Super. Natural. Glass Art.

The Place: Thursday night at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Oakland.

#InFullBloom: I had been anticipating the opening of the new exhibit “SUPER. NATURAL. Glass Art,” by artist Jason Gamrath for months. The idea of giant glass orchids big enough for a person to sit under was enough to rethink the laws of physics. And to see the massively beautiful, almost alien-like structures up close? Mesmerizing. “I didn’t even get it until I saw it,” said Maris Bondi, honorary host committee co-chair. As guests like Dr. Reshma Paranjpe, Philip Ferland and Diana Rath perused each space — the landscape now reinvented by the otherworldly floral creations — Mr. Gamrath, 30, of Seattle, paused to take in the moment. “The scale was important to me. Flowers are exotic and powerful and I wanted to make people stop and have to take it in,” he said. But did people think he was crazy? (A story was circulating that at one point in the process he entered a furnace in fireproof clothing with a piece to sculpt it for mere seconds before having to retreat.) “Everyone thought I was crazy!” he laughed. “But as an artist, I wanted to do something positive with my insanity. I wanted people to feel the wonderment I felt, the sense of inspiration.” He waved his hand over the brick wall behind him. “This historic building with these Victorian walls deserved to be honored and I hope people leave finding beauty all around them. We need beauty in this world.”

#SEEN: Exhibit coordinator Jordyn Melino, who started work on the production in 2015 with Mr. Gamrath. “We had to create a landscape that would complement Jason’s work by adding texture and depth while creating a canopy to envelope the glass, but drawing the eyes up to the sky,” she said. Mission accomplished! Also #SEEN: Honorary chairs Athena Sarris, Jeff Galak and Rosalind Chow; honorary committee co-chair Robert Dauer; Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Kathy, Patrick Denham and Michelle Sager.