Terry Kaplan Henry

Terry Kaplan Henry
Atascadero, CA United States

The Fire and Ice Barolo Lenten Rose is a sterile hybrid cross between Helleborus x hybridus and Helleborus x ericsmithii. The Latin word hellebore comes from combining two Ancient Greek words, helein “to injure” and bora “food”. This refers to the toxic properties of the Hellebore plant.

I was quite intrigued with the center of the flower which has four center stigmas, surrounded by numerous stamens, and a row of tubular nectaries, which are actually petals. Sepals form the petal-like features or petaloid of the Lenten rose. I captured the center features in a murine which are present in all of the flowers. The murine is attached to a wire that is used as a headpin and threaded through the outer sepal assembly. Leaves are so deeply lobed as to appear as individual, these are also built on wires and function as headpins. The components that comprise the Lenten Rose are wired to a base of white disc beads in a decorative fashion creating a wearable a necklace. I utilized both COE 104 Effete and COE 96 Reichenbach glass to achieve the desired color, the color of Barolo wine. An electroformed wasp has been added for a bit of diversity. The necklace plus leather chord is approximately 20 inches long.

Dimensions: 3 x 5 x 15