Chihuly Glass and Gardens Seattle WA

We had been looking forward to visiting Chihuly Glass and Gardens Seattle WA for many years. We’d originally planned on visiting last year, but never made it to Seattle. So Steve and I were thrilled to finally be able to experience this amazing place!

Crunch Cream Malasada

We started our first day of exploring Seattle WA with a stop in Chinatown for the breakfast of champions – decadent pastries. LOL! I’d read about a pastry call Malasada from Fiji Bakery, that intrigued me.

Fiji Bakery is a teeny tiny shop just a few steps from the wonderful Chinatown arch. It’s so small that all they have is a walk-up window for take out. We knew we wanted to try the Crunchy Cream Malasada so we ordered one. And to hedge our bet we also ordered a safe, but quite delicious Chocolate Croissant.

Once back in the car to enjoy our breakfast we took a bite of the Malasada. OMG!!! It was what pastry dreams are made of. The Crunchy Cream is an original signature donut of Fuji Bakery. It has a crunchy coating of corn flakes and a filling of vanilla custard cream inside the yeasted brioche donut. The malasada is a donut that originated in Portugal and became widely popular in Hawaii. But we totally understand why it’s Fiji Bakery’s best seller. It was so incredibly good that after we shared the single Crunchy Cream and Chocolate Croissant, we went back for their last two Crunchy Creams.

From Fuji Bakery on King St. we drove through downtown to Seattle Center for our tour of the Chihuly Glass and Garden. The exhibit is adjacent to the Space Needle so we got to see that too. In fact, there’s quite a lot to see at Seattle Center.

Seattle Center

Seattle Center offers 74 acres of art, entertainment and education. It was originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair and at the time the Space Needle was the highlight. Surrounding the iconic Space Needle are many fabulous places to explore including the Museum of Pop Culture, Pacific Science Center, iMax Theater, Children’s Theater, Mural Amphitheater, Armory, stadiums and the Chihuly Glass and Gardens.

Chihuly Glass and Gardens Seattle WA

The Chihuly Glass and Garden exhibit showcases the studio glass of renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. I opened in May 2012 to highlight and honor the most famous glass artist alive today. He reinvented glassblowing through his incredible freeform, asymmetric pieces, using innovative techniques.

Glassblowing began in the first century bc in Syria. At that time blown glass vessels were created for everyday, as well as luxury. These items were produced commercially by Syrian craftsmen and exported to all parts of the Roman Empire.

Dale Chihuly

At this Seattle exhibit we were given a look at the inspiration and influences that guided Chihuly’s career. We started strolling through the indoor areas, gazing at his wondrous works of intricate glass art. And learning more about him at every turn.

Dale Chihuly was born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington. He had his first introduction to glass while he was studying interior design at the University of Washington. In 1965, after graduation from college, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. From there he continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design, and later established the glass program there. He taught at the Rhode Island School of Design for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, in 1968 he received a Fulbright Fellowship and went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. That’s where he observed the team approach to blowing glass. This became critical to the way he works today. A few years later, in 1971, Chihuly cofounded the Pilchuck Glass School in his home state.

Dale Chihuly’s work is part of more than 200 museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards that includes twelve honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

We have been blessed to enjoy his work in many parts of the country in our travels. His glass art if in both the Borgata in Atlantic City Nj and Bellagio in Las Vegas NV; and we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy an entire floor dedicated to his art at the Oklahoma Museum of Art. But the Seattle exhibit was the most extensive that we’ve been to,

Take a walk with me

If I may, I’d like to have you walk along with us. At Chihuly Glass and Gardens Seattle WA we are walking passed a life size Glass Forest. There is a ghostly blue and pink light emanating from the trunks. Now we’re passing a Seattle Tower, which is 15-feet tall and composed of iridescent primary colors to evoke the sea floor and Puget Sound. In the next gallery we are standing beneath an amazing Persian Ceiling filled with Persian glass that is aglow in a kaleidoscope of bright colors.

From there we enter the Glasshouse. But instead of plants growing there’s a 120-foot long art installation hanging 30-feet above you. The colorful palette of these flowering vines of glass is shades of yellow, orange, brown and amber. And all of it framing a view of the towering 605-foot tall Space Needle.

Next we are walking through a portico with gorgeous colorful glass pendants that hang above our heads and guide us to the gardens beyond. As we amble though the outdoor garden we are transported to a magical place where art and nature commingle.  There are day lilies, dogwoods and camellias in bloom along with a variety of trees and other plants. This is all complimented with installations of Chihuly glass. There’s the Crystal and Icicle Towers, Reeds on Logs and at the center of it all there’s the Giant Sun that just explodes with yellows and oranges. Where ever you look, you can see the Space Needle standing guard.

And that concludes our tour. Seriously, if you are anywhere within driving distance don’t miss a chance for this unbelievable artistic experience!!!