Tuesday, January 04, 2022

Chihuly at the Desert Botanical Garden

Denis and I have made an effort to get out and about once a week to someplace enjoyable. Sometimes we're successful; sometimes we're not. Bathroom remodeling put the kibosh on a few weeks, and so did minor illnesses and the stray appointment. On the Wednesday before Christmas, we decided to go to one of our favorite places, the Desert Botanical Garden in the belief that people would be doing last minute Christmas shopping instead of wandering in a garden.
 
But the one thing I did not factor into my equation was the power of Dale Chihuly and his glass. As we walked toward the entrance to the garden, having obeyed the rules and made reservations ahead of time like the road sign and website told us to, we saw hordes of people at the ticket booths. So much for following directions.
 
Our enjoyment of the garden was diminished because it was 'way too people-y for us, but we just wore our masks the entire time and social distanced like crazy.
 
Before I start our tour of the garden, I'll let you in on a little secret. I know there are countless people who think Chihuly's the bee's knees (and if you're one of them, more power to you), but I've never cared for his art. It all looks the same to me. He seems to have two basic designs he uses in his exhibits at the Desert Botanical Garden, and if you don't like either of them, the whole thing is a yawn, and aggravating as all get-out as you try to navigate around all the crowds of admirers.  

Be that as it may, I found that I could often tune out many of the people-y bits and still enjoy myself. There's just something about the Desert Botanical Garden that soothes my soul.

Shall we get started?

Chihuly glass just inside the entrance. It created a logjam of visitors taking photos.


Just beyond the first installation. I will admit that I often like the colors Chihuly uses, like these blues.


Detail.


Further into the garden. These curly Q rods of glass seem to be his favorites.


No Chihuly here, just aloes in bloom.


Another logjam here as the trail went over a bridge. I like these colors, too.


The path up to the Patio Cafe. You can see the luminarias on both sides. During Christmas season, the garden closes for an hour so employees can light all the luminarias for the people who will be coming to see them at night.


The Midwesterner in me still loves photographing blooming flowers in December.


No visit to the garden is complete without spotting at least one Gambel's quail.


I was rather pleased with my zoom lens on this shot. The hummingbird was sitting in a bush quite a distance away.


And if you don't see a ground squirrel while you're there, you weren't looking in the right spot.


Blooming sage in front of more Chihuly glass.


Denis and I called this the Phoenix Suns exhibit because the Suns' colors are purple and orange, and those blue spears look more purple in person.



Detail.


More Chihuly glass by another bridge.


Detail.


These big aloes on the way to the cactus and succulent gardens always remind me of the artists' conceptions of trees in the old Fred Flintstone cartoons.


And these "Flintstone trees" were in bloom.


More Chihuly glass outside the cactus and succulent gardens. These light up at night which makes them more impressive. They lose something in translation in the strong Arizona sun.


The Desert Botanical Garden is a popular spot for photographers. I never did figure out what this man was trying to take a picture of.


Chihuly in the cactus garden. Alien spores have sprouted.


Ah! This is more like it!


Humans aren't the only ones plagued by wild, unruly whiskers.


I almost missed this one entirely because the deep burgundy color of the blossoms tricked me into thinking they were dead and dried up from a distance. And look at the two-toned triangular "scales" around the buds! No one can improve on Mother Nature's art.


Hopefully I haven't made any Chihuly fans angry by my remarks. Art, like humor, is so subjective, isn't it? As I sit here, another Wednesday outing is coming up. With over 6,000 new Covid-19 cases each day in the state, part of me wants to err on the side of caution and stay home, but I have a husband who's going stir crazy. We shall see what happens. (We do have heavy-duty, filtered masks...) Regardless of my dithering, I do hope you enjoyed your visit to one of my favorite places on the planet!

17 comments:

  1. Enjoyed. Wow. Am gobsmacked. I've not seen Chihuly glass or if I saw it in your prior photos, it hadn't hit me like it just did. What great colors and combined with Mother Nature's wojders,s it really is amazing.
    And if anyone ever said Arizona is boring, they don't know what they're talking about. There'smore to see than in New York, I hhink.

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    1. Oh, gosh, I need new glasses or better lighting.

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    2. That comment you made about New York vs Arizona might get you run out of town on a rail, Kathy. Hope you're feeling better!

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    3. Everybody is isolating, even in my building. So no worries for me about my New York comments. Besides that, I am a New Yorker through and through, although a tri to Arizona would be great.
      And a friend just moved to Santa Fe, so I could visit her. She came to New York from the Southwest and retired from her job and wanted to return to her region of the country.

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    4. I fell in love with Santa Fe and want to go back for another visit.

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  2. I'm so glad you got the chance to go to the gardens, Cathy, even with all of the 'people-y-ness.' Thanks for sharing those stunning photographs, too. I do think the glass is beautiful, and the form and lines are graceful and also beautiful. But I really love the natural beauty of those flowers and animals.

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    1. That's what I love going there for: NATURE. Anything else they do there to bring in people just seems gimmicky to me.

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  3. Beautiful pictures! I especially love that quail.

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    1. I love Gambel's quail! One of these years, Denis and I will be there at the right time to see baby quail.

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    2. Years ago, friends and I were driving north in New York state and were on a two-lane road when the traffic stopped. A mama quail was escorting her babies across the road. And, appropriately, all of the cars stopped to let them pass.

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    3. Great! I well remember one spring when Denis and I were out on a trail. I thought the sand was moving. Then I thought, "Why would it be moving uphill?" It was an entire covey of tiny baby quail. They disappeared so quickly that I couldn't take a photo, but they remain in my memory.

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  4. Happy that you could make the most of the visit under what does sound like less than ideal conditions. I can take or leave the art, I think, but this looks like a wonderful setting to visit when things return to normal.

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  5. Chihuly glass is the most amazing thing ever! I love what he does. Thanks for sharing all those photos. :D

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  6. I haven't yet had the chance to see Chihuly's work in person, so I'm reserving judgment. I agree with you about his use of color, though. And I'm glad you and Denis are making careful choices while still getting out and about.

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    Replies
    1. At least when we were at the zoo today, our masks also filtered out a ton of pollen in the air. Thankfully, the zoo wasn't crowded at all.

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