Growing in the Mobile Delta

The remarkable biodiversity of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta inspired artist Jason Middlebrook to create a group of vibrant glass mosaics for the courthouse lobby.  The larger-than-life mosaics depict native flowers of the delta.  Middlebrook selected these specific flowers based on their varying colors and shapes, and how they would fit into the architectural space.  Viewed from left to right around the lobby as one enters the courthouse, the eight individual mosaics depict the following flower species: Pitcher Plant, Corn Cockle, Swamp Lilly (beneath the left stair), Red Clover and Dixie Iris (both on the upper mezzanine), another Swamp Lilly (beneath the right stair), Rosebud Orchid, and Broadleaf Arrowhead Orchid.  

A bountiful palette of glass mosaic tiles essentially allowed Middlebrook to paint with glass, and render the plants in subtle gradations of color and shadow.  Smalti tiles are created by mixing pigments with molten glass.  The shimmering plants appear to grow up the lobby’s limestone walls.  Middlebrook worked closely with the courthouse’s architect Lee Becker to integrate the mosaics with the classical architecture.  The plants are depicted at much larger than their true scales to emphasize their importance to the region and life on the delta.  Middlebrook has said that he created this artwork to evoke “a sense of growth and optimism in a building that is designed to value truth and fairness.”