Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly (b.1941) is a multi-disciplinary American artist with an extensive history in the field of studio glass. He is known worldwide for his creation of large scale environmental installations. He also creates sculptures for personal collections, paints, and has made prints and vitreographs based upon his noted work. As a pioneer in his primary medium, he cofounded the Pilchuk School of Glass in Seattle, WA. 

Arguably one of the most famous glass artists in the world, he began his foray into design work when he attended the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1963, he took a weaving class where he incorporated glass shards into tapestries. Chihuly graduated from the University of Washington in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design. Chihuly began experimenting with glassblowing in 1965 and in 1966 he received a full scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin - Madison. There, he studied under Harvey Littleton, who established the first glass program in the United States at that school. In 1967, Chihuly received a Master of Science degree in Sculpture. Chihuly earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1968. At that time, he was awarded a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant for his work in glass, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship. He then traveled to Venice to work on the island of Murano, where he first saw the team approach to blowing glass. After returning to the United States, Chihuly spent the first of four consecutive summers teaching at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine.