A Goal Reached!

Four years ago, plus or minus a few weeks, I arrived in Sequim. My choice to live here was based on two major factors: 1) It is a community that supports senior citizens in a variety of ways (health, transportation and social activities to name a few) and 2) It was less than three hours away from my daughter's family.

Well, this spring #2 became a little further away when they moved to Issaquah. But I still love my life in Sequim.

Another thing that happened about four years ago was going to the Sequim Arts Association members show at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in their parish hall. As I walked around, I thought to myself, "Self, someday we are going to be in this show."

Dungeness Spit Sunset (2016) Watercolor (8.5 X 10)

Dear readers, this year I am reaching that goal! This is my second art show in the U.S. and I have three entries. The name of the group has changed to the Olympic Peninsula Arts Association and this event is only open to members.

Two watercolors and one photograph are entered; shown here.

Before having them framed, I had Clear Image in Sequim take proper scans of them and make one copy for sale. I am not willing to part with the originals at this time.

And, by the time I got through with the scans, matting and framing, I have invested over $200 in all three of them. Most folks in Sequim want to buy something for about $35. It's just not possible for me to provide an original with my creative work and have it ready to hang at that price.

Bluejay (2016) Watercolor (10 x 10.25)

But this photo was selected by John Brewer, (Publisher Emeritus now) when I was working at the Peninsula Daily News to be on their webpage as representative of a summer day. So I thought it must still be worthy enough to be a candidate for my three entries.

Lake Crescent Visitor (2015) Photography (8.5 x 10)

I don't know if any of these will be selected as 'winners' in the show; that is such a subjective game played in the art world. But I am happy with them myself, and that is what really counts.

The Artists Reception is on Wednesday, Oct. 12, and the show opens on Thursday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 16, at the St. Luke's Episcopal Church parish hall, 525 Fifth Ave., Sequim, Washington.

I so wish my family could come out here and be part of my celebration of accomplishment, but a dear friend has announced she will come and be my 'witness' for achievement, and that is a special event for me!

I will take some pictures at the reception to share at a later date.

Thank you for stopping by and especially for any encouraging comments...

May Day 2016: What price joy?

"Members of the North Olympic Watercolorists (NOW) will have an Artist's Reception at the Fifth Avenue, 500 W. Hendrickson St., to open the month-long showing of their work from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 1.
Free and open to the public, the show will continue until May 31." (Peninsula Daily News online calendar May 1.)

"Sunset in Sequim" is a misnomer. At the last moment I was
not happy with that submission, but the label was already
made up. This really has the title "Hot Summer Sunset in
New Hampshire," done from memory, thinking of my
days near those lakes and ponds.

And I am a member.
And I have three pieces in the show.
And I was ecstatic to be included!!

The photos of my watercolors are not very good because there is light from the room reflected in some of them.

But the colors are at least true with this Sony camera I was using.

The Canon tends to wash out some of my photos and then I am faced with trying to reconstitute the photo with an unsatisfactory software.

My goal this next week is to make sure that I have a checklist prior to framing that I go through to make sure that getting a good, sharp photo is the first thing I do before it is sealed up in a frame.

That's what we learn as we go along, I guess.

Following are some shots of folks looking at the works of others and one of someone looking at this one above. 

This was not my first show, but the first in the U.S. The level
of excitement is the same for me, though... thrilling!

Reception guest looking more closely at my piece.

Guests and artists mingle at our NOW reception.

The crowd was largest about 1:30 p.m., but I was occupied greeting some friends and so could not take any photos of them. (Thank you John Brewer and Barbara for making the effort to come and see what I've been doing.)

Carol Joy brings light and laughter to all my adventures!
She's carrying in the cake that we worked on together.

Thanks also goes to my friend Carol Joy who drove over from Bellingham to help me prepare (this time it was a cake, not a sleeping bag - LOL) and to Jenna Rose who left the dance floor to come and admire work she had seen in progress... without my special friends cheering me on, it would be far less enjoyable!

