Sunday October 27 was the last day of the Chihuly exhibition of glass sculptures at Kew Gardens. I had been waiting to see this and the weather deities granted a beautiful sunny day. The sculptures are dotted about through the gardens with several in the Temperate house. The first one greeted us at the Victoria Gate: The Sapphire Star.

From there we went on to the Temperate House.

Inside there were many amazing glass creations. Some of them looked like they were live creatures moving among the plants.
I want my work to appear like it came from nature, so that if someone found it on a beach or in the forest, they might think it belonged there.
Dale Chihuly


A central glass sculpture was dominant.

Take a closer look at the detail of the flowers.

Outside there were other glass sculptures dotted about in different areas. Here are The Paintbrushes backed by the changing seasons of the leaves.

Below is the Summer Sun reflected in the pond in front of the Palm House.

Take a closer look at that red and yellow “sun”.

Each one of those rods of glass has been individually created and then inserted carefully to create this sculpture.
One of the last areas we visited was the Japanese garden and the Niijima Floats. Each of the glass balls was different and interestingly detailed.

I think it comes from the fact that we don’t use a lot of tools, but natural elements to make the glass—fire, gravity, centrifugal force. As a result, it begins to look like it was made by nature.
Dale Chihuly
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