Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Chihuly, Seattle, and Susan

Susan and me in the Persian Room
I took the Bolt Bus yesterday to Seattle, a pretty darn wonderful way to get there. The bus stops right at the Light Rail station, so I could simply hop on and in minutes arrive downtown at the hotel where Susan and her husband are staying. She and I decided first to have coffee and plan our day.
Hearts and flowers
Susan was my stepdaughter many, many moons ago, and although it had been more than a quarter of a century since we last saw each other, it was an emotional and very satisfying reunion. You know how some people might change a little by the passage of time but are still exactly who they were back then? That's the way it felt. Some catching up, some tears and laughter, but we picked up right where we left off.
Detail of the ceiling in the Persian Room
We headed off to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, something we both wanted very much to see. One of my blogging friends, Linda Letters, has shown an incredible number of pictures of this glass museum, and I definitely had it on my list of places I simply had to visit in Seattle. There are several different rooms, along with an outdoor garden.
In the Milli Fiori Room
It's almost impossible to describe the magnificence of his work. The glass is, I know intellectually, not actually waving in the breeze and flowing anywhere at all,  but it sure feels like it is. There is incredible movement in his art, as you can see above. But my favorite room of all is the Sealife Room. Piece after piece captured my eye and my heart. This tiny little sea urchin in the midst of all this blue is just a little piece of an enormous sculpture.
One sea urchin among many
I loved the detail and the colors that kept catching my eye and making me gasp in astonishment. Another incredible room is the Chandelier Room. Although my pictures couldn't begin to capture the size and beauty of them, the bottom of this chandelier shows the delicacy of his work.
Glass droplets
It is not my intention to post all the pictures that I took, because although they are wonderful to look at, my intention is really to encourage anyone who has a chance to see Dale Chihuly's art to do so. After we left the museum and the garden, the rain had stopped, and we went up in the Space Needle, although there was not much to see through the fog. It was still a nice treat to be with Susan. After spending a few hours at the hotel with her and Greg, we went back to where the Bolt Bus was waiting to take me back to Bellingham.
Thanks for the great picture, Greg
They both came with me to the bus and, since we had a few minutes, we wandered over to Uwajimaya, which is a huge Asian market filled with amazing things. And then it was time to go, a delightful day having come to an end. It was wonderful and magical, and this beautiful woman is not only a part of my past, but of my future, too. I love you, Susan.
:-)

26 comments:

  1. so very awesome. this grew my heart. :)

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  2. You have made my eyes leak. I am so happy you have reconnected with Susan (lucky lady that she is). And Chihuly glass is AMAZING.

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  3. Aw, sounds like a grand day. Wonderful reunion. So glad it went well.

    Side note: I skipped the Chihuly exhibit while in Seattle. Probably shouldn't have, but I had seen his work when placed in the Dallas Botanic Gardens. I didn't like or perhaps appreciate them in the beauty of nature. Seeing them as you have shown here makes me think I might like the work better in its own environment. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to see that.

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  4. What a wonderful reunion!!! I am thrilled for you! I hope you plan to keep in touch...that museum is fantastic...thanks for taking me along:)

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  5. That would be a super day. the glass art it awesome.There is certainly apprehension when it comes to reunions like this. It sounds like this one really clicked.

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  6. that is some pretty cool glasswork...and cool to get back together...and know too that you can share the future with a bit of intention...

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  7. Lovely glass, lovely day. Glad you reconnected with Susan.

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  8. I'm so glad you had a great day! I knew you would love the glass, and of course you were able to re-establish that loving relationship. That's who you are!

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  9. How wonderful to reconnect with family. I enjoyed the day with you, DJan. Splendid colorful glass, too.

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  10. How wonderful to reconnect with someone special! My hairdresser was in Seattle last week and she saw the Chihuly exhibit too.

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  11. What a lovely day you had, a fabulous reunion and those glassworks are amazing! I would be happy with more photos of them!

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  12. Sweet memories of days past...and even sweeter memories for the upcoming future. Loved reading this, I felt I was there with your happy time.

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  13. How wonderful that you're still friends after years apart, emotional upheavals, etc! I know it's impossible, but I almost see a "family resemblance"! Two great smiles.
    The museum photos just blow me away. What colors! (And you know how I love colors...)

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  14. Wonderful to re-unite with the past and what a wonderful way to spend the day together. Susan is beautiful and has such a wonderful smile. Glassworks are simply amazing and pretty darn nice day too, eh :)

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  15. A fun day to enjoy. I caught Chihuly on a side bar of Reds blog and had to see what you had. I am always amazed at his work. My first time I thought I might get a piece perhaps and was unaware of the thousands one needs.

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  16. I remember when Linda did her post on his glass sculpture. Just amazing.
    What a cute picture of the two of you and I hope you keep each other close in the future. You have a shared history. .

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  17. This was a beautiful post and I enjoyed read it so much. Stay well.

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  18. Gorgeous glass!! Love the picture of the two of you together.

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  19. Beautiful re-connection with Susan.
    I hope that you have many many more with her.
    That is a lovely photo that Greg took of the two of you.
    Hugs and love,
    Jackie

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  20. Little pieces of my heart have leaked down my cheeks! What a wonderful reunion!! I was hoping it would be just that marvelous for you both!!

    I saw a special on this glass artist on PBS. His work is amazing! Seeing it in person must be quite the experience.

    Just so happy for you...I was just sitting here thinking about it and daydreaming with a smile on my face. Got to get moving! Glad you are going to keep in touch with her. :):)

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  21. DJan, I love Chihuly exhibits, and your photos are beautiful. There is one in the museum in Columbus, GA where we used to live.

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  22. Hooray, so glad your reunion was as wonderful as you'd hoped and that you intend to stay in one another's lives. I've only ever seen one Chihuly at a time. I'm very taken with this exhibit. The strong milli fiori colors really jump off the page, er, screen!

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  23. Awww... DJan. You are beautiful together. I can see the love. The last time we went to Seattle, we stopped at the Chihuly Museum but it was closed. We were really disappointed. This time, we'll make sure we go at the right time and see it!

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  24. So glad it was a good visit for you. The pictures are spectacular. I do need to visit there next time I'm in Seattle. Maybe I'll come a day early for next October's gathering.

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  25. You sure know how to evoke happy tears. How wonderful that you reunited with Susan. Some connections just never die no matter how much time has passed. It looks like you two had a lovely day in an amazing place. That art is just beautiful and you captured it magnificently.

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