CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Step Inside Artist Dale Chihuly’s Stunning Seattle Studio, Filled With an Epic Antiques Collection and His Otherworldly Glass Forms

news.artnet.com: You may think you know all there is to know about Dale Chihuly, master of glass, whose delicate handblown creations take the medium to the realm of fine art.

4 comments:

Julia Adilman said...

I don’t know too much about Dale Chihuly, but I’ve always been interested in learning more about him since his art is so intriguing. I love his piece that is hanging in the Cohon University Center. I think it is really fun that Chihuly works in a boathouse. That’s such an exciting use of space, and I feel like it would be so enjoyable to be working on the water. I also love that he has filled his space with a wide range of artwork. I’m sure that this serves as a brilliant source of inspiration, working as an artist in that beautiful art-filled space. I had no idea that Chihuly didn’t learn how to work with glass until later in life, after studying interior design. His work is so impressive that I didn’t imagine that he could have started by learning something different. I think that having an interior design background probably informs his art and makes him more aware of his space. I wonder if because of this background, Chihuly purposefully chooses to work on large glass pieces that are almost furniture-like.

Kelsey Harlow said...

Glass blowing is such an interesting are form and I wonder how we can incorporate either the skill as a whole or elements of it into our design. In a way lighting already uses some of the same practices when it comes to color and dispersion of it. On another note, I question having so many unique pieces of art in one place, such as the boathouse where the rest of the population only gets short glimpses of it during articles when, if it was stored in another place, it could be enjoyed by many. This all harkens back to the point of elitism within the arts and how exclusionary it can be based on financial status of those able to enjoy the arts. The question constantly remains how do we make the arts more accessible for the majority of the population that doesn’t have an exorbitant amount of disposable income and I don’t think magazine articles of these massive collections is necessarily the best answer.

Donald Duck said...

My aunt lives in Seattle and whenever my family goes to visit, we also go to the Chihuly’s Museum. My parents got me and my older brother interested in glass blowing and glass art from a young age. From having blown glass art around the house to taking us to a glass-blowing class, we have always had an appreciation for art made out of the complex and unforgiving material that is glass. This article just cemented my feelings about Chihuly: that he is a grandmaster in his field and is an artistic genius who should garner the utmost respect from any artist who sees his work. From his passion for teaching the next generation to his genius artistic process, Chihuly is someone who inspires me as a human and as an artist. His studio is breathtaking and intelligently crafted to inspire whatever masterpiece is next made in the space.

John E said...

I Loved this article! Blown glass is possibly my all time favorite art form and Dale Chihuly is one of my favorite glass blowing artists! His work is always incredibly moving and always makes a statement. I loved him as an artist, but through this article I got to love and appreciate him as a person too! It is also always fascinating to me what artists choose to surround themselves with and what other artists and artforms they choose because that can very much influence their work. It was amazing to see Dale Chihuly’s enormous collection of Indigenous peoples blankets and baskets, and to see how he recognizes the Indigenous people that lived on the land before him. Not only is he an incredible artist but it is so refreshing to see an influential artist that is for lack of a better word “woke.” I had no idea about his incident that left him blind in his right eye, and it is really cool to see that even though he can’t blow glass anymore, he is still very much a mentor to the next generation of glass artists.