Thursday, June 25, 2009

TACOMA'S GLASS BRIDGE, ARTIST DALE CHIHULY




Dale Chihuly produces huge blown glass pieces of incredible beauty. His website points out that he took blown glass out of the confines of the small, precious object and into the realm of large-scale sculpture and environmental art. I don't know much about art history but I do know that his work is displayed all over the world and makes my heart palpitate.
I saw his stained glass window in the Sea-Tac Airport years ago when my son lived in Tacoma. He took me to see the stained glass bridge and I was hooked on Chihuly. It is impossible to be unaffected by its beauty and diversity of glass.
The whole historic downtown area of Tacoma is worth a visit. Great boutique businesses line the area across from the restored public buildings long the marina. The hill above town has many victorians and a couple of antebellum type mansions. The old cobblestone streets are still visable in places. For a slide show of Chihuly glass click on the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/1579penn/DaleChihuly#

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