Chihuly Garden and Glass

I knew I wanted to visit Chihuly Garden and Glass, a museum showcasing the beautiful work of local glass artist Dale Chihuly, before I set foot in Seattle. Some friends I know from the University of Houston had gone there a couple of years ago and posted photos on Facebook. I was hooked and knew I had to see Chihuly's work in person. I was not disappointed!

The first room I visited was the Northwest Room. Chihuly was inspired by the artwork of the Native American tribes who hailed from the Pacific Northwest.

One wall was covered in these woven blankets. I think the idea was to demonstrate the influence they had on the glass "baskets" Chihuly created. I just thought they were rather pretty, so I snapped this pic.

Chihuly was intrigued by the way Native American baskets drooped and sagged from age and use, and he mimicked that in his glass creations.

 Next up was the Sealife Room, which included this 15-foot tower.

 My iPhone did not do this guy justice.

 The Persian Ceiling was incredible. Chihuly originally had these creations displayed on a wall. I'm glad he decided to go with this approach. This is what the corridor looks like as you step into it. The light plays through all the colored glass. It's simply gorgeous.

 I stood beneath some of the individual panes to snap photos. There was a little girl who was just lying on the floor and gazing up at the colors and shapes.

 The next piece of Mille Fiori, which apparently is Italian for "a thousand flowers." It's an apt name. This work took up an entire large room.

 The only reason I put this selfie in here is to give you an idea of how big Mille Fiori is.

 Here's a shot from the opposite end.

And a bit from the middle-ish.

This installation is Ikebana and Float Boats. It is a pair of wooden boats filled with glass orbs and flowers. Chihuly got the idea when he was experimenting with a temporary installation in Norway. He had thrown glass shapes into the water to see how they looked and acted. Afterwards, local teenagers collected them in rowboats and Chihuly was inspired.

 The first boat is filled with glass orbs.

The second boat is filled with orbs and flowers.

 The areas between exhibits often had various different pieces on display. 

I just liked the unique shape of this one.

 The next installation was Macchia Forest. Macchia is Italian for spot. Each of the pieces is speckled with color, which inspires the name. Chihuly was striving to use all 300 colors available to him to create his forest. He had noticed that the colors in stained glass windows looked deeper on cloudy days. To mimic that effect in these pieces, he added a cloudy layer of white in between the exterior and interior colors.

 This photo does not do justice to the brilliant colors.

 Once you're done with the glass in the museum, you step outside and enjoy the glass in the garden. It was early April in Seattle, so all of the flowers were in brilliant bloom. I loved how the garden was designed around the glass, or maybe it was vice versa. Whatever the approach, the end result was stunning.

 The garden possessed an otherworldly feel. It was like you were on Pandora in Avatar.

 This photo is a bit washed out for some reason. The next one is better, but I loved the tree in this one. The dull gray of the old tree contrasted so beautifully against the brilliant purple of the spears. You also had the soft curves versus the razor sharp.

Like I said, this one demonstrates the sharp contrast of the colors.

Chihuly Garden and Glass is worth every cent of the admission price. If you ever find your way to Seattle, take a couple of hours to enjoy this museum.