Dale Chihuly is a great artist that creates beautiful glass art that is displayed all over the world. His creations are quite unique and fun and his ambition and leadership has been revolutionary for the glassblowing field.

Chihuly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design in 1965. He received a Masters in Sculpture before he studied glass in Venice in 1968. In 1971, he founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington. Holsten Galleries talks about what makes Chihuly so special:

Throughout the 1970’s , influenced by the great glassblowing tradition of Murano, Chihuly experimented with the team approach to glassblowing. Working with a team of master glassblowers and assistants has enabled him to produce architectural glass art of a scale and quantity unimaginable working alone or with only one assistant.

After an accident in 1976, he was unable to blow the glass himself and took on a supervisor role which enabled him to step back and see the work from a different view. Chihuly described his role as, “more choreographer than dancer, more supervisor than participant, more director than actor.”

His great works of art range from large architectural sculptures to chandeliers, vases, small art pieces and much more. He has been featured in 2 PBS specials (Chihuly Over Venice and Chihuly In The Hotshop) and is the subject of many books. Chihuly is a great artist and an inspiration to the glassblowing community, as well as artists everywhere. I love his work and wanted to share some of his beautiful pieces with you today, hope you enjoy!