Saturday, April 14, 2018

Art and More Art




With only one week left here, we’ve begun sort of a last-ditch campaign to snatch up as much Florida as we can before we go.
Hopefully we won’t stagger back to Massachusetts scarlet and rotund from too much beach and dining out.

          After months here, it took a ticking calendar to get us out of our routine. Just this week, we hit two places we’d never been before.



         First, we hit the road for the outskirts of Punta Gorda, to a still-forming sculpture garden. 





(Tiny bananas and an adorable pineapple the size of a softball.)

 











 (Uncannily realistic)





 (These were HUGE, 20 feet or so.)

(This one, called New York City Slicker, was at least 6 feet tall.)



   







       It was whimsy at its best, and we look forward to more sculptures and the future opening of the mansion, once its owners decamp and transform it into an art museum.




          Yesterday we re-discovered that St. Petersburg is barely an hour away and went to the Chihuly art museum. The installations were stunning – almost literally. Each time we rounded a corner to find yet another display, the lights blazing, the effect was remarkable. 



        


  The glass-blowing exhibition was almost an afterthought, but became the highlight of the day. 



          We finished up with lunch at the St. Petersburg marina since all that sitting in bleachers watching other people work really kicked off our appetites.

          (Currently trying to remember how many stretchy-waist pants I have at home.)

7 comments:

  1. love the becoming sculpture garden. Chihuly no longer wows me, seen so much and he's everywhere. same with glass blowing since I have glass blower friends. can't tell you how many times I've watched them work. don't even watch the demonstrations during our open house anymore.

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  2. Chihuly? Colour me jealous. We had an exhibition of his work here, and we went twice. And loved it.
    There was for a time a glass blower attached to my father's department at work - and it was always the highlight of our visits to see him at work.

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  3. Those are some amazingly creative sculptures. I love that first one, too. I have seen Chihuly art a couple of times but hasn't tired of it yet. Hope you find that your clothes still fit. :-)

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  4. I like that area of Florida and must put Chihuly on my list!

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  5. Great grand finale. Love the sculpture garden. I have a strange attachment to Chihuly. My dentist was a great fan, and I spent several sessions in the chair, regaled with Chichuly raptures.

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  6. The statues and artwork are fabulous!
    I thought you were living permanently in Florida now?

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    Replies
    1. Nope, we've joined the flock of snowbirds, those chicken-hearted transplants fleeing cold weather.

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