Fiori dei Bambini: A Chihuly Garden of Glass for Children, created by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Once inside, you’ll come face-to-face with some of Chihuly’s most dazzling glass creations.
Fiori dei Bambini is the latest installation in Chihuly’s Mille Fiori style. Mille Fiori is Italian for “a thousand flowers,” and a traditional glassmaking term for beautifully complex canes of glass. Strands of glass are pressed and melted together and then cut, revealing intricate mosaic-like designs that resemble flowers. Chihuly has combined many elements found in nature to create extravagant pieces of glass resembling the same organic shapes you’d see in any outdoor garden.
Chihuly and his team built this fantasy world on a low, black stage. Using forms such as Birds of Paradise, Fiddle Heads and Cat Tails, children of all ages will be delighted with the play of color and light in the space. Chihuly’s glass garden pieces, which have also been displayed in varying forms at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, and the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, England, are both natural and fantastic. Using light and glass, Chihuly creates a living, vibrant illusion of reflecting pools and sunny skies.
Additional areas in the gallery feature works by other artists, including members of the Hilltop Artists in Residence program in Washington, which offers at-risk youth the chance to learn glass art while providing positive experiences, mentoring and tutoring. The gallery also features the work of students and faculty from the Indianapolis Art Center. The Art Center offers glassblowing classes for anyone over age 10. Art Center faculty and artists will visit on occasion to share their experiences and art. You’ll also have a chance to explore art in the studio area, participate in hands-on activities, meet with area artists and try your hand at creating your own works of art!
Remember: While Chihuly’s Fireworks of Glass exhibit is permanent, Fiori dei Bambini will only be at the museum for a limited time. Don’t miss your chance to wander through this beautiful garden of glass!
3000 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208-4716 · 317-334-3322
Fiori dei Bambini: A Chihuly Garden of Glass for Children, created by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. Once inside, you’ll come face-to-face with some of Chihuly’s most dazzling glass creations.