Chihuly (?) – On the Road with Don and Paula

Alright boys and girls, it’s time for Art Class!

No! No! No! Please not another one of those paint-splattered-on-canvas drivels! We’re beggin’ ya! Please, say it ain’t so!

It ain’t so.

Well, what is it then? Some more Pandy Andy Wyeth stuff?

No…. No Andrew Wyeth.

Is it some of your favorite Mississippi school outdoorsy paintings?

No…. it is not some work from the Hudson River School artists.

Ok….. we give up.

To be honest with you, until a few days ago I had zero knowledge about this artist but when I learn something, you all do too! So, stop kicking and screaming, I promise that this will be painless. Take a few looks at some representative items and then you may decide for yourself if you would like to know more!

(Sigh)…… Ok.

For starters this artist is still alive. And he lives in the Seattle, Washington area. He has several studios in this region, but he has ties to many other cities around the US that have museums and /or workshops that feature his large-scale glass sculptures. You may have seen some of his work without knowing anything about who was responsible for them. I am not going to get technical here with lots of info/data about him, you can look that up yourselves. Fortunately, he seems like a regular guy, good rep, easy to work for and with, no drama (except when some glass breaks! But that is always expected)

And he has a cool name …. Chihuly…. Dale Chihuly.

And while he may not be a household name, he does in fact enjoy world-wide recognition as an artist. While we were visiting Darla and Sandra (from the World Cruise) we went to a studio in St. Petersburg (no not Russia, this is the Florida edition) not only to view his work and learn a bit about him, but to also watch the definitive glass-blowing demonstration in maybe the world. Attached to the Chihuly Gallery is a glass-blowing studio or “hot shop”. This is a feature of the Morean Arts Center which is located in a nifty downtown section of St. Pete. I took a ton of photos so I’m going to let them tell the rest of the story starting with how this fascinating process is accomplished.

First, remember that really cool glass-blowing demonstration that you witnessed at the Craft Day, County Fair, Artist Colony, or even on the island of Murano in Venice? Ok, now forget them. Not that they aren’t legitimate or fascinating because they are. But they show small pieces being made. Wait until you see LARGE pieces evolve from small, glowing blobs into pieces that measure 18’ or more across. Here. Now.

Pay attention 😊

**I know that this is the End Result, but I thought that if I started with this one, your interests may be piqued, and you’d want to see how pieces like this are made.** **This is an actual Dale Chihuly Original. I will show you his mates a little later on.**

**This is the Magic Laboratory or *Hot Shop*. The people that work with the glass are called gaffers. The temps in those furnaces are over 2000 degrees.**

It all starts with an initial blob of glowing silica that has been rescued from the Fiery Furnace, his name is Gary. Gary’s hopes of becoming a masterpiece are certainly more possible now that he’s been granted his freedom.

Our gaffer here has just laced some cobalt into Gary because at the gender Reveal Party, we find that Gary is a boy. That Party occurs when everyone cools down. The colors don’t materialize until the temps get down to about a thousand degrees.

Gaffer is adding more silica to Gary because he needs to put on some weight before he is born. From this moment on, gaffer never stops spinning Gary in order to keep him symmetrical and not have him plop onto the floor.

This is where some initial shaping occurs. This is not indicative of the finished product; it is just a step used before adding some other features. Please note the High-Tech tools used here to mold Glowing Gary… it is wad of newspaper soaked in water.
Yes…. really.

**Gary is cooling down as noted by his change from White Hot to just Really Hot. He will need to be re-inserted into the Furnace many more times before this project is completed.**

**Here the gaffer is applying some more molten glass, white to be specific, that will figure into the final look of our glowing friend.**

Gary has been heated up again and this time some air has been blown into him to start the shaping process. Centrifugal Force is now the Master of Design as Gary gets spun around. He will not stop for quite a while.

A band of sulfur infused silica is added here around the rim. For now, it looks red hot. What color would sulfur infused silica result in?
Yellow!

Another “addition” is being added to Gary so that he can have a firm base when he is in the middle of someone’s dining room table. This piece gets jammed on but the trick is that both Gary and his base need to be spinning at the same rate so that “Final Attachment” can be achieved.

**Now, back into the fire, always spinning (you can see the swirls down inside the furnace if you look closely) spinning faster and faster as he expands to his full width!**

**Keeping it going, the gaffer works Gary up and down, allowing Gravity to work along with the varying effects of Centrifugal Force.**

**Ta-da!**
Gary is now born and ready for the incubator! This is really just a well-insulated box that allows him to cool slowly over a 24-hour period. His yellow banded rim will start to reveal its colors very soon, all while sitting patiently in the dark.

As promised, here are some other examples of Dale Chihuly’s works. You can judge the scale for yourselves using the walls and stands for references, but I will tell you that I had to look down and into the ones that are sitting higher.

**Here is another one. The colors are achieved by introducing different elements into the process. A knowledge of the Periodic Table is of some use here!**

Here is one from the Retail Shop and is a little more realistic in size at around 14′ or so.
The price however is a tad high for us ($7000.00) and it would probably get smashed in the motorhome anyway when we careened around some mountain hills!

This is an example of his XXXX colection which is an oft imitated style of pieces.

**We are not glass figurines however at time we do break! Here we are under a glass ceiling, example below!**

**This piece is about eight feet in length**

**This one is closer to twelve feet high!**

**Definitely one of his better known and displayed works. This one is in the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He has works all over the world in Atriums, Gallerias, and even Cruise Ship piazzas!**

Well kids, that’s the end of today’s Art Around the World class, I hope that you enjoyed it and maybe even learned something. I’ve learned that even in the least expected spots on the planet, i.e. a side street in St. Peterburg, Florida, that you can come across some amazing things! Class dismissed!