Inspiration from Dale Chihuly

Around Charlotte, the most frequently discussed "Dale" is of the #88 variety, a fast driver with a penchant for the Old West, to which anyone who has seen his Cribs can attest. 

Sorry, Junior, but there's another sheriff in town. 

Dale Chihuly's fabulous Royal Blue Mint Chandelier is being disassembled and transported from the Mint Museum of Craft and Design to the new Mint Museum Uptown at the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus.  A team of workers from Chihuly Studios in Seattle has arrived to facilitate the move.

This 2200 pound blown glass chandelier has been a source of inspiration for many Charlotteans, myself included.  I could spend hours staring at its intricacies, the way the blown glass catches the light, the myriad of colors that seem to change as the sun moves through Uptown.  

 

Dale Chihuly is a Seattle-based artist who uses blown glass to create awe-inspiring works of art.  He was born in 1941 and spent the first part of his career as a glassworking teacher.  He originally focused on temporary outdoor glass projects, such as floating glass bubbles on a pond.  Chihuly introduced his towers and chandeliers, for which he is now most famous, via the Seattle Art Museum in the early 1990's.

Dale Chihuly has designed and installed his dramatic blown glass forms all over the world.  His initial pieces were more monochromatic, but his foray into bright colors has made his work so dramatic and memorable.  He uses the most perfect color combinations, combinations which are fantastic inspiration for interior design.

Cool greens and turquoises at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London

Sunny yellow at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Victoria and Albert

Striking red against a perfectly blue sky at the Naples Museum of Art

The colors of the sun, at the de Young in San Francisco

Muted purples, oranges, and pinks against a white church

Shiny turquoise against a crumbling stucco and stone backdrop

Fire

Grapey purple against a white background with pops of yellow

Striking yellow and red

Lush greens and blues

Hot hot hot at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens

Red, yellow, and green at the Canal Pond at Chatsworth

A squiggly yellow tower

Contrasting smooth window arches with this tower's unkempt curly-q's

One Lincoln Tower- a condo staged for sale with a Chihuly chandelier.  We'll take it!

 A grouping of Chihuly chandeliers over a mile-long table, featured in Metropolitan Home in 2007

Dale Chihuly's bookshelf at home.  He likes to see the cloth of the book, so he displays the books with their colorful covers facing out.  LOVE.

Are you feeling as inspired as we are? 

Photos and information courtesy of The Charlotte Observer, Metropolitan Home, www.chihuly.com