In the Glass Garden: Part II

In the previous post, Pipkin and Domo explored inside the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum, the last stop on their trip to Seattle, WA.

There was more to see than they realized, and though they had arrived at the museum in the day, the sun was setting quickly and twilight was fading to dusk, so they made their way to the Glasshouse, a 40 foot tall conservatory housing a 100 foot long sculpture, one of Chihuly's largest suspended works.

Individual pieces create a red, orange and yellow helix across the sunset filled room.

Next, they made their way outside to the Garden.

Here's a view of the Glasshouse from outside in the garden. Nestled in amongst the greenery and colorful Glasshouse, it's refreshing to see some black and white sculptures.

The best part about visiting the garden during sunset is watching its mood change. As twilight fades, some sculptures seem to go to sleep, while as the night deepens, other sculptures awaken.

Lit from the ground, these Flori come alive and snake towards a shooting star.

This bright, spindly Crystal Tower seems still in daylight, but challenges the Space Needle in a race to the stars at night.

Labbits are not strangers to the night. Being small, Pipkin carefully hopped through the sleeping plants and flowers to get a closer look at this blue, tentacled Flori.

He imagined a displaced Giant Pacific Octopus escaping from the Seattle Aquarium and hiding out in the Chihuly Garden.

It's not so crazy an idea! Octopus are highly intelligent creatures, and they can sneak in and out of the tightest spots! Pipkin hopes they don't make it onto land anytime soon.

(Domo, for one, welcomes the multi-armed overlords of the sea.)

When dusk gives way to nightfall, you won't find Chihuly's enormous Sun sculpture going to bed.

It shines its bright light throughout the evening for the visitors to enjoy.

When else do you get to see the Sun and moon together?

Along the Chandelier Walkway, glass chandeliers in every color of the rainbow cast eerie shadows on the museum wall. It's a cue for the creatures of the dark to come out and play, and for little labbits to head back to the warren.

Pipkin and Domo thank you for coming along on their trip to Seattle. While they fly on the red eye from The Emerald City back to the Green Mountain State, they hope you'll browse back through their posts about Seattle and that you'll continue to visit this blog as they embark on their next adventure!

In The Glass Garden: Part I

Blowing bubbles is a lot easier than blowing glass

The last item on Pipkin and Domo's Seattle itinerary is Chihuly Garden and Glass, the largest museum showcasing the work of American glassblower (and Seattleite) Dale Chihuly. The museum is new to Seattle, having opened in May 2012 at the Seattle Center, and it exhibits Chihuly's work both indoors and out. Keep this in mind, as it is a treat to visit this museum at sunset so you can see details in the work in daylight, but catch the dazzling reflections as the glass is lit at night.  Inside the museum it is quite dark, so if you're losing daylight, head outside first, and then continue with the exhibits inside.

Pip and Domo headed to the museum straight from the Seattle Aquarium. There was still plenty of daylight left, so they began inside. The following pictures are only a small selection of the pictures Domo and Pipkin took. Chihuly is breathtaking, but if they showed you everything, you wouldn't have many surprises left. So, here are a dozen photos of some of the things they saw.

These first two are from The Persian Ceiling, a large installation of colorful blown glass shapes that are lit and displayed from above, casting a rainbow of shadows on its viewers.

Chihuly's Sealife is a giant tower of aqua colored waves, hiding various sea life such as starfish, anemone, and shellfish.

Before you start thinking Chihuly's vision is limited to bright colors and free forms, here is an example of one of his sea life glass sculptures in a more subdued palette.

Many of the indoor installations were exhibited on a black glassy surface that made the colors stand out. In this installation, Pipkin imagines these boats gliding silently through space, spreading planets across the universe.

Pipkin wanted to wander through the Flori but he worried he might get lost. If Alice's Wonderland was made of glass, this is what it might look like. This was Pipkin's favorite room.

Pipkin and Domo had never seen such large pieces of blown glass, much less so many pieces of large blown glass in a collection, and so many collections in a single museum...and they've only explored indoors! Some of the glass towers and chandeliers would make you feel very, very small.

Fire and Ice!

Pipkin imagines a giant, white Christmas tree

Domo couldn't contain his joy over being at the museum. In a moment when they found themselves alone in the chandalier room, Domo took the opportunity to do a little exuberant photobombing:

There are several other treasures to be seen inside the Chihuly Garden and Glass, but you should discover them on your own, in person. Stay tuned for the next post, where Pipkin and Domo make their way outside to see the Garden at sunset.

Labbit Travels: Seattle Aquarium

Pipkin and Domo had been holding off on going to the Seattle Aquarium while it was bright and sunny outside, figuring Seattle's infamous wet and cold days would be perfect for hiding inside a building. Well, Seattle still hasn't seen a rainy day, and it's almost time to return to the Green Mountain State, so off to the aquarium they went.

Where to go first?

A quick look at the map to plan their visit, and they were ready for the life aquatic!

DAAAAAARGH!!

The Seattle Aquarium has a simulated tidal pool tank, where seawater is pumped at certain intervals to mimic the tides coming into Puget Sound. Inside the tank, once the crashing waves settle, you see what kind of aquatic life survives being battered about in the waves.

O hai!

Apparently there's a lot of aquatic life that can take a wet thrashing. Labbits don't have such an easy time with waves, as their friend Masher McBuns can tell you.

Don't fall in!