Deni Young, one of the artists, studies the work of another
member. We all learn from each other.

Sixteen artists each had three pieces hanging and the NOW hanging team did a great job of keeping a thread of colors and patterns going around the gallery space for an appealing balance for viewing.

The other artists are: Sandy Placek, Katie Carlson, Marcia Lyn Barrett, Beverly Beighle, John Wilkinson, Janet Beers, LeRoy Beers, Lyn Smith, Jolee Sanborn, Jim Gift, Pat Donlin, Janet Flatley, Deni Young and Rita Heywood.

Some of the comments overheard: 
"This seems a lot more professional than stuff I've seen in some of the galleries that are agents." 
"I love how this artist has captured the feeling of water."
"Each artist has such a unique and special way of conveying what seems important to them."

"Dew on the Leaves" is done on clayboard. It was also
framed by Gregg Elwood of Port Angeles.

"Sunset in Barichara" was framed by Gregg Elwood
from Port Angeles. This photo doesn't show off his
great work as well as I would have liked.

Several members brought food for the reception. The top photo
shows my Fannie Farmer pound cake with a buttercream
frosting made with stevia instead of sugar. Most folks liked it.

What I've learned so far... showing your art work is a lot like trotting out the kids to see if strangers think they are well-dressed and mannerly. In one way you really don't care what those folks think, but in another way, you don't want to come up short when everyone else's kids are being displayed also.

Another aspect is putting a price on those 'children.'

If someone wants to take them off my hands, they will have to pay a good price... I love them enough to spend the money for framing and so am happy to display them in my own home.

And after the cost of framing, there is the evaluation of my time... I was asked "How long did it take you to do this one?" (the "Dew" work) I replied, "I really have no idea. I wasn't clocking in every time I put some additional work in on it... it was all joy." 

What price do you put on joy? (Even Carol will admit she is priceless!!)

The Dying Art of Sign Painting

Perhaps it goes back to the cave dwellers when paintings of deer, bear and other creatures was a way for the owner to advertise that he had smoked meat for sale, but it is clear that as we go more and more digital, we are losing certain artistic and hand-made skills.

Sign painter and mural artist Jackson
Smart talks about the tools of his trade.

As a Public Relations consultant years ago, I advised new businesses to think about how they were going to give their impression of what they were selling, which included signage. I worked with a few sign-makers in Boise, ID where my business was. However, even then I did not realize that, for the most part, the age-old apprenticeship program was how sign painters were trained. Tricks of the trade were not learned in books, but at the elbow of the master!

Recently I attended a presentation by a Port Angeles, WA, sign painter, Jackson Smart of SignArt Studio, demonstrating some of the learned techniques and the tools used, along with the paint construction. (The link is to an article in the Peninsula Daily News about Smart.)

There is a three-second rule for signs: it must be able to be seen and read, computed/internalized and a decision made in three seconds. "You are driving along the highway, see a sign and it either motivates you or you ignore it", Smart said. He added that it is not just letters, but colors and shapes, that convey the message and he is well known for his creative work around the Peninsula.

Smart demonstrates using a mahl stick to letter in script
style; it is used to keep hands and oils off the surface.

The Burma-Shave signs were inspired by the desire to sell. Started in 1925 to promote the shaving cream (purported to have ingredients from Burma), six signs placed in sequence along the highway originally sold the cream in little rhymes, but later offered safety messages.

One series I recall along the road from Peterborough, NH to Keene was this: Past / Schoolhouses / Take it slow / Let the little / Shavers grow / Burma-Shave. Although there wasn't actually a schoolhouse near where the signs were placed, we used to love to read them out loud as we rattled along to the lake, much to the irritation of the driver - usually our mother. Somehow even seeing them regularly didn't decrease our delight in this loud recognition of our reading ability.

Artist Smart uses a squirrel hair brush to demonstrate how
fine a line can be drawn with the right technique.

