Hello there Beastie friends! It’s been a wild and windy week here in the North Atlantic, with a couple more storms-with-names (so you know they mean business) battering Ireland and the UK over the last few days. So do you fancy taking it eeeeeasy, and looking at some awesome sculpture? Goody, because I’m excited to share a small percentage (I promise!) of the millions of photos I took of the Dale Chihuly glass pieces at Kew Gardens last autumn.
We were lucky enough to scrape in on the very last day of “Chihuly – Reflections on Nature”, which I was dying to see after reading about it on The Snail of Happiness’s blog over the summer. And of course, I had Beastie help as I did the tour of the grounds. They made sure I didn’t miss anything.
The Temperate House was absolutely packed with these incredible creations, some of them blending beautifully with their surroundings…
… While others were a lot less subtle.
I liked how some of the shapes echoed each other a little, like these two pieces. As above, so below!
Mind you, much as I loved the unearthly, ethereal shapes, there was something a little unsettling about this one… It looks like those white bulbs are poised for a global takeover, starting right here! It didn’t seem to bother the Beasties though – maybe they’re planning a takeover of their own?
But these are just the hothouse Chihuly sculptures! There were plenty more outside, in the wild… And even on a grey English day, they seemed to glow.
They fitted in especially well in the Japanese garden – I feel more Zen already.
And when the rain got a little too heavy, we went to check out the indoor exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. In the dark rooms, each of the carefully-lit sculptures took on a life of their own. They looked like flowers, or shells, or living things… But definitely not glass!
Did any of you visit this exhibition during its run? Or is there a Chihuly living in a gallery near you? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
We’ll be back next week with another new Beastie for you to meet – see you then!
Wow! These are fantastic! I really like the tribe of dancing flames marching across the grass….or maybe the “planets” orbiting the Japanese Garden are my favourites. No, that spiky blue explosion beside the Greek temple takes the biscuit. How do you create a thing like that in glass?!
I’m not sure… It was the twisty green one in the last picture that baffled me! It made for a great day out, anyway. I’ll definitely be looking out for more Chihuly exhibitions! Thanks for joining us, Queen Bee 😊
Oh I do like that purple thistle-looking one outside! And the glass orbs. Lucky beasties getting to see them all!
Aren’t they just? They were hoping to get a little more up close and personal with the sculptures but there were a few too many people around 😂
Cheers for popping in, Hannah!
Wasn’t it just amazing?! The lilies in the pond looked as if they had been growing there forever. 🙂
It really was… So thanks to you and Dr Snail for the heads-up! I made it there just in time. I don’t envy whoever had to take all the pieces down the next day though 😆
Cheers for stopping in!
Chihuly’s work is amazing. When I lived in Seattle they had a lot of his work everywhere (he lived area/created a lot of his art in the Pacific NW). I so enjoyed your photos and seeing the Beastie adventures. Hope all goes well with the storms, don’t let any Beasties fly off!
Don’t worry, we’re snuggled up on the sofa… When it comes to high winds, Beasties are total lightweights 😂 I didn’t realise Chihuly had a Pacific Northwest connection – I should have read my information leaflet more carefully! How nice it must have been to see his work around your city when you lived in Seattle. Glad you enjoyed the Beastie tour – thanks for joining us!
Chihuly are so amazing!
Thanks! 😊
Just what you needed on a blustery day. I went to our local conservatory to take in the flowers today. Bonus – they were giving away potted plants that they had too many of. I usually leave a small donation so I was happy to take a couple of plants home with me.
That was lucky… You’ll have your own botanical garden soon enough if that’s a regular thing! Cheers for stopping in 😊
Imagine if the planet was run by Beasties. What a warm and fuzzy world it would be.
Thanks, Mariss! They certainly think so… Let’s just hope those eerie white glass globs don’t take over first! Cheers for joining the boys on their tour 😁
Chihuly’s work is AMAZING in any setting…although that pokey thing hanging from the ceiling is a bit scary. Tierney already beat me to it, but he’s got loads of stuff around the Pacific Northwest, and his gardens in Seattle are jaw-dropping.
Chihuly GARDENS? Hello, next holiday! Although if I bundle enough Beasties into my suitcase, maybe we can say it’s a business trip/international goodwill mission.
And yes, I was very careful not to walk under the suspended ceiling exhibits – yikes! 😬😬😬
Cheers for stopping in, Tammie!