Travelsmartplanet

Mille Fiori Room is Dale Chihuly’s “gardens of glass” which reminds him of his mother’s garden. They combine different series of his work. We sure would like them in our garden.

A small section of Dale Chihuly’s Mille Fiori room which represents a sparkling glass garden.

Glass Boating at Chihuly Garden and Glass. Balls here float, not bounce. The placement is so perfect so that you get a second view of the reflection in the water.

Dale Chihuly was invited to place glass chandeliers throughout the city of Venice in 1995-6. Five of them or inspired by them can be seen here at the Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, WA.

When Dale Chihuly was developing his Macchia forest he had a goal to use all 300 glass colors available in the hotshop. He was able to push the scale of these shapes up to four feet in diameter.

Macchia Forest was created when Dale Chihuly noticed that stained glass windows look better on cloudy days. He developed a method of placing a thin white cloud between the glass colors to achieve a more vibrant effect.

Rainbow glass art in Seattle. It’s called Facing You by Marvin Oliver.

Standing 113 floors high and looking through a glass floor, you can see the Toronto Raptors Jurassic Park, where fans hang out. In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the  Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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France is celebrating 160th anniversary of diplomatic ties between France and Japan. Japonismes 2018: Les Ames en Resonance, will run through February 2019 involving exhibitions and events promoting Japanese art and design. Visual artist Kohei Nawa’s monumental sculpture “Throne” has one of the most prestigious spots in Paris: the Louvre. “I see the location as a connecting portal of modern lifestyles and the past, says Nawa, the Kyoto-based artist whose 10.4-meter-tall work is installed under I.M. Pei’s 1989 glass pyramid in the Louvre’s main courtyard.

The making of the throne itself involved both the past and the present. It was designed using state-of-the-art 3D modeling software and carved by robotic arms, however its gleaming gold leaf exterior was hand-applied by Japanese traditional craftspeople.

“The maximum capacity the pyramid can hold is 3 tons, so I told the museum I would ship a sculpture weighing exactly 3 tons,” says Nawa about the work’s creation. “I think they were bit worried, but after it went up, the Louvre’s curator, Martin Kiefer, told me the sculpture looks like it’s been at the pyramid all along.”

It’s not Nawa’s first “Throne” and it is different in that in previous iterations there was usually a small child seated within Nawa’s unique abstract shapes and geometric forms. For the Louvre, the seat is strikingly empty.

“Thrones are for kings. Here, the seat is for the authority that will eventually take over the control in the future. I left the seat empty to emphasize the invisibility,” says Nawa.

It sounds ominous, but Nawa goes on to explain that he foresees the type of power we see controlling today’s politics, economy and lifestyles as disappearing in the future, and in its place will be a very different form of authority. It could be artificial intelligence and advanced computer technology that will “take the throne,” he suggests, while we blindly follow, something that history has shown us that humans have had the tendency to do.

To us it is interesting that he chose a throne to be placed in this, the Palace of the Louvre, where French Kings sat on their thrones. Francis I chose this edifice as the residence for French kings and where it remained thus until good old King Louis XIV decided to move to Versailles and this building was then used to store his pretty things.

Located in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay, Annapolis is “America’s Sailing Capital.”

August Wine in the Wind – Along the Douro is a true sailing experience. Unwind on a two hour sail around the Chesapeake Bay while sampling wonderful wines from Portugal.  You will be able to help raise the sails, steer the boat, or simply sit back and relax with your wine and food.

The  beautiful, wooden, 74-foot schooner departs at 4:00pm and returns at 6:00 pm.  A representative from the winery will be on board to introduce you to four special wines while you are under sail. The cruise will include 3-oz samples of each of the four wines featured. Along with each wine is a delicious, perfectly paired bite (referred to as magnificent morsels) for you to enjoy with each wine.

Wines being featured:
Mapreco Vinho Verde
Mapreco Vinho Verde Rose
Barao De Vilar Reserva, Douro
Noval Black Porto

You get to take-home your boat friendly, wine glass by Go Vino with the Woodwind’s logo on it as a souvenir of the day.

Location: Annapolis Waterfront Hotel, 80 Compromise Street, Annapolis, MD 21401
Date: Sun, Aug 12 2018
Time: 4pm -6pm
Tel: 410-263-7837
schoonerwoodwind.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitannapolis.org