For the past thirty four years Paul Stankard has been practicing an art of gentle persuasion. Using glass as his medium he has quietly but persistently been spreading a message that the natural world, especially the realm of wild flowers, testifies to a higher, spiritual ideal. Paul Stankard is a man in wonder of the beauty that surrounds us every day of our lives

Looking at a Stankard botanical sculpture or paperweight one is immediately struck by the dazzling technical achievement it represents. Years of dedication and experimentation have honed Paul’s natural talent to an extraordinarily high level. But more than skill is apparent in Stankard’s intimate sculptures. In fact, his unique vision and formidable creative gifts enable him to create what critic James Yood has called “… some of the most poetic and nuanced commentary on the wonders of nature as exists in any medium anywhere in contemporary art.”

Occasionally, Stankard’s subject matter and chosen medium prejudice first time viewers. Yet time and again, people initially approaching the work skeptically have turned into believers, won over by the beauty and persuasive honesty of Stankard’s art. Peering into a Stankard sculpture one discovers a microcosm wherein the real and the fantastic are unerringly woven into a seamless whole. Convincingly naturalistic glass flowers and insects co-mingle with diminutive imaginary “root people” who symbolize the energy that gives life. Looking carefully, the viewer discovers additional details as they ponder rice-grain sized words adhering to plant roots. Like Haiku, the word canes capture the essence of the artist’s message. With invocations such as “pollen”, "fertile” and “moist” Stankard gives voice to the poetry of nature, while the relationships of his plants and insects speak to the practical symbiosis and interdependency of different life forms.

The tender eloquence of Stankard’s message does not lessen its impact. Delivered in glass, a medium both beautiful and fragile, it becomes an apt metaphor for the delicate balance that life is.

Over three decades Paul Stankard has evidenced continuous growth as both artist and consummate craftsman. Today, in a class by himself he enjoys international recognition with a diverse audience who recognizes Stankard as an exceptional talent. His message is simple and profound, as James Yood says; he “…reminds us that art can permit us to see life anew.”