Pipkin prefers calmer waters. The aquarium has shallow tanks where you can touch various starfish. Don't worry, their arms won't grab you. Unlike this beast:

She's got her eye on you!

Pipkin was NOT fond of the cephalopod exhibit. He'd had enough of Seattle's giant spiders, squid and troll. He wasn't too happy to learn that Seattle's coast is also home to the Giant Pacific Octopus, the largest octopus species. Domo scrambled on top of the tank to take a closer look at the female, kept in a separate tank from the male. Octopus are known to eat other octopus, so they are kept apart, although their tanks share the same water, and there's a "screen" in the tunnel's wall that allows them to smell one another. The female that Domo's looking at isn't nearly as big as the male in the next tank, who often hides his 14 ft tentacle span from visitors.

Domo finds it funny that they're kept apart and that they can be cannibalistic. Octopus have three hearts - yes, three! You'd think with six hearts in that tank, there would be a lot of love between those two.

Pip and Domo lined up against this wall chart to see how they measure up to a Sixgill Shark.

Pipkin's an inch taller than Domo when he stands up on his hind legs, but it's quite clear...

...they're only about the size of a tasty snack!

Now, remember what you just read about the Giant Pacific Octopus' tentacle span? 14 feet?

Take another look at that Sixgill Shark. It's about 12 feet from nose to tail. A Giant Pacific Octopus could give that shark quite the hug.

How about some pictures of the wonderful, less fearsome fish at the Seattle Aquarium?

It's amazing the variety of colors, patterns and shapes you see in the ocean. This blue polka dotted guy looks like he'd do better with larger pectoral fins.

This fish must be part of the punk scene.

This fish has big lips!

This one looks quite dramatic with its stripes and fan like fins.

This fish has quite the set of chompers.

The blue one above has quite the nose!

This yellow guy is called a Cowfish. He looks like he could use a bigger dorsal fin. 

Pipkin had no idea that labbits and seahorses share a fondness for grass.

Aquatic life isn't limited to creatures exclusively in the ocean. Some, like this fur seal (left) and harbor seal (right, on deck) can haul out onto land and waddle about.

This Tufted Puffin can swim (check out those webbed feet, they're like fins), waddl on land, fly in the air AND makes its nest under ground. Now that's a remarkable creature!

Pipkin and Domo checked their map to make sure they hadn't missed any exhibits, then walked their seemingly plain, mono colored furry selves back to Seattle Center for their last stop in Seattle.  Check back to see where they conclude their trip!

STEP AWAY FROM THE ART

From this picture you wouldn't think that Domo is in Seattle. Look at that perfectly blue sky! Not a cloud in sight. He and Pipkin have been very lucky this trip.

You also wouldn't think Domo is only 4" tall, because he appears to dominate the picture. But he is small in stature (but big of heart) and he's standing in front of a huge sculpture nestled in amongst Seattle's 9 acre outdoor Olympic Sculpture Park.

This is Wake, a large steel sculpture by Richard Serra. Domo and Pipkin liked the curved silhouette, the industrial material, the title, Wake, and its placement along the gravel waterfront path. Its undulating form suggests it is gliding by, but it is very quiet and still.

You can get great views of this sculpture by walking through the pieces, or standing far away and seeing it against the backdrop of the city or Puget Sound. But as close as you can walk amongst this sculpture, be careful not to touch it, or any of the other sculptures in the park.

All of the sculptures in the park are contemporary pieces of various outdoor-safe materials and many are tucked in amongst plants in the sculpture garden and along a tall, concrete wall. It seems like a serene walk in a garden until you get too close and a loud, disembodied voice booms overhead, "DO NOT TOUCH THE ART! STEP BACK FROM THE ART!"

Frankly, Pipkin and Domo were put off by the unseen, scolding voice. Why have a hardy, outdoor,  weatherproof sculpture park if you can't touch anything?

Above is Perre's Ventaglio III by Beverly Pepper, and if Pipkin could climb all over it he might make more sense of what a "Ventaglio" is. Sure is shiny, isn't it? If you can't engage more with the sculptures, you might as well stick them in a museum behind a velvet rope. 

Even the berries in the park are off limits, but that makes sense. You can't be too sure they aren't poisonous.

This large metal sculpture by Alexander Calder is called The Eagle, and like Serra's sculpture Wave, its placement in the park allows people in the park to walk all around it and the art has so much more presence in its space.

Pipkin and Domo made their way fairly quickly through the sculpture garden and headed to the bottom of the park where it met Myrtle Edwards Park and Puget Sound.

Being a very clear day in Seattle, they could see across the Sound and the southern peaks of the Olympic mountains.

It was also here in the park that Pipkin finally found a sculpture he could touch, these very cool eyeball seats! This one is entitled Eye Benches III (I and II are nearby) by Louise Bourgeois. Carved from Zimbabwean granite, its pupil seems to follow you around the park, but it won't glare at you for taking a seat.

If you're into contemporary sculptures that you can't touch, you may enjoy Olympic Sculpture Park. It's free, there's plenty of lawn space to stroll across or have a picnic on. Just don't touch the art...unless you want to get a rise out of the sculpture gods.

Here are some links to places in Seattle that Domo and Pipkin visited without the pretentious velvet rope attitude:

Susan Robb's Parking Squid in Seattle Center
Gloria Bornstein's Neototems Children's Garden in Seattle Center, by the Children's Museum
Gasworks Park, south end of Wallingford
The Fremont Troll, Fremont
Isamu Noguchi's Black Sun, Volunteer Park