I know nothing of Chihuly’s religious persuasion, but I see the fingers of God in the master glass artist’s creations. One would think that Chihuly should be present in the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the one illustrating God’s finest creation, the first human being. Creativity and imagination in Chihuly’s art is
also an exquisite explosion of originality and ingenuity but in glass.
Okay, all this hyperbole is to say how impressed I was at the beauty of Dale Chihuly’s glass art. After “Oh!” “Wow!” followed by a gasp, all I could do is stand there in awe at the extravagant imagination of Chihuly. What a gift!
“Over the course of five decades, Chihuly has explored new and old techniques, pushing the boundaries of contemporary art. He draws inspiration from the world around him, creating statements using color and form to capture the imagination, and catapult beyond conventional ideas of function and beauty.”
Chihuly saw life in the glass. It is an inspiration to read his reflections of the craft: "when lit, these pieces come to life… glass is the most magical of all materials… to me, the Putti are happier in glass… it begins to look like something that came from the sea….” And just imagine the ones that he let run absolutely wild: “I loved the ones that seemed to make the least amount of sense, like the really crazy ones—purple and chartreuse.”
What would happen if we let our imagination run wild? As children, probably many of us did. Then we went to school and had to color within the lines, and learn rote formulas, and trade the imagination for memorization. Soon our minds were cluttered, and creativity was quashed. But it can be resuscitated.
What would happen if each one of us would set aside one hour - now (with no distractions) and peruse Chihuly’s website? --not to make judgments or form opinions, but just gaze at the art for pure enjoyment? What if each one of us would dedicate one hour every day to creativity? –art, writing, dance, gardening, singing, playing an instrument, glass blowing? What if each one of us would let our imagination run absolutely wild?!
Let your imagination be stimulated by a video, below, of my photos...
--Jan
