FW: FW: TAM: Chihuly Walking Tour outline?
One more Chihuly tour outline.
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Museum Educator and Docent Coordinator
hllamazares@TacomaArtMuseum.org
TACOMA ART MUSEUM
1701 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, Washington 98402
T: 253.272.4258 x3018
F: 253.627.1898
Become a Member Today!
From: Karen Bell-Hanson [mailto:bellhanson@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 5:29 PM
To: Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Subject: Re: FW: TAM: Chihuly Walking Tour outline?
I usually begin the tour in the hall by the elevator because it it is easier for hearing. I get to know a little about the group and what they know about Chihuly and try to hit the highlights of Chihuly history, although I don't use notes so it's a little different each time. It is also nice when the floats are in to begin with all that color. I also give a few stats about the building and the Richard Rhodes piece. I then do the cases from bottom to top. Highlights include our Venitians being among the largest pieces. Talk about the putti (I used to tell people I thought the putti were cast glass but I've found out I was wrong, sorry), flowers colors. I mention the series and how the they may continue or overlap and I get into the process of picking up the pictures from the maver table into the piece and the milk glass layer in the Maccia which separates the intense inner color from the outer spotted. I also include the story that Chihuly woke up one day and thought he wanted to use all 350 colors of glass in one piece and that there are now 380 colors. And the story that Chihuly was with a friend at the WA History Museum and looking into the storage place where the basket collection was kept and saw the baskets slumping with gravity and began to do this with his basket series.
I usually mention the three or four exhibitions and tell them they can return after the tour and spend some time in the galleries.
I too point out the oldest pieces and go to the cases upstairs like Penny.
I then go to the stairs and tell the group to look over the railing to see the intense colors in the inside of the baskets. Then I tell them there are three ways down and we will meet at the front door with coats and ID and go on to the Union Station. I either talk along the way or stop at the Larry Anderson Statue, depending on the size and ability of the group, and explain a little about the architecture of downtown needing approval from the rail road so we have an uniform look to downtown and I mention that the Union Station was design by the same people who did Grand Central in NY.
I point out the Larry Anderson statue like has been said but I also add that it just happens to be pointing up the hill to the neighborhood where Chihuly grew up. I think I do a similar thing at Union Station but I add a little about the restoration and that Chihuly spent a lot of time there as a child and would earn a little extra money running messages for people at the station. I also add a little about his painting process and the painted canvas shoes. How he likes to paint with his son on the deck of the boat house. I agree the pulling of the water reeds is intriguing to people and I also add a little description of the spinning process used to open up the pieces of monarch windows and how the lines are achieved by blowing into a mold. I vary whether I start the tour under the End of the Day or at the top of the stairs depending on whether I think members of the group need to sit. If I have a lot of senior citizens, I let them sit and give a brief spiel downstairs and give them the option of going up the stairs or up the padded elevator and walking around the balcony with me or resting downstairs and then joining the tour again as we leave.
After leaving the station stop on the way to point out the stairs that lead to the Swiss and talk about the pieces over the bar and I point out the way to the Library and ask if they would like to go to see the chandelier. That courtyard area is a nice, quite place to talk so when we go to the UW library I stop out front and give them the spiel about the piece so I don't need to talk when we are in the library.
I stop under the pavilion and talk about that, I too tell about the pool in his home and sometimes about the fish tank and often the people will mention the LasVegas piece. I try to talk about the cubes before we leave the shelter because it is really hard to hear out by the piece. We move to the other end of the bridge and I just give a quick overview of the Venicians and then allow them some time to look at those on their own. I end in the area just past the wall because their is a really good view of the museum and the Union Station Monarch window from there. I talk a little about the Museum of Glass and hot shop and say they can spend some more time on the bridge, go on to the MoG on their own or return with me to the museum. I remind them that their button allows them access to the Tacoma Art Museum for the rest of the day so they can go back and spend some time at the exhibits.
I think the personal stories that I've learned from Bonnie G., the boathouse tour and the videos are more interesting to people than the dates and details, and all but maybe that's just my excuse for not getting all the details.
This is good. It's nice to know what others are doing.
Karen
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares <HLlamazares@TacomaArtMuseum.org> wrote:
Another update to the Chihuly Walking Tours outlines – this one is from Margaret Upshaw.
