Dale Chihuly

Once people get past trying to pronounce Chihuly they usually ask "who is he?" Dale Chihuly is a glass artist. I recall the first installation I saw of his work when I was in the cities visiting my brother, my brother's birthday gift to me was a day in the cities, eating and doing whatever I wanted. We visited the MIA and saw many pieces of fabulous art not any of which I could tell you about today, but one, one pieces that sticks out above all, a Chihuly chandelier.

I have thought over and over about why his work in particular speaks to me, as I am sure many who appreciate art or music think about why a particular piece evokes something in them they cannot explain, a feeling of something other than happiness or joy, it's deeper than that it's just an undefined emotion.

Could there be anything more juxtaposed than fragile glass in masses hanging in mid air or floating in the canals in Venice? But as amazing as that is, stop to think about the formation of the glass to start. As many times as I have seen it done I still sit it in awe at how this glob of hot glass that is soft and pliable can be pulled, stretched, molded, spun, blown and twisted to create something that takes only the lightest wrong touch to break it into a million little shards. Each piece is brilliant with colors, movement, textures, and beauty. Each piece is it's own unique piece.

Thank you to those of you who have helped jog my memory of what it is in life that makes it special and things that I have forgotten how much I love and have taken little time for over that last years. Just as Dale Chihuly has a love for his glass and sketches out his vision, I miss the feeling of brush on canvas and creating something from nothing. It's individual, it's honest, and it's real. Whatever comes from my head to my hand is me, wholly me and that is just the way it should be.