Day Trip – Page 48 – Sequim Daily Photo

Native history

The Washington State History Museum in Tacoma includes exhibits on Native Americans and their lives after first contact.

Land sales were just one of many shameful practices which robbed tribes of their lands, stripped them of rights, introduced disease, and attempted to destroy their cultures.

This exhibit explained how 40% of the 18,000 acre Puyallup reservation was sold in violation of an 1855 treaty. Lands were often auctioned without the consent or knowledge of parcel owners and advertised far from the event. Locally, few knew of it.

Washington State History Museum

The older I get the more I appreciate history. So what better place to spend my birthday than a history museum?

I’d heard good things about the Washington State History Museum and it was all that and more. We spent an entire day there and didn’t cover everything. The exhibit above is just one example of one of the imaginative ways Washington’s history is portrayed. There are nearly 80 products made from Washington’s forestry products displayed.

Here’s a closer view. What do you see?

Back to Tacoma

I’m taking you back to Tacoma for a day or two. Next up: the Washington State History Museum.

Color blasts

We’re back in Tacoma again. I found some nice eye candy there and recent rains have had me burrowed in at home.

This is part of the “Seaform Pavillion” by Dale Chihuly on the Bridge of Glass in Tacoma. It is part of an amazing glass ceiling filled with pieces that would turn a typical ocean reef on its head.

On the same bridge is Chihuly’s Venetian Wall, a display of dozens of vases. Aren’t all the colors and forms amazing?

Chihuly Venetians

The website for the Tacoma Museum of Glass advertised an interesting exhibit of Dale Chihuly’s Venetians, developed from inspirations on a trip to Venice. I wanted to see the Chihuly “putti,” little cherubs or mythical creatures that adorned some of the work. I wasn’t disappointed, though they generally proved hard to photograph as they adorned vases.

This simple piece showcased the putti better than some. Others had the sweet little cherubs lounging amongst flowers or perched in streamers of glass.

The more Chihuly I see the more I love this work. Photography doesn’t typically do it justice. I decided to move in close to focus on some of the details of this fantastical workmanship. Remember that this medium has to be heated to an almost molten state to be worked into the shapes it presents.

In addition to the shapes, the colors can also be amazing. This exhibit will be at the museum until January 4, 2016.

A look at the Hot Shop

The Hot Shop at Tacoma’s Museum of Glass is unique outside and in. It is a striking feature on the exterior of the museum, unique from any angle.

Inside the stack gives volume to the room – and, no doubt, channels the heat generated by the artists as they work glass.

The auditorium inside is comfortable and affords various vantage points for photographers and other curious onlookers.

The Hot Shop

The Hot Shop in Tacoma’s Museum of Glass is an opportunity for visitors to see art glass in the making. Molten glass is blown, shaped, fired, and refired as artisans create.

There was a crew of four that worked on various pieces of the creation we saw. They shaped pieces, moved it back and forth to the firing oven, seared it with torches, and fused pieces together. A moderator answered questions from the audience and explained the process.

The Halloween themed piece being created was chalked onto the floor of the work area.

This is the best shot I could get of the nearly completed piece. Once finished it was quickly wisked away to an oven where it was slowly cooled for a couple of days.