Chihuly's Museum of Glass

Connie had been wanting to go to the Chihuly Museum of Glass for years. Thursday morning we drove to Fox Island where our friends Dean and Diane are staying (read "What a site" on this blog). Cara the wonderdog needed a playday with her old friend Poco Kleinsmith; Connie and I needed some alone time (the museum takes a dim view of dogs inside).
The museum's Hot Shop has room for several furnaces, artists (from around the world) and a gallery for visitors. The room was hot and full of activity, a furnace door would open, a pole would be inserted and would emerge with a red hot glowing orb of molten glass. The worker would place the pole onto two supports and continuously turn it while beginning to shape the orb with wooden ladles just brought out of a bucket of water. Several other tools would be used and the piece would from time to time be reinserted into the furnace.
We have watched this process performed at the factories that make Kosta Boda in Sweden, Waterford in Ireland and the Corning Glass Museum in New York, using the same technique. For our money the Corning Museum was far and away the best.
The Tacoma Dome and an artistic bridge added to the beauty of the high dollar marina next door to the museum.
Cross the bridge from the museum to the old Railroad Station and you will see more of Chihuly's art work than in the museum, and it is free.


Keep reading the next blog for more.......