Dale Chihuly, "The Nature of Glass" - Desert Botanical Garden - Phoenix

Red Fiddleheads

Our visit to the Dale Chihuly Exhibit "The Nature of Glass" at the Desert Botanical Garden was so worth the trip.

I probably snapped a hundred photographs and absolutely none of them will do justice to the actual pieces themselves. I'm totally serious about that. Totally serious. It's really one of those "You have to see it to believe it" situations. The works are beyond description.

The Sun

The pieces glow from within and on the outside look silky smooth and you just want to touch them. But you can't. It's against the rules. We learned that each piece is assembled randomly each time it's placed in an exhibit. Like "The Sun" pictured above. The artists who work with Dale Chihuly construct this piece so that it's balanced. Each section is placed at random but the piece is totally balanced. That's how perfectly each glass section is blown.

Blue & Purple Boat

Walking through the Botanical Gardens is a great experience at any given time...the desert plantings are beautiful. If you're lucky enough to visit while they're blooming, you're pretty darned lucky. Well, they're not in bloom at the moment so it was a perfect time for this exhibition.

Wine Colored Persian Glass Piece

Inside the building there is a collection of his smaller works. This photo is an example of the "Persian" series that he did.

Float Boat

Desert Towers

Orange Hornet & Eelglass Chandelier

If you want to visit the exhibit in Phoenix (not sure how it is elsewhere) you choose one of three times for your reservation...we chose Noon to 4 p.m. There is another between 4 p.m. & 8 p.m. and I wish I'd thought to make our reservations then. Why? Well, they light the works in the evening and I understand that it's really spectacular at dusk.

I would really encourage you to visit the Official Dale Chihuly Website. The photos are set in a black background. The glass pieces really pop out and the colors are as intense as they are in "real" life.

Not only will you be able to see many more works but you can see where he's exhibiting next and where the permanent exhibits are located.

Here's what I recommend: Go to the website. Click on the "Glass" link and then choose a series like "Persian". Then you can scroll through some of the photos but the best part is reading the "Artist's Statement" for each of the series. They're in his own words and it's fascinating to read about his inspiration for each of the series. Like looking at his soul.

Tell you what...when we get to Washington, I'm heading to Pilchuk. That's where his studio is and I think there are tours. I'm checking it out. Will keep you posted.