Dale Chihuly in St. Petersburg, FL

When I was trying to find a restaurant the night before I left Florida, I stumbled across the Chihuly Collection presented by Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg. The museum was already closed. I decided to return the next morning when it opened, before I had to catch my plane.

Image from www.chihuly.com

I got to the museum early and still had to wait in line when it opened. There were at least 10 people ahead of me waiting to buy tickets. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I did a minor in glass blowing when I was at Parsons. I have a deep respect for glass blowers, as it is a craft that takes years to develop. In the two years that I studied glass, I only scratched the surface.

Image  from www.chihuly.com

Within the glass world, Dale Chihuly is an artist that glass blowers love to hate. It could be his boisterous attitude, fame, or the fact that he has a legion of blowers who produce his work, that have created this stigma. However, when you get beyond the man, the work is beautiful - breathtakingly beautiful.

Image from www.chihuly.com

The museum is small and really well done. They don't allow photography, so I couldn't take any photos. The finishes used in the interior are rough wood, blued steel, and lustrous plaster walls, which create a fantastic backdrop to Chihuly's installations. I pulled the three photos above from Dale Chihuly's site. The images are close to the installations shown in the museum.
The pieces are magnificent in life. The scale of the work is large and it makes the pieces dynamic. The colors are vibrant and he sometimes plays with texture. As I was following people through the museum, I could hear them gasp with joy as they rounded a corner and came across a new piece. It was fun! You feel like you are traveling through someone's dream, as you move through the museum, because the pieces are so surreal. I was able to make it through the museum and still make my flight with a little hussle. It was a great way to end my trip.
I highly recommend going to this museum if you find yourself in St. Petersburg, FL. If you can't make it to Florida, opening this week in Boston MA, at the Museum of Fine Arts, is Chihuly - Through the Looking Glass. April 10th through August 7th 2011.

Chicago: SOFA Part 1

This past fall I went to Chicago to visit some friends. While there, I finally went to a SOFA, (The International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects, and Functional Art) show at the Navy Pier. I have always shied away from going to a SOFA show because I was worried that it would be too crafty for me. But, I thought I would give it a chance.

I was surprised that there were a number of works that I liked. It was nice to see a variety of objects that were well made and smart, idea-wise. I did not take notes on who the artists are in relation to their work. If anybody has information on the works I am showing, please let me know so I can give the appropriate credit to the artists and galleries.

Although I am into knitting, fiber arts in general do very little for me. Often times, I find that they seem to be stuck in a 60's to 80's time warp. However, this piece had a tactile quality that drew you in and made you want to run your hands over it. It is off set nicely by the dark wall.

Corning Museum of Glass set up a live demonstration of glass blowing. I minored in glass at Parsons School of Design. Although I haven't worked in glass in a number of years, I still get so excited to see glass blowing. It's magical!

A ceramic piece like this is hard to categorize. On one hand, it is sort of ugly and sloppily made. On the other hand, when I look at it I feel like I am looking at a 3 dimensional representation of someone's dream or nightmare. Since that evokes a feeling, it must be speaking to me on some level. So, does that render is successful?