Friday, December 9, 2016

McKenna Walter - Art Inspired Picture

Whenever I visit Frederik Meijer Gardens, I am inspired by the atmosphere. The whole place showcases the beauty of God’s creation, and what his creation (people) creates! I feel like I’m in a different world when I walk around Frederik Meijer. As Melody says, it’s magical. I love seeing the unique sculptures, the lush gardens, and this time of year, all the Christmas trees!
But for years, my favorite things to see at Frederik Meijer gardens have been Dale Chihuly’s blown glass sculptures. I remember how excited my grandma was to show me the sculptures when they were first installed in the gardens. I have always been fascinated by the process of making blown glass sculptures. Chihuly uses cold air, torches, and other tools to bend, pull, twist, and shape his glass exactly how he wants. His pieces are so bright, colorful, whimsical, and appealing to the eye. Some of them almost look like they’re alive and flowing.


Chihuly once said, “Glass itself is so much like water. If you let it go on its own, it almost ends up looking like something that came from the sea” (http://www.chihuly.com/learn).  The particular Chihuly piece I took a picture of for this project is some gorgeous flowers. What Chihuly said was true, the flowers shown here look like they came from the ocean. I don’t know if sea flowers exist, but if they did, they would look exactly the way Chihuly’s flowers do. These flowers are actually a small portion of a much larger, rainbow-colored piece. I took a picture of the green, blue, and purple area because it especially reminded me of water. I really liked how vibrant and playful the piece is. It makes me think that Chihuly lets his imagination go when he creates his art.
Being inspired by the water-ish look of Chihuly’s glass, I thought, what better to take a picture of than actual water? I tried to capture the same playfulness of the flowers in my water picture. I think that the lively waterfall in the picture I took actually resembles glass, just as Chihuly’s glass sometimes looks like water. It also made me happy that I managed to get some green in the background of my picture, like the green of the glass flowers.

Dale Chihuly’s sculptures inspire me every time I see them. They definitely contribute to the “magical” atmosphere of Frederik Meijer gardens. I really enjoyed taking pictures inspired by them. 


ISO 3200  //  Shutter speed 1/125  //  F5

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