Through a Glass, Dreaming

Chihuly Masterpieces

Until recently, I gave very little thought to glass, except for a vivid memory of falling out of my crib onto a glass bottle at age two, and my dad picking little shards out of my back. My brain has tried to fill in some logic gaps…where was my mom? She was probably at Gristede's Market the night the alleged incident occurred (Mom would wait until my father came home so she could scoot out and shop in peace). But then, where was my one-year-old sister Mo? And why were there no scars? Seems this über-dramatic happening, likely only happened in my dreams.

I did grow up with a healthy fear of broken glass, though; several times I stepped on a jagged piece on the kitchen floor and learned just how much a foot can bleed. But for the most part, I didn’t even register the difference between a $100 wine goblet and the cheapo kind you could pick up at Walmart. Much later, on the road touring in children’s theatre, Steve and I performed in Corning, NY, and while we did visit the famous Corning Glassworks, I don't remember much about it. And even as late as 2018, we did not go to Murano during our stay in Venice, Italy. 

 

But then I learned more about the glassmaking process. Glass blowing is a very delicate and unforgiving art. Silica sand and lime is heated to over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. When it is molten, it is collected on the end of a metal pipe and inflated by blowing into the pipe. Then it must be rapidly shaped before it cools and hardens. I suddenly had a new interest in, and respect for, glass makers (though I was horrified to imagine ever working with anything that hot and breakable).

 

A few years ago, Evan and I visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum in Seattle. Dale Chihuly is revered as a master glass artist, and his work is breathtaking. Rainbow-colored blown glass flowers and gorgeous, fanciful glass sea creatures abound in his exhibits. 

But what was truly impressive to me, was Chihuly's devotion to his artistic vision in the face of great physical challenges. In 1976, he was in a serious car accident, and went through the windshield, causing, among other injuries, permanent blindness in one eye. Three years later, a body surfing accident resulted in a badly dislocated shoulder, after which he was unable to safely use a heavy blowpipe around hot glass. He then transitioned into becoming the artistic director and choreographer of his glass studio, teaching and guiding his students to continue his work of creation. Chihuly says this different perspective makes it possible to create ever larger and even more ambitious pieces. 

 

I now appreciate glass as precious, and rather miraculous. From mirrors to stained glass windows, from simple wineglass to complex sculpture, this “amorphous solid” substance is  endlessly useful and, with the imagination and passion of a Dale Chihuly, can be, truly, the stuff of beautiful dreams.