The Glass Garden

For the past several days, I have been visiting my son and daughter-in-law in Pittsburgh. Each year, my husband runs a week long workshop for teachers, so I have a week to fill. It has become a sort of tradition that I go to Pittsburgh! While I am at my son’s, I have started another tradition—I spend part of the time trimming the bushes around their house. Call me weird, but I really enjoy clipping back overgrown yew and arbor vitae.



The one evening I was there, they suggested that we all go to the Phipps Conservatory. We have visited there before, but around Christmas time, so the extent of the display was partly limited by the cold weather outside. The Phipps is a local treasure, and it seemingly always has people visiting. Back in February, Julie Z wrote about her visit to the Phipps in the dead of winter.

Our visit was prompted by an unusual display at the Phipps—Dale Chihuly, glass artist extraordinaire, has an exhibit there. I was first introduced to Chihuly’s work by my favorite aunt who showed me and my daughter, during a visit to her, a video of Chihuly at work.

While the glass garden exhibit is open all day at the Phipps, there is a special emphasis at night, called, appropriately, Chihuly Nights. The works take on an other-worldly quality at night as the lighting makes them glow. The glass creations are placed all through the plants that are permanently living at the Phipps, with each room featuring shapes and colors to complement the living plants.

Shapes are organic, and the arrays quite stunning. Words fail, so I will let the photos do the talking.