Increasing speeds, more sophisticated signage, television and other elements brought this roadside entertainment for the 'little shavers' to an end in the 60's. And just as the commercial elements of sign design were advancing, so was the looming digital age which would change it completely. And artist Smart opined that it is not just the digital age that is affecting sign painting skills, but there is a lack of desire on the part of the youth today to learn something that requires apprenticeship. "They want to be able to do it quickly. It requires learning about the shapes of letters, the distance between each letter, and the construction of the thinner and other chemicals in the paint and whether or not it is hot or cold outside, because that affects the performance of the paint, too." Smart says more and more signs are made on computer and fewer of the people who are making them have ever even used a brush.

Jackson Smart - an artisan and an artist - has painted on wood, metals, foam board, plastic and other materials. He has painted signs for businesses, on motorcycles, cars, trucks, and busses for a native american tribal casino as well as doing the Port of Port Angeles mural welcoming visitors from Canada.  As you enter Port Angeles from the East on Highway 101, you will see his sign greeting you to the city he has made home for the past 34 years. He is as much a part of the city as the signs and murals he has done here.

Singers, Songwriters and Banjo Players

Hearing that Richie Havens died at 72, I am struck by the fact that he was not that much older than I am, and he was a lead performer at the 1969 Woodstock Festival in NY. I very much wanted to borrow my father's car (quite likely the white '65 T-Bird convertible) and drive up to this early 'field of dreams.'
No surprise that I was not given the car, nor my father's permission... and back in those days girls did honor (usually) their fathers' and mothers' wishes.

These are Washington cattle, but the barn in the background
reminded me of the S. Woodstock structures; my former
school in Vermont.

This news got me started re-listening to some old songs, old music from the 60's and 70's, and it brought back some incredible memories of my days at the Woodstock Country School (continuum) in South Woodstock, VT. While the real school doesn't exist anymore, the energy and spirit that embodied this remarkable educational experience lives on.

I really wish my photos taken during those school years had survived. There were shots of me barreling down 'Suicide Six" with my ski team, me standing next to the weapons carrier, with 16 forward gears, that Bruce Fairweather taught me how to drive so I could join some classmates helping him to pull stumps in one of the fields. I know there was one of me with long hair, in bluejeans looking so very much like Joan Baez's sister that when I went to NYC and met up with some classmates and we went into a coffee house to hear a new singer called Bob Dylan perform, someone came up and hugged me thinking I was her. I went backstage and met Joan Baez that night... such a lucky kid. She said, "Yeah, you could pass for my sister. Must be the nose." (Thanks, Joan.)

No photos remain of me with my dappled horse, Topper. None of the work I did with Lowell Naeve, our art and photography teacher, has survived either. It was required reading to read his book, "Field of Broken Stones"about being a political activist. (Link is to an e-mail thread about the Naeve family.) Rare to go to a boarding school where the teacher can stand up and talk about something he believed in and show his commitment. And he was just one of so many who affected my life and my thinking during the two years I was there.  I still remember his admonition, "Really look and really SEE the essentials of what you want to convey... narrow the photo frame down to capture that."

Where else would a proper young lady learn to do mechanical drawing? Imagine letting a student leave class to simply walk around because she was upset about a family matter, and while never ignoring the issue several teachers checked up on her later on to be sure she was OK? We had freedom, we had incredible teachers who loved what they were doing and we called them by their first names, too! Our headmaster, David Bailey, was an old friend of my mother's which was how I ended up there instead of one of the other four 'strange' schools allowing co-educational boarding in those days.

Because of the folk singers who sang the story of our times, including Pete Seeger who came to the school a number of times to sing and to lecture us about being responsible citizens of the Earth, I learned to love music and to appreciate how it can influence change; something that would be useful when I eventually went on to make a career as a Public Relations counselor.

I want to support the Woodstock Country School philosophy because it really helped me to become me. And as one alumni said in the video, "We all turned out to be decent people." And perhaps some day in the future, there will be another school modeled on the philosophy that students develop a hunger to learn when they are allowed to explore the world in a safe way, keeping them grounded by requiring them to do certain agricultural tasks or washing dishes.