Thanks for all of your input!
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Museum Educator and Docent Coordinator
TACOMA ART MUSEUM
1701 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, Washington 98402
T: 253.272.4258 x3018
F: 253.627.1898
Become a Member Today!
From: Margaret Upshaw [mailto:msupshaw@msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 5:59 PM
To: Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Subject: RE: TAM: Chihuly Walking Tour outline?
There is no way that anyone can add to this. It is wonderful.
I do differ in my tour beginning by taking the group to the cases at the
top of the ramp and asking them which pieces they would guess are the
earliest pieces of Chihuly. Usually people are not hesitant to answer and
most often they are right; then, we talk about how the piece differs from the others they see. The almost utilitarian shape is mentioned, the
lack of color etc., but here you can show the lip in a somewhat contrasting color and mention that it is dropped a bit below the mouth of the vessel and that the position will change. Visitors are pleased to make the initial distinctions and move from there to examine the differences in the various themes that Chihuly employs.
I like to talk about Chihuly's relationship with his mother, her love of flowers and of how her gardens may have contributed to Chihuly's love of color. There are some great anecdotes re his pleasure in color and I use them. People enjoy narrative.
And I also tell folks about the impact of art and education on the
area of Pacific Ave, the before and after-the refurbishing of Union
Station and the decision of the Univ. of WA to use the warehouses
as classrooms instead of building a new campus in some suburb. The vitality and attractiveness of this area is impressive and invariably
someone who knew and avoided the area in the past remarks on the
sensational change. An impressive plug for the arts.
Other than that Penny says it all and says it well.
Subject: FW: TAM: Chihuly Walking Tour outline?
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:48:02 -0700
From: HLlamazares@TacomaArtMuseum.org
Thanks to Penny for this Chihuly Walking Tour outline.
Of course, each person’s tour will be different and focus on different aspects of Dale Chihuly’s career and art – and that is fine. Always remember to read your audience! I usually ask the group how much they know about Dale Chihuly’s life and art so that I know what to focus on.
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Museum Educator and Docent Coordinator
TACOMA ART MUSEUM
1701 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, Washington 98402
T: 253.272.4258 x3018
F: 253.627.1898
Become a Member Today!
From: penny grellier [mailto:pgrellier@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 3:37 PM
To: Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Subject: Re: TAM: Chihuly Walking Tour outline?
Hi Heide:
Here is my tour outline/description (I carry general notes but wing it according to the type of group, time allotted, physical ability of visitors, etc.)...
Begin in the front lobby of TAM with brief introduction of myself as the docent, find out who the group members are, where from, what their familiarity is with Chihuly. Most of them have either seen the PBS shows or have been somewhere to see an installation.
Move slowly up the front cases, giving an introduction to the life and times of Dale Chihuly, his local connection and the TAM collection. I also touch on some basic themes of his work: light, colors, the teamwork involved in glassmaking, his inspirations, his "signature style", etc. I also talk about his injuires because someone usually asks about his eye patch and why he doesn't "do the work" anymore.
It may be at this time or, alternately, outside Union Station when looking at the reeds, that I describe the approach to glassmaking, including the images on our laminated set of pictures. Some folks who have not seen any Chihuly films are not at all familiar with technique. I limit the use of technical terms as I find people are more interested in the basics. For some reason the desciption of how the reeds at Union Station are made is particularly exciting for visitors and I usually get very animated at this point! Also I let folks know about the website with videos, images, information, etc. so they can view it at home or in the Resource Center after the tour.
At the front lobby cases, I point out the very early piece that has the faint checkerboard design ("if this was on display alone, would you recognize it as Chihuly?"), then talk about the baskets with the lip wraps (tell story of inspiration from Washington History Museum stacks of Native baskets), then a seaform set ("what does this remind you of in nature?"). I also include the macchia with "clouds" in my description of use of color and light passing through the pieces.
I then go up the ramp, talking about the Wave/floats if the floats are installed. I have them look at the three cases at the top of the ramp and elaborate on the ideas behind sets of pieces. I always end up talking about the technique of creating the spirals here (on the white and carmine set), likening it to taffy pulling and how the design starts out large and then is made smaller and finer by twisting and stretching. I also usually talk about how the ridges are created using a mold and spinning out the large, flat pieces.
