Glass in the garden – sculpture eclipsing the plants. Hordes of people months into the exhibition sold tickets in time slots to avoid overcrowding. The Desert Botanical Garden is displaying Dale Chihuly’s phenomenal glass works set amongst the desert plants. Chihuly is the maestro of of avant-garde glass art. Always fascinated with glasshouses he displays within botanical gardens as well as 200 museums world-wide. The following photographs were taken from late afternoon starting at the garden entrance until after dark and finishing at the garden entrance.
Which is your favorite?
Which Way Now 101 
We had the opportunity to see the exhibit last year when it was at the Dallas Arboritium…it was beautiful. You did a great job capturing it!
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Thank you Judy!
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Beautiful photos and a great exhibit. Love the cactus too.
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Thank you, Angie. Glad you liked it. 😀
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He is a creative genius and your photography is awesome. Loved the tour.
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Thanks so much. It was a spectacular exhibition.
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Great photos of an amazing artist’s work! You’ve reminded me that I have a series of photos from the Chihuly exhibit that was at the MFA-Boston a couple of years ago. I think I may have a look at them again and post them at TheRipestPics.com, my photography site.
It must have been heavenly to be outdoors and seeing Chihuly glass throughout gardens!!! I love the sunbursts you captured! Nice camera work!
Mary McAvoy
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Thanks so much Mary. I’m very flattered now I’ve had a look at your beautiful photographs. I’m now following you and look forward to your pics of Chihuly. They are incredibly photogenic!
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Oh wow! I came across Dale Chihuly on someone else’s blog a few months ago and was smitten. Your photos are fab and if you insist I choose a favourite it has to be no 3 – or maybe no 4 or whatabout no 8? No it is impossible. I shall have to start saving up now!
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Come back to Arizona and see it for yourself! It’s an astonishing display. A cheaper option? He’s exhibiting at http://www.halcyongallery.com/exhibitions in London until April 5.
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Damn! probably going to London at the end of April – I shall have to keep my eyes open for this chap. Are you living in Phoenix at the moment then?
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We are but possibly for not much longer. Or maybe forever. We can’t decide.
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😀 😀
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wow what incredible sculptures! i love art glass! sure couldn;t afford any of his works though!
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Wouldn’t you just love one of them in your yard? But as the bowl I photographed was only about 8″ across I think the sculptures would be out of my price range. Well, the little bowl too for that matter!
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Wow! What a spectacular exhibit and your pictures really capture its feeling. Too bad we couldn’t have seen it last year when we were circling around Phoenix. Ah well, thanks for taking us there. Next best thing I suppose.
Sue
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Thanks, Sue. Too many great things to see to fit them all in!
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These are beautiful, the first and last are very realistic, I love the blue and the purple and the yellow and the red – oops I think I love them all. And gorgeous in the evening.
Brenda
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It’s very hard to choose isn’t it but if Mr Chihuly wanted to donate one to me I’d put my mind to it!
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What a stunning exhibit in such a splendid setting…I was quite creeped out though by the snake-nest looking pieces. Great shots!
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They were all beautiful “in person.” But I take your point about the snakes!
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What a great tour of the Botanical Gardens. You have proven to me that I need to go there! Thank you for sharing your beautiful photographs! Please stop by and see my new blog…
http://twotrailsoneroad.wordpress.com/ I am posting a 19 day adventure and am only on day 5. I see you are in Phoenix… Check out some of my posts about areas in Arizona. You may want to check them out as well. I have enjoyed your blog and am staying tuned!!
~Nancy Two Trails One Road
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Thanks for the comment Nancy! Just had a look at your blog. Enjoy your tour!
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Oops, hit the button too soon. I was going to add that I love all his work and your images capture them wonderfully. 🙂
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Thanks so much. You are too kind. Although like with taking photographs in National Parks, it’s hard to take a bad one!
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I can seem to manage it quite often, given how many photos are sitting in my trash. 🙂
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Sometimes you have to weed out some good ones to leave room on your hard drive for the great ones!
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Great ones? Do you have some of those? What do they look like? I can’t seem to find any on my hard drive. 😉
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Of course there are! Your header photo for a start is gorgeous. And just in your last post I love the photo of the colorful stools and umbrellas, the butterflies are amazing and I wish I had taken a photo of that “which way” sign at the end. It would make a good cover photo for the book I write in my dotage!
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You are too kind! 🙂
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No, it’s true. 😀
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As soon as I read “glass in the garden” I knew you were speaking of Dale Chihuly’s work. I love the Desert Botanical Garden. It is particularly interesting to visit during the Christmas holiday season.
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I hadn’t realized until we got there (duh!) that he was the same artist we’d seen in Tacoma a few years ago. (Though in Carol years it seemed like last week.) Would love to see a Christmas exhibit!
