Visiting Chihuly Garden and Glass

Chihuly Garden and Glass is located next to the Space Needle in Seattle.  Dale Chihuly learned how to melt and fuse glass in 1961 and began experimenting with glass blowing in 1967.  He studied in the US and then worked at the Venini factory on the island of Murano.  In 1971, he was a co-founder of the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington and also founded the Hilltop Artists Program in Tacoma.  After an auto accident in England that left him blind in one eye, he continued to blow glass until he dislocated his right shoulder in 1979 (while bodysurfing).  In the 1980s, he directed others work at the Pilchuck Glass School and commented that stepping back allowed him to see the work from more perspectives.  In 2010, the Space Needle Corporation started to organize a Chihuly exhibition hall which opened in 2012.

We purchase our tickets and enter.

At the entrance

The next room shows many of Chihuly's Inspirations, drawn from Puget Sound, gardens, and the art of local indigenous tribes.

Inspirations

Next is the Sealife Room

Sealife

The hallway to the next room is filled by the Persian Ceiling, a series begun in 1986.

Persian Ceiling

From the Persian Ceiling hallway, we enter the Mille Fiori, a "thousand flowers," inspired by his mother's garden.

Mille Fiori

In a similar theme, Ikebana and Float Boats is inspired by the Japanese art of ikebana, shown here in two boats.

Flo

Float boats

A room of chandeliers delights us from above, followed by the Macchia Forest, in which each work is speckled with color.

Chandeliers

Forest

At the end of the indoor exhibition (outdoor is yet to come) is the Glasshouse and Glasshouse Sculpture, the centerpiece of the gardens.  The 100-foot installation is a palette of reds, oranges, yellow, and amber.

Glasshouse

Heading out into the light rain, we explore the outdoors.