Dale Chihuly at Phipps Conservatory

One of the reasons I love living in Pittsburgh is that I can use nearly every special event at Phipps Conservatory as blog fodder. I wrote about their mythological topiary display awhile ago, remember? This is an entirely different shebang.

Dale Chihuly is a world-class glass artist, and Pittsburgh has been lucky enough to host his show for the past year or so. It was the second-to-last day when I remembered that I really wanted to see it, and I spent the afternoon hitting the refresh button to order tickets; the server was so busy, we almost didn't make it.



The two above pictures were taken in the room that hosts the plants of Thailand. It didn't matter what room we were in; it felt like another universe, with these shining plants sprouting up everywhere, having their own little parties.





This chandelier was one of my favorites. The water in the pond is really jet black, and the red lilies looked like they had just fallen on the water, so naturally. The colors are so bold, I couldn't help but love the whole room. Here are some more shots of those lovely hues:








I thought the multicolored installments were especially pretty:





But I have to be honest; the muted colors, as always, were my favorites. It's the Arthur Rackham-lover in me. What can I say? I say: I think this sculptor is more than a sculptor. I think he knows magic.









Obviously Dale Chihuly is inspired by organic shapes (like all of the artists I love) and after seeing all of these sculptures and being around real, growing things and walking on dirt, I am so ready for spring! The last thing I saw was this chandelier that was hung in the main lobby, and it's tropical colors stood out so bright against the white smudge of winter that I couldn't help but get hopeful that spring is, indeed, coming.



There are several more pictures in my flickr set, and if you simply type "Chihuly" into the search box, lots of very wonderful (and I admit, much more professional-looking) photos come up.