"The dark shadows of naked tree branches intertwining on fresh fallen snow catch Susan Rankin's eye. For a moment she marvels at the scene that encircles her-it is like being encased in a wire basket. She begins to think about wire baskets. Where did they originate? Who used them, and why?

The answers to these questions all lead to a series of glass art forms for Rankin, a Canadian glass artist based in Apsley, Ontario. The source of inspiration for her wired forms is not unique for Rankin, whose other work-epergnes, and vine, flower, and scroll vases-all originate from ideas found by combining natural elements with history.

Her latest pieces, the Garden Columns-which showed at the Galerie Elena Lee in Montreal, Quebec throughout this past October-resemble enlarged lupines, standing eight and nine feet tall. Designed to be displayed outdoors, Rankin says the columns incorporate the element of light through multiple layers of glass, and are magnificent in the winter months."