Twenty- five Seven

A fragile beauty #Chihuly exhibition at # NYBG

June 7, 2017

Chihuly at the NYBG

The glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly currently exhibited at the New York Botanical Garden literally left me speechless. The fragile beauty of glass contrasting starkly with the verdant parkland will forever be imprinted on my mind.

It was a pleasant day, not too hot and a bit cloudy when we set off to NYC. The brilliant blue Sapphire Star at the start was just a taste of what was to come

Made of hundreds of sharp spires, it looked like a spiky ball!

Before we knew it , the Red Reeds on Logs (tall spears installed on logs from the Botanical Garden itself ) stood majestically before us!

An element of surprise ran through the entire exhibition.Imagine coming across a rustic boat with glass balls in a whimsical composition called The Boat Float anchored in the middle of an artificial pond?

Similarly, walking past the gorgeous peonies, we were dazzled and intrigued by the curly glass tendrils of the Sol De Citron outside the Haupt Conservatory .

Wasn’t this a wonderful teaser of the treasures inside? Here , amidst the exotic tropical plants are interspersed more installations like the White Belugas that seem to be natural blooms!

Or the mysterious Glass house Fiori .

What inspired them? What do they represent?

Smaller works

While the outdoor installations are dramatic and awe inspiring, so are Chihuly’s smaller works that are shown in the Ross Gallery & Hall.

A magnificent sculpture, The Blue Polyvitro Crystals, fashioned from a polyurethane resin heralds this part of the exhibition. It looks like ice cubes rising from the fountain!

Chihuly’s smaller works leave you marvelling at their breathtaking, ethereal beauty.

The artist

Dale Chihuly /tʃᵻˈhuːli/ (born September 20, 1941) is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur. His works are considered unique to the field of blown glass, “moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture.” [2] The technical difficulties of working with glass forms are considerable, yet Chihuly uses it as the primary medium for installations and environmental artwork.

He has had major exhibitions of his works worldwide and several of his sculptures are on permanent display .

Among many permanent exhibitions is one at Seattle, Washington so if you happen do be there, do drop in :

Chihuly Garden and Glass
305 Harrison Street
Seattle, WA 98109

http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/

He has also donated some of his works to Union Station at his hometown Tacoma, Washington.

Union Station End of the Day Chandelier and Monarch Window, Union Station, Tacoma, Washington

[Tweet “But for all of you in the New York City area , I would strongly recommend a visit to the Chihuly exhibition at the NYBG especially on a bright, sunny day. “]

Disclaimer : The images used in this post are all mine save the Union Station End of Day which is taken from the artists’ web site.

I
Diminishing Distances

June 2, 2017

There was a time when the world was flat. Or at least people thought the world was flat

Just fancy that!

Then soon they found the world was round

And travelled on foot , then went on wheels as carts and trains and cars.

They went by sea on boats and ships

And distances became smaller .

And now as I fly above the clouds

The distance becomes still smaller .

I wonder if a time will come when we can think ourselves in another place

And cross the distance

In a moment!
Coffee mornings & Afternoon tea #FridayReflections

June 1, 2017

Coffee in the

morning

At the Coffee Museum

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

If I’m asked this question before noon, the answer is always YES but come afternoon, and I like to have tea.

There are coffees and coffees like instant and filtered . Then there are lattes and cappuccinos and decaff and not .

http://www.latteartguide.com/2016/01/different-types-of-coffee.

But what I truly enjoy is a creamy hand whipped instant coffee, the way my mother used to make it .

I had my first cup of coffee way back in my teens when Mummy used to have her friends over for a coffee morning. I loved seeing her stir up the instant coffee with a teaspoon of sugar and a spot of water, stirring vigorously till the dark brown turned into a light mocha creamy mixture. Then she would pour over a boiling mix of milk and water to make it into a frothy, half inch thick,foamy, home made cappuccino.

That’s the kind of coffee I like .

But there was a time when our house was open to our Dutch business associates and the house would smell of freshly ground Philips Peaberry as it percolated just the way Erwin liked it – strong till it came up to his gills. He claimed he needed it to wake up but basically it was to clear his head of the Amaretto he had quaffed the night before.

And to make life simpler for me, I too would have a cup of strong black coffee.

Tea at Four

TerriC / Pixabay

Tea time was an afternoon ritual in my mother’s home. Sharp at 4, (after a short siesta) she would ask the maid to bring out a well laid tea tray. The pot of tea brewed under a tea cosy. Four teacups sitting prissily in matching saucers shared space with a bowl of biscuits, crisp and crunchy to dip into the tea.

Introduction to tea

I still remember my introduction to tea on a school trip to the Tea Board as an 8 year old . After a film showing how tea was grown we were told that to make a good pot of tea you needed to use one teaspoon of tea per person and one for the pot !

Which brings me to the question what is my poison?

Well quite obviously it’s both!

I’m linking up with Sanch and Corinne for #FridayReflections.