succulents and ceramics

Following the new social distancing guidelines, by the time I came to the end of the prescribed one-way route through the Sherman Gardens last month, my camera battery was dead just as I reached the last garden before the exit; the succulent garden. What a disappointment.

Fortunately, my poor planning was salvaged when MB Maher paid a visit at magic hour earlier in the week and shared the images I missed — in particular, that cobalt blue agave bloom spike! — which I believe has already been snapped up and sold.

The ceramic sculptures are part of the continuing exhibit Sculptura Botanica, ongoing through September 15, 2020 at the Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona del Mar, California. The botanical studies in ceramic by Dustin Gimbel seemed especially at home amidst the flamboyance of these leafy sculptural beauties, whether bromeliad or succulent.

So glad Mitch grabbed photos of some of my favorite seedpods, the matte, jet black eucalyptus.

And I completely missed these sinuous fern fronds.

Good to know the sculptures double as strategic lookouts for birds as well.

Mitch notes: “As Gimbel traces and also embellishes these natural forms, his work becomes that rarest of things; both a mirror and a window.”

• what: in-situ installation showcasing botanical-themed ceramic work of Dustin Gimbel
• where: Sherman Library & Gardens
• when: May 15 through September 15, 2020
• other venues: Dustin will be exhibiting his work in a group show at the Ruth Bancroft Garden Friday in Walnut Creek, California, July 17, 2020

photos by MB Maher.