I have always been struck by the vibrant orange of the monarch butterfly. It's an orange that almost appeared to be glowing, and that contrasted with the jet black lines and white speckles on the wings made this creature truly breathtaking!

I remember being transfixed the first time I saw one of these in the wild. Then I learned about how incredible these little creatures are! Many travel thousands of miles as they migrate to overwinter farther south. Monarchs exclusively lay their eggs on milkweed and it is the only food that will sustain monarch larvae. Milkweed is an often overlooked plant as many don't realize the important role it plays. Also milkweed is a gorgeous flowering plant! Go plant some milkweed and be a part of sustaining this amazing creature and you'll get some beautiful blooms to boot! Also their caterpillars are striking stripy little wonders!

The catalyst for creating this particular metal monarch butterfly sculpture was a few friends who were planting copious amounts of milkweed to create a little monarch sanctuary. Once the chrysalises had formed, these friends collected them and had them hatch indoors to witness the metamorphosis first hand. Once they were ready to fly they released them to begin their journey south! It was such a treat to witness this part of the monarch's life cycle and I left feeling inspired so I decided to create a sculpture for their butterfly garden!

I've also sculpted other butterfly species: Blue Morpho Butterfly and Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.

This Monarch butterfly sculpture is wall hanging, made entirely of stainless steel, colored using only heat patinas, and is safe to be kept outdoors!