I then take folks back down the stairs, picking up umbrellas if it looks threatening outside. This allows them a chance to grab their coats if they hung them in the coat closet.
As we move down the sidewalk along Pacific, I go slightly off subject by talking about the achitecture of TAM and its connections to/contrast with the downtown architecture. Visitors are usually happy to talk about this, I think; it helps them get to know Tacoma if they are from other areas. I also allude to secret Chihuly warehouses full of glass that are in the surrounding area. This is well-received! Sometimes I talk about the various glass programs at the local high schools and the many glassblowing shops around the immediate neighborhood.
As we move in front of Union Station, I stop and explain the fact that it was a train station and how the art inside relates to that fact. I always do my tours on Saturday so it is always closed. I have the visitors look through to each of the art groupings inside, and use images of the art from our laminated sheets and a book I have of Chihuly art. I have a photo of the old Big Blue chandelier and tell the story of it and the earthquake. This is where I give information about polyvitro, and remind them of it again when we get to the Crystal Towers.
I do let them kow that if they are in town on a weekday during business hours, it would be worth stopping in to see the work up close. I also give the back-story on the term "end of day" and how it relates to the current chandelier.
We then move into the courtyard of the history museum and towards the Bridge of Glass. I like to give the brief history of its construction to folks before we get onto the bridge as it gets noisy after that point. I have some numbers ready on my notes (height of towers, number of pieces on seaform pavilion, venetian wall, etc.). When we go under the Seaform area, I tell them about the putti, talk about the different types we can see (related back to our discussion in TAM), and discuss how the light is important whether artificial or daylight, also how it changes your perception at different times of day and night. I also tell them about the lap pool in Chihuly's home with a similar collection under glass in the floor, and the Bellagio installation is often remarked upon by those who've seen it. People always ask how much the ceiling installation is worth... I usually tell them they can compare with the prices of similar individual pieces they see at galleries or on the website.
Moving on to the Crystal Towers, again we talk about polyvitro, how the shapes are made with molds, arranged to create more variety, connections to local geographic features, and how they weather. Usually someone notices the cone at the Museum of Glass at this point, so I tell them a bit about the hotshop and recommend it as a great way to see glass being made.
Then we go to the Venetian Wall. I have them stand back for a full view, while I give some basics on Venentian glass, collaborations with famous Venetian artists, the addition of the lampwork. Then I have them choose a favorite piece and talk about it a bit. I have to mention the glass, temperature control and safety features of the wall because they always ask about the shattered glass in a couple of the cases.
Then we make our way over the road to the UW library. This is a long segment where you are not looking at any Chihuly so it helps to talk a bit about the revitalization of downtown Tacoma, the museums, the UW, and so on. Sometimes people are getting hungry so they ask about restaurants. I tell them about carrying on to the Swiss for one more Chihuly sighting and also about other places to eat nearby.
Once at the library I always let the person at the desk know we are from TAM and we are on the Chihuly tour and are heading to the chandelier. I give the group the option for stairs or elevator. Once in the study room, everyone usually sits down to rest and gaze at the sculpture. I talk a bit about the assembly of a chandelier and how the room is specially designed and lit at night to accomodate this one. The chandelier has a cobweb on it that has not been cleaned in at least 3 years so I tell them about how Team Chihuly has to come and clean or rearrange pieces on display in general.
Then it is off outside and I wrap it up in the courtyard in front of the library; people go to lunch or come back to TAM with me at that point. If they have TAM umbrellas I gather them up to take back. Then I say goodbye!
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares <HLlamazares@TacomaArtMuseum.org> wrote:
Some of you have who don’t do Chihuly Walking Tours very often have expressed that you are still not that comfortable doing them.
If you are comfortable with the Chihuly Walking Tours, please let me know if you would consider writing up a one-page tour outline of what information you cover, in what order, what specific glass pieces are highlighted, and anything else you do.
For example, do you start with the Ikebana or work chronologically within Tacoma Art Museum or go outside first?
I think this would be a very valuable tool for our other docents.
Thanks for your help!
Heide Fernandez-Llamazares
Museum Educator and Docent Coordinator
TACOMA ART MUSEUM
1701 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, Washington 98402
T: 253.272.4258 x3018
F: 253.627.1898
Become a Member Today!
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