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The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix has a fabulous Christmas celebration, with luminaries lining the paths, music ensembles sprinkled around the gardens and great food…very festive. 🙂
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Shouda gone! Thanks for the tip!
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I love Chihuly, they have some of his pieces in the museum here. But you landed the mother lode, thank you for sharing!!!!!!!
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It was stunning!
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Your photos are gorgeous but nothing like seeing them in person. I have been so lucky to see Chihuly in both Phoenix Botanical Gardens and Dallas Arboretum. Both truly beautiful and different. Thanks for the beautiful pics!
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Didn’t they suit the desert garden well? Would love to have seen the exhibit in Dallas. Thanks for your comment! 😀
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Interesting that you posted this. We were just outside the Chihuly Museum here in St. Petersburg, FL. The glass sculpture out front is amazing. The works you saw in the desert are perfectly placed and so pretty. Glad you added photos from the evening.
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Tickets were sold for morning, afternoon or evening slots. I definately wanted to see the exhibit after dark. Well worth it!
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Brilliant – love ’em all. Thanks for taking the time to photograph these beauties and share them.
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I thought they might appeal to you! Glad you enjoyed the pics!
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I really like that!
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Thank you. We did!
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Difficult to choose a favourite… but this is some artist.. and I love the night shots… I wonder how long it takes him to create one piece…
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Good question. There are loads of intricate pieces making up each sculpture. He exhibits all over the world. I imagine he has to go and erect each one.
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Wow, gorgeous and wild! I wonder how they transport those fragile glasses.
I first saw his work in Tacoma, in the museum of glass. I can’t choose a favorite they are all beautiful.
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Yes, we saw that museum too. He is from Tacoma. We wondered about the transport of the glass too. The pieces were huge and looked very fragile. They were all fantastic and even more fantastic after dark!
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That first (and last) one totally blew me away. I had to go back and enlarge it to make sure it wasn’t real. Chihuly is utterly AMAZING! Thanks for sharing these marvelous shots.
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Those “cactuses” have been there for a while so I wonder if they are permanent fixtures at the Desert Botanical Garden. Hope my photos held up when enlarged!
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Your photos were just fine! Great shots of a wonderful exhibit.
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Thanks so much!
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They are all just stunning!
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True dat! I want one in my garden. When I have a garden. And if I could afford it. Which I couldn’t.
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It’s good to dream.
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😉
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OH my goodness! I love this beyond what I can express… too hard to pick a favourite, though the second from top instantly stood out for me. Which is your favourite?
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I think I liked the wild orange and yellow curly bad hair day spherical one best but they were all spectacular. Dale Chihuly has exhibited at Kew and the V & A. Might the glass sculptures still be there?
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Do you live in the Valley?? I do! And everyone has been raving about this exhibit! I have to the Desert Botanical Gardens many times, mainly for the wonderful Monarch Butterfly exhibit. Great pictures! 🙂
Happy Travels,
Daisy
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We’re in Fountain Hills at the moment. Have you seen the exhibit? You MUST go! It’s there until May.
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AMAZEballs – WOW – loving your captures – thanks so much for sharing – BEAUTY!!! Happy Week:)
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Thank you. It was a stunning exhibition. There’s nothing quite like Chihuly glass.
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Reblogged this on MUSE-AHOLIC and commented:
Lovely
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… but I think the blue and purple ones look the best 🙂
It looks like they were lit up at night.
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They were lit at night and looked amazing after dark. I liked them all best!
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Some of those things look suspiciously like Triffids. The photos are great – I get the feeling that some of these creations would be at home in a ginormous aquarium. Wouldn’t fancy having them at home though – must be a bugger to dust 🙂
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You remember Triffids?! That book scared the crap out of me in high school.
Now that you mention it, some of them DO look like Triffids!!! Run!
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It was one of my favorite books ever. I get tired of pointing at aloe plants here in the south of France and telling people that they are triffids,and they just stare at me like I’m some kind of… alien. I tell them to run, and they don’t understand. Sigh.
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I should read it again. It’s been years and I wonder it will give me nightmares like it did the first time!
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They don’t have your vision or Imagination or silliness! Their loss.
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Shhhh. I think they can’t read. Or they use books as door stops. Or summit loike dat.
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Your Cornish coming out?
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Dusting? Must be your frame of mind today. Just keep them in the garden and let the rain clean them. Having said that, it hasn’t rained for 60 over days here!
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Absolutely gorgeous! Cher xo
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Thank you though I can’t take all the credit! lol Hats off to the artist, Dale Chihuly.
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Well done to Dale Chihuly as well! cher xo
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😉
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