Bill Boardman, graduate of the Class of '56, keeps the historical School information. There was a reunion in 2010 at the Woodstock Country School which I wish I had known about. Well, I am intending to make the next one.

A Rose for Richie Havens... thank you for the "Sun" song.

But back to my Richie Havens purpose in writing. It was his 1970 hit song, "Here Comes the Sun" that would eventually become my Sun Valley, ID, theme song, sung in the car at the top of my lungs, driving through the rain or the snow or even on a sunny day. And he never knew how that song could lift my spirits, or that it is probably one of the ones my kids most remember me singing as we drove along.

And I still sing at the top of my lungs while driving on the back roads... where no one is likely to think I'm some batty old lady at a stop light.

First Friday Art Walk

An old barn in Sequim at the edge of a strip mall.

By the time you read this the First Friday Art Walk for March will be over and done with. This was the second Art Walk for me, and it was a little more interesting since I actually met a couple of people from my art classes and the Episcopal church as I wandered from gallery and art shop and museum, sampling the treats and looking at the displays.

I also found a wonderful shop for clothes if I ever want to have something a little more upscale than Wally World or recycled jeans. But as an artist, (hopefully never a starving one, although my recent Social Security debacle makes me wonder...) I don't have much of a requirement in that regard these days. I am enjoying my new watercolor instructor and looking forward to more time learning this new form of expression.

There are a number of reasons why I must stay in Sequim at present, not the least of which is my financial status. Social Security did not issue my distribution last month on time, making no explanation as to why this occurred, only sending me two letters announcing the 'new' schedule which is the same as the last one. This whimsical action on their part created havoc with my planning, and caused other disruptions. I am more than a little excised about threats to the Social Security 'bank' by those who think they have any rights to it at all.

So it was a discouraging month to say the least, as it required several trips to the nearest (25 miles away) Social Security office since they had basically shut me off and I could not even get information on line. There were no notes in my files giving any explanation for this abrupt change, and in spite of the efforts of the very kind team in the local office, it still took the better part of a week to get them to 'turn me back on' again. It appears that everything is back on schedule now, but living on a fixed income, these hiccups reverberate for more than just a few weeks.

However, I am moving on from these upsets and found the Art Walk uplifting... The RainShadow Coffee House was featuring a collaborative of musicians playing Irish jigs and reels, which always warms my heart. Their coffee is pretty warming as well!

The Museum was featuring local student artists and I was quite impressed with the level of their work and I guess I wasn't the only one... it was still pretty crowded with onlookers when I arrived after spending a fair amount of time in the coffee house.

These two wild cats pieces were done by seniors. I did not get a chance to get their names because right after I took the photos, their families were standing around to take shots of the youths in front of the work.

My granddaughter is a wonderful artist, too, and I wished she might have had a chance to see some of the work her peers are doing here in Sequim.

I am quite taken by this duplication of Beatrix Potter
with the rabbits in the garden. Quite detailed up close.
And the black & grey head is equally impressive.

These are done by students in the lower grades.

It is quite delightful to walk about in the evening and have so many people out and about, darting into various shops for a tidbit of cheese and cracker or some wine or even a cupcake. There is a fabulous baker here who makes many of the local wedding cakes. She and her husband operate "That Takes The Cake" and the cupcakes are sooooo good! She told me that last August they were so busy they could not do all the weddings asked of them.

Well, I have to say I am grateful to be here, if I am having to be anywhere. The level of artists' performance is remarkable; something for me to strive to achieve. And today it was above 45 degrees! Spring is coming, but I enjoyed seeing the snow far away....

Highway 101 runs all the way to the end of the Olympic Peninsula.
I wonder if this is the same 101 that runs through my home town?

