WORLD OF GLASS

The award-winning authors follow glass artist Dale Chihuly from his Pacific Northwest roots through world-renowned accomplishments in color, form, and technique.

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Chihuly lost his older brother and father as a teen and forged a close bond with his supportive mother. Chihuly enrolled in college at his mother’s urging, working to pay his way. Courses in weaving, architecture, and design played counterpoint to frat-house partying. With his mother’s blessing, Dale took time off to travel abroad. On an Israeli kibbutz he matured, returning home to finish school. Study at the University of Wisconsin, the Rhode Island School of Design, and a glass-blowing factory in Venice deepened skills and fostered a lifelong interest in innovative, team-based approaches; natural, organic forms; and the elastic properties of molten glass. In the 1970s, Chihuly co-founded the influential Pilchuck Glass School as his fame grew. After a car crash in England, he lost sight in one eye and adopted his iconic black eyepatch. In narrative details and dozens of well-chosen photographs, Greenberg and Jordan convey the kinetic techniques of glass blowing. Final chapters focus on Chihuly’s artistic vision, technical boundary-pushing, and five decades of richly exuberant work. Notably, the authors mention Chihuly’s adaptations to bipolar disorder. Among more typical information, the backmatter includes a partial list of Chihuly’s collaborators and another of museums and galleries where readers might find his work.

An ebullient homage to an innovative, enduring artist.