Judy W, Catherine, Lorraine and I awoke at the crack of dawn for our exciting day at the New York Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly Exhibit with the Brick Garden Club. Our bus left from Brick. at 8:00 AM and arrived at the garden sometime after 10. We had some free time to visit the conservatory before our private tram tour at 11.
Dale Chihuly was born in 1941 in Tacoma Washington. He was one of the first glass artists to use glass as an art form, rather than for practical purposes. His early life was somewhat tragic……he lost his older brother in 1956 in a Navy Air Force training accident in Pensacola, Florida. Two years later, his father died of a heart attack at 52. When he graduated from high school in 1959, he wasn’t interested in continuing his formal education. But, at his mother’s urging, he began to study interior design at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1962 he dropped out of school to study art in Florence. He began glass blowing in 1965 and in 1967 he received a Master of Science degree in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He continued his studies in Italy….where he worked at the Venini Factory on the island of Murano. In 1976 he was involved in a head-on car accident which he flew through the windshield. He was blinded in his left eye. He continued to blow glass until he dislocated his right shoulder in a 1979 bodysurfing accident. No longer able to hold the glass blowing pipe, he hired others to do the work. To learn more he and his team of artists were the subjects of the documentary, Chihuly Over Venice. They were also featured in the documentary, Chihuly in the Hotshop, syndicated to public television stations.
Although his sculptures are amazing in any setting, to see them in the garden is just breathtaking. If you haven’t seen these beautiful sculptures, you can see some of them in the lobby of the Borgata.
After our beautiful day in the garden, we boarded our bus to go to historic Arthur Avenue in what is known as “The Bronx Little Italy”. We had a wonderful authentic Italian lunch at Mario’s. The bread alone could have been a meal! After lunch we visited the market and some bakeries for bread and pastries! A memorable day for sure.
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