Exhibitionist

Last night one of my friends commented that I was carrying a huge smile. I was. It was a night of realizing a goal I set for myself several years ago. OK, dear readers, if you think you are going to see pictures of me doing some kind of exotic dance, just click your clicker to the next blog.

Felix Berroa's "Manateal de Esperanza"

The event was the BarichArte 2012 Exposicion Nacional de Arts Plasticas running from December 27, 2012 to Enero 15, 2013 in the Aquileo Parra technical institute in Barichara, Santander, Colombia. And not only was I an 'invited artist' but my name was on the program as an exhibitor! To be sure I was not in the main salon with Felix Berroa from the Dominican Republic and Atlanta, USA or with Alfonso Andara from Ecuador, but I was in the same building.

Vincente's 'Angel'

There are 115 artists from all over Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Dominican Republic and the U.S. on display so it is clearly an international exhibition. Plus there are 14 young boys and girls who are art students of Luis Mejía Bohórquez, whom we fondly call "Lucho." There are statuary, paintings in watercolor, acrylic and oil, metal arts, ceramics and an incredible work in wood by Vincente Cadena of Barichara.

It's a statue about four feet in height, with what appears to be a unique utilisation of the wood's properties allowing for a kind of 'hair' emanating from it. And I know about this wood, that it is among the toughest in the world, making each bit of carving very intense.

Jose Ropero's mixed media

One of the artists, Jose Ropero, and I helped to mount the exhibition for a couple of hours, hanging paintings and sticking up the data sheets. I saw his work and here it is. It is a representation of the world being eroded by machines for gems and rocks and it seems like the hand below is the message that it is up to us.

One of the people who occasionally joins our Saturday art class is Alejandro Quintero, who makes his living as a stonemason, but who is also exploring oil painting. He entered both his stone sculpture and an oil he recently finished. I see a similarity in both types of work; what do you think?

Alejandro Quitero, Santandereano.

In case you are wondering, my two entries were "Ventana" and "Barichara from LaLoma" and sadly the data cards were missing at the time of the opening, so people looking for my name did not find it. I heard that has since been corrected, and there were more than a few of us who suffered the fate of ignomy at the opening... if you look at Sr. Quintero's painting, he is missing a label as well.

Quintero's stone art

Since I have only been back in art production/creation for a couple of years, I feel excited to be around others who are demonstrating a lot more experience. 

Martha Herrera Angel with her watercolor.

The event was well-attended, and my hat is off to Lucho for pulling together a huge collection of artists and sponsors for an event that now spans a couple of weeks instead of only one weekend. I take a tiny bit of credit for one aspect of this - the creation of a name which can be the beginning of an annual event. When the subject came up, we brainstormed in the art class, and it was my idea that everyone decided was most likely to achieve that objective. I am grateful I could bring my public relations/marketing experience into the creation of something that will most likely become more and more international with time. And the children... WOW... look at this (below)!

Edgar Alonso Bautista, 8, stands in front of several of his artistic works.
He is pointing to his favorite, and was terrifically excited to have me take
his picture. Look for his name in the art world in the years to come as he
already shows great skills for his age. He is native to Barichara.

And I learned a whole lot about the exhibition process so if I want to do it again I will have a better idea of what to expect. 

BY REQUEST: Here are my two paintings that are in this exhibition... "Barichara in the Clouds," and "Ventana" (Window).

Barichara in the Clouds

"Ventana"

Change of Scene

Discovery Bay near Sequim, Washington

I was granted some time off for good behavior with the twins, and their parents, and by the grace and goodness of my son-in-law, was provided some transportation to go and visit Sequim, (pronounced SQWIM) over on the Olympic Peninsula, and to catch up with an Intender Buddy there.

Now better known as the lavender capital of North America, it was once the hunting grounds for the S'Klallam Tribe and apparently the word sequim means just that... hunting grounds. I guess for me it was a kind of hunting, looking for a change of scene/pace/sound/energy. You can read more about this part of the Olympic Peninsula here and see some aerial photos.

Hood Canal bridge is a relatively new replacement.

