Fiery Art

Art can be classified into two forms – visual art such as paintings and sculptures; and performing arts like music, dance and theater. This is what I knew from my limited exposure to the fine arts. But in the Pacific Northwest state of Washington, flourishes a different kind of art. Blown glass sculptures – colorful, sensuous, brilliant pieces of flaming glass, created by local artists. There are art studios and workshops, glass blowing classes and galleries and even a Museum of Glass in the city of Tacoma, Washington. We decided to take a detour through the giant cone-shaped structure that marks the museum on our way to Portland, Oregon, for the long Memorial Day weekend that falls on the last Monday of May.

We were asked to first enter the “Hot Shop” after purchasing the tickets. The giant cone is actually the “hot shop”, the largest glass blowing amphitheater which is continuously in use. The permanent team works with visiting artists who spend various periods of time working with the medium. From colorful swirls in bowls and vases, to chunky paperweights and dishes, display pieces and funky unusual objects, the collection is mind-boggling. Observing the steps taken to make one perfect piece of visual art is a performance in itself. Hot ovens line one side of the studio. Guys and girls wearing loose t-shirts and protective eyeglasses walk around with long metal rods on which molten glass balls/bulbs are painstakingly heated, the rod is continuously twirled, coaxed into the desired shape, dipped into colored pigments, heated, twirled, shaped and the cycle goes on. A piece that will be part of the larger object in mind takes hours to complete. The artists move about gracefully and gently around each other, the hot ovens, trolleys and trays that seem scattered carelessly. The propane torches capable of reaching upto 5000 degrees F are within reach of the artists and their assistants, to fine tune their creations when the molten glass is brought out of the ovens. Similar to the nimble fingers of a surgeon who must operate quickly and accurately, the artist has a few seconds to give the pliable glass the desired curvature before it starts cooling into an impassive mineral. Like a fast paced dance number, the artists must work with and around each other to bring the choreography to life, without colliding or coalescing nascent piece of art into an unrecognizable mass. What a treat to see visual art created in such a precise performance!

The current exhibit features the work of Preston Singletary, a prolific glass artist with an American Indian heritage who has brought many Indian legends to the limelight through his pieces including “Raven Steals the Sun”. The endearing collection was the production of several pieces which were designed by children, most of them under the age of 12. From the colorful sketches of children, contributed every month, one was selected to be translated into glass sculpture. As expected, children made colorful drawings of monsters and creatures not from books or TV, but characters arising from their imaginations. So we had a fascinating display of “Green Guy”, “Jolt”, “Fire Bird”, “Nature Deit (deity)” and many others.

Tacoma’s local artist Dale Chihuly dominates the outdoor displays with a bridge dedicated to him. On either side of the walkway are large (I mean two floors tall) display cases with his dazzling work. At one point when you feel there is nothing more but to turn around, you just need to glance up to be dazzled by the magnificence of hundreds of colorful shimmering glass objects. I was reminded of the acrylic tunnels in some aquariums where the fish are above your head. Like jellyfish and tropical marine life, you see nature’s colors duplicated in glass, suspended overhead.

I was gifted a lovely piece by my sister-in-law as a souvenir of our visit to the breathtaking natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest state of Washington, an area where the sun shines for less than 100 days a year but creativity flourishes in glorious colors all year round.