CHAPTER 1 CHILDHOOD DAYS Since I was a little boy I always loved glass Dale Chihuly D ale Chihuly was born in 1941 in Tacoma Washington Things were very different in the 1940s and 1950s There were no computers no cell phones and no video games Televisions were in black and white with few stations and small screens But some things were the same Kids rode their bikes around the neighborhood and played games LEFT Clockwise from back left Viola Chihuly George S Chihuly George W Chihuly and Dale Chihuly Tacoma Washington c 1946 RIGHT Viola Chihuly and Dale Chihuly Tacoma Washington c 1983 4
W W Seymour Botanical Conservatory Tacoma Washington 2008 at home with their families When Dale was little his mother Viola said he sat on the floor for hours drawing happily with crayons She never suspected that he would grow up to be a famous artist One of Dale’s favorite outings was going with his mother to the W W Seymour Botanical Conservatory a glasshouse in Tacoma The two liked to roam through the rooms of exotic plants and lush displays of flowers Although their house was modest in size Dale’s mother surrounded it with a blossoming garden filled with hydrangeas rhododendrons and tulips At dusk on most evenings she would ring a bell the signal for her young sons Dale and his older brother George to come home Dale six years younger looked up to his popular athletic brother George often let Dale tag along with him Together with their mom the boys would climb the hill near their house to watch the sunset paint the sky pink yellow and orange Years later when Dale achieved fame for his vibrant glass artwork he talked about his mother’s love of color and how it influenced him I like to say I’ve never met a color I didn’t like On weekends the family would go to the beach on Puget Sound Dale searched for sea glass worn 5
into smooth frosted shapes by the ocean waves A special find was a glass float in blue green or white Floats that broke away from the fishing nets of Japanese trawlers drifted on the Pacific Ocean currents to the Washington beaches One day in a place far away from Tacoma these floats would inspire Dale’s art His father George Senior an organizer for the meatpackers union worked hard but the family was far from rich Even in elementary school Dale tried to help out by making his own spending money He and his friends played marbles during their lunch periods He became so expert that he always won knocking the others marbles right out of the ring Since the winner takes the loser’s marbles Dale walked home every afternoon with his pockets bulging bulging His mother sewed little bags which she filled with the multicolored glass balls and then tied them up with string At school the next day Dale sold the bags of marbles back to his friends Then they played all over again During summer vacation when Dale was eleven he had the bright idea to open a lawn mowing business business I went from house to house asking neighbors neighbors if they needed their grass cut Then I sent the other boys around to do the mowing Dale paid his friends but kept a small commission from each job for himself Dale’s childhood seemed idyllic walking to and from his neighborhood school playing with his big brother and going on excursions with his parents All that would soon change 7 TOP Dale Chihuly Tacoma Washington c 1951 ABOVE Japanese floats
