Glass

Debbie’s One Word Sunday Challenge this week is “Glass” in any of its manifestations or interpretations (or any other single word you like).  Glass immediately brings Chihuly and his amazing glass creations to mind.  I’ve been fortunate enough to see his work in a number of places, but none in such abundance as his installation at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens a few years ago.  My s-i-l and I did the rounds during the day, then again as it got dark, when the glass was illuminated.  Both were magical.

Chihuly: hot and cold

Weather allowing, at about 8 am CST this morning, we’ll be in the air on our way to Miami and, from there, to San José , Costa Rica. We’ll be staying near Manuel Antonio in the rain forest area, a completely new place and experience for me. I hope to have lots of photos to share. In the meantime, enjoy some more spectacular Chihuly from Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and understand that I may not be able to reply to comments for some time. But please do comment. I enjoy hearing from you.

A peek at Chihuly–Day and Night

I promised I’d show you some more Chihuly glass and here’s the first bit, with many more to come.  Every piece looked wonderful as we walked through in the afternoon and then, as night fell and the sculpture were illuminated, we were enchanted all over again and marveled anew at each piece.  Impossible to decide which we liked better.  The lush beauty of his work stands in stark contrast to the sharp, spare beauty of the desert and its prickly plants.  But they play off one another so well, each enhancing the other.  Thankfully, there’s no need to choose.  Simply choose to enjoy.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is one of my favorite words.  Juxtaposition is “the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.”   That leaves the photography door wide open when it comes to possibilities.  I could use a photo of today’s high in Phoenix (71 F or 80 while I was there earlier in the week) with today’s high in the Chicago area (21 but with fiercely blowing winds and wind chill advisories.)  That would be chilling juxtaposition!

Instead, I’m showing the juxtaposition of the graceful, smooth, luminous glass sculpture of Dale Chihuly juxtaposed against the straight, sharp spines of the surrounding cacti.  I love Chihuly’s work and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix mounted a fabulous, lush installation of his work set against (juxtaposed) against the spare beauty of desert plants.  I was fortunate to see it both during the day and at night, when his work was illuminated, material for further posts.