Possibly Chihuly Could Do It Justice

Dale Chihuly is one of my favorite artists.  His glass artworks are often inspired by nature, and they also complement natural settings.

When I go to Las Vegas, Nevada, I always go to see the installation in the Bellagio hotel —

Fiori di Como, 1998. The ceiling of the lobby of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.

Fiori di Como, 1998. The ceiling of the lobby of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.  There is a much better photo on the Chihuly website.

and I go to his two galleries there.  I love them because the staff are so welcoming — when you come in, the first thing they say is, “You may take pictures here!”  I’m not buying an $8000 original glass sculpture, I’m only buying a $15 calendar, but you’d never know it from the way they act.

Chihuly sculpture from Las Vegas gallery.

Chihuly sculpture from Las Vegas gallery.

A gorgeous vessel. I love the way it balances strength and fragility, unity and variety.

A gorgeous vessel. I love the way it balances strength and fragility, unity and variety.

A display of small pieces from the Chihuly Gallery in Las Vegas.

A display of small pieces from the Chihuly Gallery in Las Vegas.

Some close-up pictures I have taken of thistles have brought his work to mind.

glass

Radiant thistle seeds.

Radiant thistle seeds.

I had a bit of fun playing with layers and transparencies in Photoshop, trying to see how these seedheads could look if interpreted by Chihuly.

Here's an easy one -- I just put a transparent layer of the seedhead photo over one of my photos of the glass at Bellagio.

Here’s an easy one — I just put a transparent layer of the seedhead photo over one of my photos of the glass at Bellagio. The dark tones of the glass work came out a little too brown, and there is too much yellow for me, but it is a starting point.

Here I shifted the colors, smudged the boundaries between colors, and added the "plastic" filter.

Here I shifted the colors, smudged the boundaries between colors, and added the “plastic” filter, which looks more glass-like than the actual “glass” filter.

Here I shifted color hues, and played with brightness and contrast.

Here I shifted color hues, and played with brightness and contrast. I like this one and I can see myself doing more with it.

The original seedhead is the most beautiful in my opinion.  I’m not trying to copy it, but to use nature as a starting point for art play, taking advantage of the variety and richness of details that I could never come up with on my own.

Category : art, plants
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