, who grew up in Moose Jaw and is a graduate of Vanier Collegiate, is a glass artist. A retrospective of her work from the past 20 years is now on display at the gallery.
In addition to gardening, Rankin is also inspired by history for her glass creations.
For example, she has made several epergnes, which look like multi-pronged vases. An epergne is an ornamental centrepiece for a dining table, used for holding flowers.
"In the late 1800s, epergnes were used to elaborately decorate tables. They were common as a status symbol among the rich," said Rankin.
Another set of Rankin's creations, called wired forms, feature a glass piece encased by an elaborate wire "cage."
"Before glue became common, when something broke, people would try and fix it by wiring it together.
"It's just little tidbits of history like that that can really get me going creatively."
The wire forms series was also inspired by Rankin's study of baskets, particularly those from Africa and Japan. Rankin was also a weaver at one time, and also borrowed from her experiences to create the cages that encase the glass pieces.
Rankin's show, called "Valid Objects of Beauty," is on display at the art gallery until Aug. 30.