Dale Chihuly

About the Artist• Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington.

• He was a student in one of the first glass programs in the country.

• He even went to Venice, Italy to learn about glassblowing.

• When he came back, he started a school in Washington where he and other artists perfected their techniques.

• In 1976, he was in a car accident, that’s why he has to wear an eye patch.

• No one else makes glass sculptures like Dale Chihuly – his work is more than 200 museums across the globe

How does he do it?• Chihuly started his

career by adding glass to textiles (fabric)• After he went Venice, he

started experimenting with color, size, and shape.• His recent sculptures use

many, many small pieces of glass to build one large sculpture

This installation includes two of Chihuly’s wooden rowboats, one filled with Fiori elements and another with Niijima Floats. The Fiori Boat features various garden glass shapes and forms inspired by Chihuly’s love of gardens and conservatories. Niijima Floats were inspired by the artist’s trip to the Japanese island of Niijima and by childhood memories of discovering Japanese fishing net floats along the beaches of Puget Sound.

Dale Chihuly's Macchia Forest These pieces were part of an exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science & Industry. The art is very colorful and very large.

Recent work• In Chihuly’s newer work,

he has moved away from making large glass forms.

• Now, Chihuly and his team design massive art forms that are made up of many small glass pieces.

• This artwork displays a reliance on interdependence and combines many beautiful, but little pieces to make one big and beautiful piece.

Being inspired by Chihuly…• The events of our lives make us unique• Think about people you know, places you’ve been,

and experiences you’ve had…• Notice the similarities and differences between

yourself and your classmates.• Look at the beautiful things you can build together!