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Glass Wizard

Today is the birthday of the creative and flamboyant glassworker Dale Chihuly.

Dale Chihuly is credited with bringing the ancient technique of glassblowing into the realm of the museum; his vibrant works were the first blown-glass objects to be regarded as modern sculpture.

Convinced that students learn best by assisting established artists, Chihuly includes his students in each step of his creative process, working with teams of five people. His interest in glass led him to establish the Pilchuck Glass Center in the foothills of the Cascade mountains in Washington State, and to serve as the center's educational coordinator. Established to further the use of glass as an art form, the Pilchuck Glass Center is the only school in the United States solely devoted to glass.

Source: National Museum of American Art (CD-ROM) (New York and Washington D.C.: MacMillan Digital in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1996).

Pictured: Dale Chihuly, born 1941, Emerald Green Blanket Cylinder with Cerulean Blue Drawing, 1984, blown glass, 12 1/2 x 8 x 8 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Fund.