It is, in my opinion, faster to catch the ferry north of Seattle than to go to the port for the trip to the peninsula. The ferry ride from Edmonds is less than half an hour on the water, but the line to get on can take a lot longer. Then the drive to Sequim is about 45 minutes more through some incredible scenic views of the Olympic National Park and harbors. I went over there once when I first arrived, before the babies did, and had a short visit which only whetted my appetite for another one.

You cross over the Hood Canal bridge after leaving Kingston, going toward Port Townsend. Well maintained in its Victorian era housing, Port Townsend is rather well identified as an 'artist's city,' but it also seems to carry some of the taint of artists who aren't doing much more than claiming to be one from what I was hearing by residents of other villages in the area.

Oh well.... I didn't have the time to investigate for myself, so take it with a grain of salt water from the Puget Sound. Passing the Jamestown S'Klallam tribal center and casino going around Discovery Bay is a lovely drive. To be fully appreciated it probably should be done in the fall on a bicycle... slower pace to enjoy all the various colors.

Bond Ranch Retreat is just what is needed for some peace & quiet.

I was booked into a B&B called Bond Ranch Retreat just past Sequim on the road to Port Angeles, which is about 15-20 minutes further along the peninsula. Port Angeles is where one catches the ferry to British Columbia and is an easy cruise for a day trip. What a special place this B&B is!! From the moment you arrive until Tess waves goodbye to you, you are treated as a special person with lots of sweet details.

Lavender in a small vase...

First of all, the beds are incredibly comfortable! Anyone who has traveled knows that some places economize on the beds, but that isn't the case here. Tucked into the Rose Room with a large down comforter over a hand-made quilt in rose and yellow tones, a small bowl of fresh raspberries had been put on the nightstand with a special message and a small sprig of fresh flowers - it made me feel warmly welcomed. I slept almost without interruption... is it possible to hear twin babies crying across the water in Seattle? I woke up at 3 a.m. briefly and realized I didn't have to go to them and went back to sleep.

Campfires are a great way to meet new people, too.

The nights on the peninsula at this time of year are getting brisker, and it was a good reason to snuggle but I'm basically an early riser and was up at 8 to have a 'farm breakfast' of all natural and good foods: eggs, sausage, bagel, yogurt with fresh fruits and orange juice. I was hungry when we discussed breakfast the night before, but my appetite that morning didn't do this wonderful breakfast justice.

I took some time after breakfast to walk around the farm, looking at all the outbuildings and the place where they offer a nightly campfire, a cottage for a family fully self-contained, a chapel, a place for having a cookout and meal as a group, really it seems as if all you have to do is call or e-mail Tess and let her know what you need and she will find a way to put it all together in her unique and artistic way.

One of Bond Ranch's best...

This is still a working ranch as Morris, the founder of the facility, raises Quarter horses. This lovely creature took time out of her breakfast munching to look up at me.

One of several inviting places to sit and enjoy nature.

There are lots of places to gather for conversation, to play cards, to have a cup of coffee or tea inside or out, places to walk or bicycle, and both days I saw plenty of local wildlife, including deer that at first I thought were lawn ornaments, but then they moved!

I came to the ranch, exhausted from too many nights of interrupted sleep, and in just one very quiet evening, I was restored enough to go back for more with these special twins.

I am grateful Tess was such an attentive hostess, checking to be sure all my needs within her purvue were being met, and everything was clean and fresh and pleasant. Go to their website and read their story, and then when you are thinking about a weekend getaway or an event with friends or relatives, consider this treasure on the Olympic Peninsula.

And for me... one night is not enough. I will come back again.

All That Glitters Here is Glass

The red 'floral' is in fact a glass structure.

I am now in Seattle awaiting the arrival of the twins, and it was determined that an afternoon meeting up with an Intender friend was a safe bet, so my Intender buddy and I agreed upon the Seattle Center where the Space Needle and other entertainments are located... where we decided upon the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibits and ended up having lunch at the Collection Cafe which features a huge variety of things that Dale Chihuly has collected - everything from Mexican ashtrays to accordions. Plus the food was promised to be delicious, and it was, too.

