Flo Perkins (American, b. 1951). Hand blown glass sculpture titled “Chicago’s Cactus,” depicting a black vase with green and yellow spots supporting a bouquet of pink flower blossoms and yellow-green spines, possibly depicting cacti, attached with silicone, 1993. Provenance: Chicago International New Art Forms Exposition at Navy Pier; Private Arizona Collection; Private Minnesota Collection. Lot Essay: Flo Perkins is an American glass artist currently working and residing in the Pojoaque Valley north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Philadelphia College of Art (1974), Master of Arts from the University of California at Los Angeles (1981), and she studied under renowned Italian master glass blower Lino Tagliapietra. Her work can be found in several museum collections including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Albuquerque Museum and the Racine Art Museum as well as numerous public and private collections. In the 1970s Perkins was one of a small group of female artisan glassblowers. In the 1980s Perkins built her own glass studio in Pojoaque, New Mexico where she worked on learning Venetian glassblowing techniques. She further refined her glass making technique while studying with the Murano glass master Lino Tagliapietra. While living in New Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s she studied botanical forms including cacti, flower buds, and bouquets, and began incorporating those forms into her work as seen in the work offered here. In the 1990s she began incorporating bronze, steel bars, and iron into her glass work to create larger works including lattices, wreaths, swags, and bouquets. By the early 21st century Perkins had mastered her glassblowing technique and become known for her creation of brightly colored botanical sculptures created using Italian techniques including murrina, reticello and granulare. She also built her fourth hot shop on her estate located 20 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to her glass work, Perkins has taught at the Pilchuck Glass School, California State University at San Jose, Penland School, and the University of California in San Diego. Additionally, she has taught workshops for students at the GlassRoots hot shop in Newark, New Jersey. Height: 22 in x width: 13 in x depth: 14 in.