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Chihuly Experience

July 21, 2025

By Louise Irvine

The Chihuly collection at WMODA is one of the highlights of our Fired Arts museum in Hollywood. Last month, we had the good fortune to meet Dale Chihuly himself and learn more about his career and creative process.  It was an amazing experience!

Arthur Wiener, the museum’s founder, along with team members for the proposed Lake Worth Beach (LWB) WMODA location, recently flew to see Chihuly’s Hotshop studio in Seattle. Our delegation was escorted by Keri Schroeder, Chihuly Studio’s Director of Acquisitions and Commissions. Keri visited WMODA in Hollywood last December and was impressed with the Chihuly collection that Arthur has collected over the last 15 years with the help of Arron Rimpley, one of his closest advisors. Thanks to the Wiener family’s generous gifts to WMODA, his collection can now be enjoyed by the public.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

The WMODA Lake Worth team assembled at Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle Center’s permanent exhibition of Chihuly’s work, for Keri’s first tour on Sunday. I first visited this spectacular exhibition during my trip to the Pacific Northwest for the 2022 Glass Art Society Conference. While there, I followed in Chihuly’s footsteps in Tacoma, WA, where he grew up, and wrote about the museum collections that I visited. (See link at the end of the article).

 

Keri’s personalized tour provided many insights into the amazing installations and Chihuly’s art practice. Arthur was captivated by the 20-foot-tall Tower in the Sealife Room. Like Chihuly, Arthur loves the ocean and enjoyed all the underwater creatures featured. Ariana, Arthur’s daughter, fell in love with the Mille Fiori, a garden-like installation with its explosions of color and organic forms. Chihuly’s love of nature is rooted in fond memories of his mother’s flower garden, with colorful rhododendrons and azaleas bursting into bloom. He often presents groupings of his Macchia forms on metal stands to evoke a forest. We have endeavored to capture some of that spirit in our Macchia Garden at WMODA.

Keri’s tour also included a look at the artist’s Baskets series. Chihuly was inspired by the slumped, sagging baskets made by Native Americans, which he became aware of in the mid-1970s. His experimental Baskets series marked his breakthrough in realizing the organic, asymmetrical potential of the glassmaking process. Chihuly used molten glass, fire, gravity, centrifugal force, and human breath to create his first Baskets in earthy tones. Later, he introduced vivid colors, as well as glass thread patterns inspired by Navajo and Pendleton trade blankets.

Artist Bruce Helander, a former Provost of the Rhode Island School of Design, where Chihuly taught for a decade, was on hand to provide background about Chihuly’s early career and inspiration. The two artists have been friends since their early RISD days, and Bruce has written a book about Chihuly’s diverse collecting interests. An Artist Collects discusses his interest in collecting everything from ceramic dogs to carnival masks to plastic radios—collections we enjoyed throughout our visit.

One of the highlights of the tour at Chihuly Garden and Glass was the Glasshouse designed by Chihuly. From a young age, he has always been in awe of 19th-century glasshouses. Within the glass house, he created a giant, suspended sculpture measuring 100 feet by 25 feet featuring Persian forms in orange, red and yellow for this vast, light-filled space.

The Boathouse

The next day, we had the opportunity to watch a Persian form being made at the Boathouse, Chihuly’s private working studio and hot shop since 1990. The historic building on the shores of Lake Union is not open to the public and is reserved for private events, including gatherings for organizations affiliated with the Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation. It was a privilege for us to witness Chihuly’s team of glassblowers producing iconic works for exhibitions and commissions around the world. Ken Evans, our WMODA board president, captured some great photos and videos of the demonstration.

We were mesmerized by glassblower Jason Christian’s skills as he created a Persian, a form that Chihuly uses primarily in wall and ceiling installations. Jason will be coming to Florida in February to demonstrate glassblowing at the Benzaiten Center for Creative Arts in Lake Worth Beach. JoAnne Berkow, Benzaiten’s President and Founder, is a great supporter of the WMODA LWB project and joined us for our Chihuly experience.

We were blown away by all the Chihuly Chandeliers and Clear Cylinders set against panoramic views of Lake Union and the Seattle skyline in the studio’s Evelyn Room. The Boathouse was originally Chihuly’s home as well as his studio, and it showcases iconic pieces from his various bodies of work, alongside his personal collections of unique objects. He is an avid collector and finds beauty and inspiration in everyday objects. We were intrigued to see Chihuly’s vintage kitchen and displays of children’s books in the bathrooms. The juxtaposition of papier mâché carnival masks alongside Chihuly’s Chandeliers exemplifies his eclectic design aesthetic. Not surprisingly, his wife and Chihuly Studio President and CEO, Leslie Jackson Chihuly, describes the Boathouse as Chihuly’s soul in a building.

After lunch, we met with Chihuly at his private office and Arthur introduced WMODA and his legacy museum project in Lake Worth Beach. It was an incredible experience in Seattle and we are very grateful to the Chihuly Studio team for their gracious hospitality.

Discover more about  Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle

Chihulygardenandglass.com

In Chihulys footsteps | Wiener Museum

Hear Leslie Jackson Chihuly speak about the Boathouse on YouTube.