The city of Tacoma, Washington long ago abandoned its heavy industrial roots and reinvented itself as the town that art built. Native son and world famous glass artist Dale Chihuly was a generous donor and instrumental in the city building the Museum of Glass, by architect Arthur Erickson, on the Thea Foss Waterway. A recent visit from Lino Tagliapietra, master glass blower from Italy drew admiring crowds in the hot shop. The Chihuly Bridge linking the museum to Pacific Avenue features dozens of vessels lit up by the outside sky and protected by bullet proof cases.
Scott Fife's towering sculpture "Puppy" welcomes visitors to the nearby Tacoma Art Museum. An extensive collection of Chihuly glass is on display. An exhibit through mid June 2009 by David Macaulay entitled "The Way He Works" based on his masterful series of books was informative as well as intriguing.
The Hotel Murano is an art lover's dream! A gigantic glass sculpture sits outside the front entrance, the lobby is filled with comfy seating surrounded by blown glass vessels, paintings, chandeliers and sculptures. Each of the 25 floors feature glass pieces by renown artists and are immediately viewable upon egress from the elevator. Adjacent photos in each hallway illustrate the artist's implementation of their concept.
I unexpectedly woke extremely early on a Sunday morning while at Madrona Fiber Arts and decided to ride the elevator, uninterrupted, to every floor. I was mesmerized by the variety and talent of the featured glass artists. One of my favorites was a striking piece comprised of thousands of ruby glass filaments by Toots Zynsky and a rich archeological interpretation by Willliam Morris. His work is unique and extraordinary. I have seen some of his other work on display at SeaTac airport and the Pacific Place building in downtown Seattle. His creations never fail to absolutely and completely enthrall me. 
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