Baskets Made of Glass

 

Inside the Frank Lloyd Wright home at Taliesin West is where we saw the last of the Chihuly glass pieces. They were placed on two low tables next to the window.  They call these "Golden Celadon Baskets".

Chihuly calls these baskets because he originally patterned these smaller pieces after some Native American baskets that he had seen.  They were older baskets and many were misshapen.  He saw the beauty of the strange shapes and created glass to look like them.

The colors of these pieces fit beautifully into the interior of the home.  They looked like they belonged there.  

Two Colorful Installations

 

Today I have the last two large installations of Chihuly glass at Taliesin West.  Above is a group called "Fire Amber Herons".  They are gracefully perched in a little water fountain.

To the left is another piece called "Citron Tower".  I like that blue and yellow together.  You can see bits of green peeking through.  

Tomorrow I'll show you the small pieces that were inside the house at Taliesin. 

Blue Skies & Colorful Glass

 

My original plan to visit Taliesin West to see the Chihuly exhibit at that location was foiled by the rain and bad weather.  However, we were rescheduled to Sunday afternoon when the skies were blue once again. The exhibit at Taliesin is smaller than the one at the Desert Botanical Garden but it was still beautiful to see in this different setting.  The installation above is called "Alabaster & Amber Spire Towers" and it is the central installation that you see when you arrive and begin the tour.

This installation was gathered around the front of the home and spreads from the green lawn into the decorative fountain.  This one is called "Red Reeds and Niijima Floats.  I had to look up "Niijima" to try to understand the name.  The name comes from a volcanic Japanese Island.  

Just a few feet away from the red reeds was this installation of "Black Saguaros & Scarlet Icicles".  (In nature, one wouldn't normally see saguaros and icicles together.  I probably would have called those scarlet agaves instead.) 

There are only five large installations at Taliesin and one extra exhibit of some smaller pieces.  I'll show you the some of the others tomorrow.

Now I'm interested in seeing these installations at night.  I might have to make a reservation for a night tour in a few weeks when the night time temperatures are more pleasant.  

The Second Location

 

The second location where Dale Chihuly is going to exhibit is at Taliesin West in Scottsdale.  That's the winter home and architectural school of Frank Lloyd Wright.  

It will be interesting to see how Chihuly's unique glass sculptures will fit into this environment.  I'm guessing they will fit in beautifully.  I can't wait to see them all!