Following are some of the incredible blown glass displays that are both inside and outside, some of which have been shown in other parts of the world at one time or another.

Neon gasses added make this a dramatic display of glass.

The artist's fascination with native American art is shown.

Formerly an instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design, Chihuly collaborated with James Carpenter in 1971 to do glass in botanical designs. Thus evolved the "Glass Forest" which shows the delicate lines of growing things. Once out in the Glass Garden you can see many shapes imitating nature and the botanical additions make the stroll underneath the Space Needle quite fascinating.


The second 'room' is called the Northwest Room as it demonstrates the influence of the native Americans pottery and weaving on the work of Chihuly, who was born in Washington. The shapes and colors of the glass displayed mimic those of the early potters and weavers, much like glass that might have been tossed against the Pacific shores and then polished by the finder, in some of the pieces.

There was so much to see and there were a lot of people standing and walking so that it was sometimes a distraction to focus on one area over another. This entire collection is much more than just a display of glass art, but shows how the artist grew in his understanding of the medium, and how he literally stretched both the boundaries of the glass and the ways it could be presented.

Here is a glass ceiling you might not want to break through!

Passing through the spaces there was a room (Persian Ceiling) devoted to glass as a ceiling -- I loved it! If ever I have a chance to build a space where light can enter from above, this is something I will do. Although this had commercial lighting above, I can imagine such a space where the changing light would be an advantage.

In the "Mille Fiori" room, the colors of the glass against the black walls and mirrored bases was so dramatic that one simply had to sit down and let all the colors wash over and through the eyes. There was some 50's music playing in the background which I found somewhat distracting, however. 

The name for the room comes from the Italian meaning 'thousands of flowers' inspired by the artist's mother's garden. First exhibited in 2003 at the Tacoma Art Museum, this display features many of the varieties of Chihuly's works. The techniques used relied more on gravity, fire and centrifugal force for this collection.

After the loss of sight in one eye and a shoulder problem, Chihuly turned more of his work over to the team and used his artistic drawings to convey his objectives. But in 1992, during a solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, he determined that a space was missing something and he created what has become one of his most impressive series, the chandeliers. In 1995-96 in the Chihuly Over Venice presentation, he hung thirteen of them throughout the city with the final 14th juxtaposed with the Palazzo Ducale Tower's ancient one. Those shown here are either from that event or were inspired by it.

Green glass chandelier

Close-up of white chandelier

Red-orange glass chandelier

The Macchia Forest with four foot bowls of color!

Inside of one of the bowls in the Macchia Forest.

Hanging floral in glass inside the glass conservatory.

The "Macchia Forest" is a collection of huge bowls four feet in diameter utilizing all 300 colors of the hotshot. The variations in color are also achieved by rolling the molten glass in shards of colored glass while blowing it.

We took our break for lunch and then continued afterwards by going into the glass conservatory which houses an enormous floral display in glass suspended from the ceiling. You can see the Needle just outside.

I wanted to show you all the details of this incredible display but I have to leave room for your 'dessert' which is the garden outside.

Did you see the dark orbs that might be slick seals just under the log?

There was so much to see, and I took over 175 photos, but cannot possibly show them all here. I may post them to another site where you can see them, if interested, so if you are a follower, you will be notified of the link. I was so impressed with the landscaping being complimentary to the glass art.

Notice the colored tree bark and the flowers ...

Here, near the end are these precious flutes of blue, like some unearthly forest flower only waiting to offer up a scent that tricks the senses...

Near the exit, blue flutes on tall stalks...

There was more to be seen at this Center, but our eyes were satiated with all the colors and shapes so we opted to leave, but on the way out I saw this weird collection of colors and shapes from the IMAX building and other displays... it's another form of art, don't you think?

Metallic tiles create color on a Center building.