Inspiration Saturday: Chihuly in the Garden

Last weekend I went on a whirlwind mini-trip to Phoenix, and in three days I took over 900 photos.  Whoa.

Many, if not most, of those photos were taken at the headlining event of the weekend, Chihuly in the Garden.  It was the initial spark that drew us to Phoenix, taking (and deserving) half of Saturday's schedule.  We arrived in the afternoon, took a full turn around the garden in the sunlight, then ate at Gertrude's, the on-site restaurant, and then saw the same exhibit lit up in the dark of night.

I enjoyed the entire trip, but certainly seeing Chihuly made the travel and use of vacation days from work worth it.  Separately, both the botanical garden and the pieces of glass would be beautiful, but together they are quite stunning.  It's no wonder I took so many photos, because every time I took a step there was something else to see, or at least a new angle to view it from.

Here are some highlights from the sunlight:

Then I enjoyed a salmon salad while the sun went down and what felt like a whole new exhibit lit up.  Navigating the paths in the dark made it a little more challenging for me and my camera, but we both still did pretty well, I think:

Amazing, isn't it?  I love the way the art interacts with the plants and the desert landscape, which already feels a little alien.  Some of the pieces look like they could be cacti, and some cacti look like they could have been crafted from glass.  And each of the pieces are so intricate, so complex, throughout the exhibit I was overhearing people wondering how they were constructed, and being tricked into thinking that the light was coming from them rather than just reflecting.

So even a week later, this is what's inspiring me, and I hope you as well.  If you ever get a chance to see Chihuly in person, I can only recommend that you go and bring spare batteries and memory for your camera, because I needed both.

For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.