Chiluly at Biltmore

 The year ends up with four final performances, two in Georgia and two in North Carolina.

Trish and I had a couple of days in between, so, we decided to stop over in Asheville to visit the Chihuly glass exhibit in residence now at the Biltmore Estate.

The photos of Dale Chihuly’s work can only give a hint of the wonder of color and shape that he creates.

At the beginning of the exhibit you see a number of different sets of individual pieces. These are called “soft cylinders” and all I did is want to touch them.  How can someone do this?

Then suddenly we entered the room where the entire ceiling is glass above which the work explodes in color and shape to make us feel like we were under the sea.  We could have spent hours picking out individual shapes in this part of the exhibit.

Next came the chandelier room.  Part of the wonder here is about how the these massive works are assembled once the individual components have been created, and, how did they transport them here from his workshop in Seattle without breaking everything.

When you think you can’t be surprised any more, you turn a corner into the garden room to meet a glass flower garden of spectacular proportion. 

The final room was a sublime display in subdued lighting of glass and wood.  What a calming finish. Pieces like this surround you and produce the only light in the room.

Layer in the day we will visit the Biltmore House itself to finish a splendid pre-Christmas adventure.