Chihuly Illuminated

As soon as I found out that there would be a Chihuly exhibit at the art museum I planned a unit study. We have learned so much about glass, glass blowing, and all the people it takes to create these masterpieces. We have watched DVD's that interview Chihuly and show him and his team at work in his studio. It is amazing to see them shape the glass, this was the kids favorite part.
Many books have been read and we learned to identify the different shapes and how the installations are assembled. We don't do enough artist studies and need to do more. We all enjoy it and they learn so much and never forget the experiences. We are wrapping this unit up next week with our own Chihuly replicas. Hopefully they will turn out!

Blurry I know but this was so neat. The tubes on the bottom are glass with neon inside them. Reading about this they were created by dropping the glass down from standing on a step ladder which is how they created the pool of glass at the bottom.

The kids had to study these pieces carefully for their upcoming project. Shape, color, and the rim were all important for them to see.

We were all intrigued with the tree trunk that this display sat on.

Chihuly is a collector of these blankets and uses them for inspiration.

Wall of paintings that help convey designs to Chihuly's team.

This was an awesome little lesson on light. These sat in an illuminated box display with different light switches on the side. You could change the light to see how the glass looked. This was the spotlight which we decided was the best but the black light also was neat and made the large piece in back glow. LED was our least favorite. Lighting is truly everything!

All the chandeliers are my favorites. We learned so much about these in the books we read. They are unlike anything I have ever seen. The size, color, the way the light goes through the glass, they are just magnificent!

This was just gorgeous. We spent a lot of time looking at this display. We were able to see so many new things. The kids were looking for the steel frames and anchors they learned about when watching an installation on DVD.

I think one of the main reasons I love Chihuly is that he is not afraid to use color. The more the better and I agree! No room in my house is not painted a color and no color is used twice!

Glow doodles, to hold up and draw what you see and then illuminate it. Paige working very intently.

Almost all of the museum is currently under renovation. There is a small area that has some of the permanent collection displayed. This has been Ethan's favorite painting since he was three years old. We went to our very first "First Saturday" then and the project was based on this painting. We made the coolest sunflower that was taller than Ethan. We had a great time and never stopped going after that. We have had many, many years at the museum and because of this all the kids have a great appreciation for art.

A quick stop in the gift shop finds Lindy trying on as many beaded rings as possible!

We left the museum to meet Bill for lunch and then made a stop in the Downtown library. We were gone all day, it was the ultimate way to homeschool!