Glassy-Eyed

I overbooked myself for the weekend, but when the Husband called and said "Do you want to go to the Museum of Fine Arts this evening?", what could I do but say yes. This will mean a late night tonight, and a very early morning tomorrow, but since he doesn't often leave home voluntarily, I'm not about to say no.

What he is interested in is the Chihuly exhibit. I know Mr. Chihuly has some controversy surrounding his work, but I'm excited to see it, too. Let me tell you why. Way back in 2006, I went on a business trip with the Husband to Florida. My interest in gardening was at its peak back then, and for something to do while he was working, I decided to visit the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. When I got there, I didn't look at the paperwork they handed me, or the signs, I just walked off down the path. When I saw this, I thought it was a beautiful sculpture. I still didn't look at the brochure.

When I came around a curve to see this, I had to stop while my brain tried to figure out what I was seeing. Finally, I consulted the brochure, and saw that there was a glass exhibit going on. I was pretty sure that these spiky red things were glass, but I was not 100% sure.

The next curve revealed these "creatures", and I was finally convinced. It was definitely glass.

I started paying more careful attention, and found a lot of pieces tucked away in the jungle-like plants that I had not noticed at first. Some were very organic, and could be easily mistaken for botanicals. Some, like a giant pink ice cube sculpture (not my favorite, so no picture), seemed quite alien to the environment. 

The work inside the greenhouses seemed much more static, and therefore was not as exciting. I hope this is not what we will see at the MFA.

This is one of the pieces that, while quite organic in nature,  seemed alien in this environment. Still, it worked much better than the pink ice cubes.

It was interesting that the adults seemed much more excited about the sculptures than the kids who were there did. I finally realized that only the adults were seeing the pieces as something special. The kids seemed to view them as just something normal in the environment. Do you think that this could be because kids are more used to seeing the magic in the world, the magic that adults generally overlook?

These onions were very magical. They had an interesting way of throwing light around as they floated here and there.

I did wonder what this guy thought of it all.

And, what do you think this bird made of its unseasonal iceberg?

If you ever have a chance to see a Chihuly exhibit in a garden setting, I highly reccommend it. I hope the show we see inside the MFA does not disappoint. But if it does, there is still the African textile exhibit. And the Embroideries of Colonial Boston. And the Jewels, Gems, and Treasures exhibit, and, and, and.... 

Have a great weekend, Everybun!