Monday Fun

We started Monday with a trip down to St. Petersburg which is at the south end of Pinellas County.  We wanted to visit the Dale Chihuly Collection of art glass, and we were not disappointed with what we saw.

Dale Chihuly's early works were interesting and beautiful, but rather conventional.  Below is a view of one of his early (think 1950's) vases.

An early work by Chihuly.

He certainly has expanded his scope of works since that time, getting into organic designs and outrageous colors.  Some of his work is exhibited in nature, and many people know him for his very large "chandeliers" which do not contain one light bulb!  The lights actually are focused on the art which gives them their spectacular appearance. (The Weidner Center in Green Bay has one that cost a cool quarter of a million dollars.)

This chandelier is approximately 10 feet long.

Another chandelier made of "leftover"
colored pieces used in other chandeliers.

The art in the Chihuly Collection is all displayed on black plexiglass, and the results are stunning.  We could not get the true glory of the chandeliers, but I did capture some of the glimmer in a reflection from the bottom of the red work.

Reflected off of black plexiglass, the red
chandelier looks like an exploding star.

We watched a movie on Chihuly's work before we went into the exhibit, and that helped us understand how his work has evolved.  At age 71, he no longer blows the glass himself.  Instead, he makes the "sketches" of what he wants designed, and then he directs master glass blowers from all over the world to bring his visions into existence.

This work takes up a whole room and towers over people's heads.

A close-up of part of the work above.

HIs work is incredible.

He works with every color in the rainbow, and his works are worth seeing if you are ever in St. Petersburg or in Seattle, Washington.

This studio work is for sale-- prices range
from $5,000 - $10,000 for one piece.

No one said he was normal...

I would love this "sketch" for a glass
piece, but I don't have $2525 to spend on it!

After the Collection, we walked across the street into a waterfront park.  We sat on a park bench in the shade and ate our packed picnic lunch.  While we were eating, a tour group went past us and told us that a manatee was near the seawall a short walk away.  After lunch, we strolled down to watch the giant, gentle manatee play in the water for a while.

This manatee was probably 6 - 8 feet long and
probably weighed 300 - 400 pounds.

From that point we went to the Florida Orange Grove Winery.  Wine from oranges?  Yes, and from bananas, mangos, blueberries, strawberries, limes, and several other fruits.  Rick and I like their "Hurricane 5" wine which is a mixture of five different fruits.  They make both sweet and dry wines as well as smoothie mixes.  The winery just took out a patent on wine sippy-packs so that people can take (smuggle?) a single serving packet of wine into places where bottles are restricted (like movies or beaches).  Although Rick and Bonnie both tried some wines, we did not buy anything to carry home with us.  Rick and I will probably return in the fall to buy a few bottles for next winter.

We ended the day by driving down to Fort DeSoto Beach.  The beach was wonderful, but we were too late to stay too long, so we just quickly toured an old Fort on the beach, and then we headed for home.

The day was full of delightful discoveries and outstanding treats, both from artists and from nature.  It was a full day, but I hope that Bonnie enjoyed the day as much as I did.

Bonnie left this morning (Tuesday).  After we took her to the airport, we ate a quick lunch at Steak 'N Shake and then travelled to Knit and Knibble, a yarn/weaving shop where we bought some shuttles that will work with our table loom.  From there, we traveled to the Container Store to get a belt hanger for Rick and a magnetic towel rack for the laundry room.

We had a good time with Bonnie.  She is a wonderful house guest and a great friend. I hope that she found Gladys inviting, and that she will remember her time here with fond memories.