WV Glass and Ceramics Project Trip Day Five

Today was another wonderful day on the trip.  We went to the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History, in Pittsburgh, PA.  They had some amazing pieces in the Art Museum.  Afterwards, we traveled a couple of blocks to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  It houses thousands of species of plants and also displays glasswork throughout the garden exhibits.  The work is from various glass artists, but it is probably best known for its display of Dale Chihuly's glass.

Dale Chihuly has been making glass since the 1960s and his work is know all over the world.  Because he is so well-known, he works with a crew to create his pieces.  After a car accident in 1976, he lost his vision in his left eye.  The loss of peripheral vision made it difficult to work on the pieces himself.  He found that if he hired others to do the work for him, he could step back and direct them as to how he wanted the piece made and that distance between him and the piece allows him to better achieve his vision of what the it should be.

I was very struck today by these skinny figures designed by Chihuly.  I found their slenderness whimsical and dreamlike.  How would you describe them?  Why do you think he chose the frosted white coloring?

You get to try your hand at designing figures.  You will use aluminum foil to mold your figure.  

Aspects to think about:

1.  Will your figure be skinny like these or will you add curves?

2.  What gesture(s) will your figure be making?

3.  What message will you convey with the body language of your figure?