Glass — That’s Hot! (11/19/25)

Ever since Bob and I saw Dale Chihuly’s incredible glass work on the ceiling of the lobby at the Bellaggio Hotel and Casino inLasVegas, we have been interested in his work and in glass blowing in general. We were excited to discover the “Blown Away” competition show on Netflix and have watched all of those episodes. We knew when we saw that St. Pete had a Chihuly collection that we would have to see it.

The ticket to the collection ($22) gets you entry to their collection of Chihuly’s work as well as a glass blowing demonstration in the Morean Art Center glass studio. We went today and began our visit at the glass studio.

Dan Alexander made two pieces of glasswork while another artist discussed what he was doing. It’s crazy what fire, sand, human breath, and manipulation of hot glass can create.

The first photos show Dan working on a glass swan.

The swan took about 5 minutes to make. He then created a platter.

Back at the Chihuly Collection, we learned that Dale Chihuly studied glassblowing at the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!) after getting his degree in interior design and architecture from the University of Washington. He also worked at the Venini glass factory on the island of Murano, Italy.

At the end of the collection, they showed a number of short films about his work, much of which resides in conservatories or other natural environments.