[STUDENT NAME]
Professor Christie Rinck
HUM 1020
26 July 2015
Final Creative Art Project: Proposal
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor who was born September 20, 1941 in
Tacoma, Washington. He is considered the most influential artist in glass blowing, and says his
inspirations come from many different places including architecture and nature. His biggest
artistic influences include Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Van Gogh, and Frank Lloyd Wright
(Burgard, 2008). His work is featured in more than 200 museum collections around the world.
Dale Chihuly’s artwork in interesting to me because of its uniqueness- there are many artists who
use paints or chalks, but few who blow glass. I have seen a few local artists create glass
sculptures growing up, in flea markets or malls, but in my there is no artist who compares to
Chihuly.
Chihuly studied interior design at the University of Washington and received a M.S. in
sculpture from the University of Wisconsin (Yood, 2015). He received an M.F.A. in ceramics
from the Rhode Island School of Design, and soon traveled to Italy and worked in a
distinguished glassblowing workshop in Murano. When he returned to the United States in 1969,
he created the Rhode Island School of Design glassblowing program and established the
Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle (Yood, 2015). In 1976, Chihuly was in a car accident that left
him blind in one eye, which greatly hurt his depth perception. From this point forward, he relied
on assistant glassblowers to execute his designs. His vibrantly colored, unique glass creations
were immediately distinguishable in his many series, such as Blankets, Seaforms, and
Chandeliers. Dale Chihuly first blew a bubble into stained glass inside of his basement, almost
four decades ago. He has loved glass since he was a young boy, and since that first moment in
his basement, he has spent his life looking for new and creative ways to blow glass into many
unique forms.
Chihuly once said “I don’t think much about the past. I think more about the future. I
prefer to be thinking about what I want to be doing tomorrow (Burgard, 2008).” I really admire
his optimistic attitude, and it is another reason that I would like for my final project to use David
Chihuly’s artwork as a starting point.
For my final project, I would like to create a few pieces of artwork similar to Chihuly’s
Macchia collection.
Derived from Latin,
the Italian word
“macchia” means
stain or spot.
However, the choice
of title for this
selection moves
beyond the literal meaning and attempts to emphasize spontaneity and the relationship between
artist and nature (Hobbs, 1993).
I will be attempting to create similar pieces using overhead transparencies, permanent
markers, a heat gun, and some sort of shape to mold around. Instead of blowing glass, I will
essentially be sculpting with melted plastic. I will also like to attempt different pattern schemes
than Chihuly often uses to capture his uniqueness as an artist. First, I will be cutting the
transparencies into different sizes and organic shapes and then color them in with permanent
marker in different hues. Then I will place them over a mold, likely a ceramic pot, and heat them
into different shapes. Since I have never tried this technique or anything like it before, I am sure
it will take me many tries to create something that satisfies me. Once I am happy with all of my
pieces, I may fixate them to a stationary board as a permanent holding place for them. I am not
sure how long this project will take me to complete, but I estimate it will take me a total of 5-7
days to accomplish it. A social angle that relates to this style of artwork is body and mind.
Glassblowing is a modern abstract art that comes from the imagination. Without the endless
creativity of the human mind, Dale Chihuly’s art would cease to exist.
Timeline Detail:
Gather materials—2 hours
Cut the transparencies into different sizes and organic shapes and then color them in with
permanent marker in different hues.—6 hours
Place them over a mold, likely a ceramic pot, and heat them into different shapes.—6
hours
Affix the pieces to a stationary board as a permanent holding place for them.—6 hours
Total project will span 5-7 days depending on how many times I mess up
Works Cited
Burgard, Timothy. “Chihuly the Artist: Breathing Life into Glass | Chihuly.” Chihuly the Artist:
Breathing Life into Glass | Chihuly. 2008. Web. 27 July 2015.
Hobbs, Robert. “Reflections on Chihuly’s Macchia | Chihuly.” Reflections on Chihuly’s Macchia
| Chihuly. 1993. Web. 27 July 2015. <http://www.chihuly.com/reflections-chihuly’smacchia>.
Yood, James. “Dale Chihuly | Biography – American Artist.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 27 July 2015.
