Chihuly!

The MFA has a new Chihuly exhibit that is tons of fun.  I know very few artists by name, and this is one of them...and mainly known to me because of the fabulous ceiling he did at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but nonetheless, I was very excited to take the girls during the members-only preview of the exhibit.  Not only was it free because we are members, but we got to see it early.  And the best part about our membership is that I won it on an art scavenger hunt with Ben earlier this year.  So many great things about beautifully colorful blown glass.  Anyhow, a photographer would have a field day here.  

Entering the exhibit

This is the first piece.  No flash allowed, so the shots with the girls in front for perspective did not work.  This is about the size of an actual rowboat.

Too bad Julia slept through the exhibit.  She is usually staring at the ceiling and this would have tripped her out for sure.

And if you were looking for something funny, this maybe is not it.  Chihuly was in a car accident late in his career. He is apparently fine, but he lost an eye from the accident and he wears an eyepatch.  There was some info on this at the exhibit and I mentioned it to the girls, who then had a hundred questions.  In the museum shop at the end, there was an art kit with a picture of Chihuly on the cover.  He was dressed like a lumberjack and kneeling down with his eyepatch on.  Somehow, it struck me as funny, like some SNL skit and I laughed out loud.  Elliot asked me what I was laughing at and w/o thinking, I just said, "I am laughing at his eyepatch."  And then I heard what I said through the ears of the adult next to me, who looked at me like the most insensitive person in the world.  And maybe I am, but the look of the lumberjack pirate trying to sell me an art kit at the end of the exhibit was funny, until it registered that he was not in character and I just told my 4 year old it is okay to laugh at someone b/c they have an eyepatch.  Which then I tried to cover up by suggesting, within ear shot of the adult who heard me, that it must be very difficult to do this art with one eye and when we get home we should try some one-eyed art to have an appreciation for it.  Funny, later that day when I was unpacking boxes, I found an eyepatch in the medical kit and pulled it out for Elliot's art project.  She's been bugging Kassi ever since to be able to do some one-eyed painting.  I still love Chihuly, but if he ever reads this, he probably will not love me.