It’s important to have plans for special times in the future. We all need something to look forward to: a place we haven’t yet gone, new experiences to open our eyes and hearts, people we haven’t yet met. Some people keep a “bucket list.” One of the beautiful trips I have yet to make is fulfilling my dream of going to the Chelsea Flower Show, held each May since 1912 in London.
This year, the show will be May 23-27. Sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society to inspire the best in gardening, the show is held on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. If you can’t make it yet, you can do as I plan to do this year: watch the DVD of its first hundred years.
I know I’ll be there someday!
If you’re looking for a way to combine spending time outdoors in spring with enjoying the inspiration of stunning artwork, then you may want to head over to the New York Botanical Garden. From April 22nd through October 29th, the breathtaking work of Dale Chihuly will be on view. The photo above shows an installation of his work in the Atlanta Botanical Garden last year.
Chihuly is an American glass sculptor, considered unique in the field for moving glass into the realm of large scale sculpture. Three years in the planning stage, the Botanical Garden show features 20 installations as well as a display of his drawings at the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s Art Gallery.
He loves to go to the ocean and walk along the beach to find inspiration, something we have in common! “If you work with hot glass and its natural properties it begins to look like something that came from the sea,” he says. His work pairs beautifully with my beach house designs, as seen in the photo below. The magnificent blue glass pieces on the table are by Chihuly, intended to evoke the colors of the sea.
I collect Chihuly glass for myself, too. The beautiful Chihuly piece below is in a place of honor in my vestibule in my home in Connecticut.
Dale Chihuly has even had a rose named in his honor. As in his artwork, the colors of the rose are magnificent, with buds of pure yellow swirling open to a bright orange, with a finale of deep reds.
Don’t miss the Botanical Garden’s Chihuly Nights, when the installations are spectacularly illuminated. Maybe I’ll see you there!