The Nature of Horses Exhibit at the Denver Botanic Garden

My husband and I took a stroll this past week, through the Denver Botanic Garden, to see the special Nature of Horses exhibit by sculptor Deborah Butterfield, which is running through October 18, 2015.

(All photos and photo collages will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)

Deborah Butterfield has spent most of her life around real horses and has been able to capture their essence in abstract design and powerful form through her minimalist sculptures. Using found materials, such as driftwood, sticks, twigs, and pieces of metal she was able to craft these sculptures into expressive works of art. The ephemeral quality of these natural materials led her to rework them in bronze casting. The sculptures seen in the Horses exhibit are all bronze cast sculptures from her original wood assemblages! 

The effect is very realistic and certainly a "fool the eye" technique!  Although this looks like wood, the bronze will last a lifetime and makes her sculptures very enduring for an outdoor display. 

The only exception to the cast bronze driftwood effect was this sculpture made of scrap metal. The repose posture of this horse by a garden pond looked so peaceful. 

It was pleasant, even on an overcast and drizzly day, to stroll through the different themed gardens within the Denver Botanic Garden and see the different horse sculptures on display.  They looked as if they had been there forever, each setting for them was so perfect!

I enjoyed looking at all their poses and details.

Look how well Butterfield captured the long eyelashes of this horse!

Of course, we also enjoyed seeing the garden in mid-summer bloom. The weather in spring was cool and rainy this year so many flowers had a late start. 

There are many places within the garden to sit and enjoy the scenery or catch a few cool breezes and escape the crowds.

There are also many gardening ideas for visitors to see.

I took many notes about flowers and shrubs that were thriving in our climate.

Just look at all these beautiful blooms!

One of my favorite walks of the day was through the profusely blooming Birds and Bee Walk. Click on the collage above to read how you can provide a house for bees and insects that help in the pollination of your garden.

 

I've been to the Denver Botanic Gardens many times in the past. You can read my post about the spectacular Chihuly Glass Exhibit that was there last summer at this link. This sculpture, entitled "Colorado" by the artist, and inspired by the colors of the Colorado sunset, was donated to the garden after the exhibit, by generous private donors, and is now on permanent display. 

You can also see a visit I made in autumn to the garden's large indoor conservatory to see the orchids and bromeliads in bloom on this link. All the seasons in the garden are lovely, and we buy a membership each year so we can visit often.

Before we left, my husband and I indulged in having one of the garden's delicious wood-fired pizzas for lunch. They offer a few different selections of pizza, besides the original Margarita-style pizza of tomatoes and cheese.  We chose a pizza made from a blend of roasted wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, arugula, and taleggio cheese.  It was heavenly!

If you are in the Denver area, make sure to enjoy a beautiful day in the Denver Botanic Gardens!

Before I end this post, I'd like to show you my son's beautiful front yard flower garden. It is full of native grasses and perennial flowers and shrubs. My two grandson's spotted a purple-painted collector's fire truck in front of a house in their neighborhood, so we all took a walk to see it. Enlarge this collage by clicking on it to see the truck in the lower right corner. It was really quite a sight to see! My little granddaughter "E" is now two months old, growing beautifully and now gives us some very sweet smiles. My grandchildren are all wonderful "flowers" in my life and I am enjoying watching them all grow!

It has been a wonderful summer and I have lots to show--come back soon to see a drive we took up   14,115 feet to the summit of Pikes Peak and many photos from our trip to New York City! I'm busy editing them all now.

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