5 Things You Didn’t Know About Dale Chihuly

Dale has founded, and supports, multiple art education programs in the Pacific Northwest, including: Pilchuck Glass School; Hilltop Artists, a program teaching glassblowing to over 650 Tacoma Public School students each year; and Hot Shop Heroes, which began as an event in 2013 in partnership with Museum of Glass, and has continued to offer a glassblowing program for active duty soldiers and veterans.

James Mongrain, Andrea Lesnett, Chihuly, and Hilltop Artists students, The Boathouse hotshop, Seattle, 2013

Dale’s Drawings began as a means of communicating his ideas to his glassblowing team. Today they are a series all their own. To create these spontaneous works, Chihuly has used a multitude of materials including acrylic paints, ink, pencil, watercolor, fire, and even coffee.

Dale Chihuly, The Boathouse, Seattle, 1993

Dale listens to music while creating. Some of his favorite artists are Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and the Beatles.

Dale Chihuly working on Glass on Glass Paintings, Seattle, 2016

Dale Chihuly with Fire Orange Baskets, The Boathouse hotshop, Seattle, 2013

Dale’s glassblowing hotshop is located at The Boathouse in Seattle. Chihuly renovated the building—which was formerly the main studio of George Pocock, the founder of Pocock Racing Shells—to reflect his artistic and design aesthetic. The Boathouse showcases work from Chihuly’s iconic series, as well as his personal collections of art and unique objects.

Dale Chihuly, Evelyn Room Chandeliers, The Boathouse, Seattle, 2017

Tin Room, The Boathouse, Seattle, 2017

One of Dale’s most ambitious endeavors was Chihuly Over Venice, a two-year project that began with glassblowing sessions in Finland, Ireland, Mexico, and Italy, culminating in the installation of fourteen Chandeliers around Venice, Italy in 1996.