27 Facts About Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly was born on September 20,1941 and is an American glass artist and entrepreneur.

Dale Chihuly is best known in the field of blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture".

Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on September 20,1941, in Tacoma, Washington.

Dale Chihuly's parents were George and Viola Chihuly; his paternal grandfather was born in Slovakia.

Dale Chihuly had no interest in continuing his formal education after graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1959.

In 1962, Dale Chihuly dropped out of the university to study art in Florence.

Dale Chihuly later traveled to the Middle East where he met architect Robert Landsman.

Dale Chihuly received an award for his work from the Seattle Weavers Guild in 1964.

Dale Chihuly graduated from the University of Washington in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interior design.

Dale Chihuly studied under Harvey Littleton, who had established the first glass program in the United States at the university.

In 1967, Dale Chihuly received a Master of Science degree in sculpture.

Dale Chihuly earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from the RISD in 1968.

Dale Chihuly traveled to Venice to work at the Venini factory on the island of Murano, where he first saw the team approach to blowing glass.

Dale Chihuly donated a portion of a large exhibit to his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, in 1997 and it is on permanent display in the Kohl Center.

In 1971, with the support of John Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg, Dale Chihuly co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School near Stanwood, Washington.

Dale Chihuly founded the HillTop Artists program in Tacoma, Washington at Hilltop Heritage Middle School and Wilson High School.

In 1976, while Dale Chihuly was in England, he was involved in a head-on car accident that propelled him through the windshield.

Dale Chihuly's face was severely cut by glass and he was blinded in his left eye.

In 1983, Dale Chihuly returned to his native Pacific Northwest where he continued to develop his own work at the Pilchuck Glass School, which he had helped to found in 1971.

Dale Chihuly explained the change in a 2006 interview, saying "Once I stepped back, I liked the view", and said that it allowed him to see the work from more perspectives, enabling him to anticipate problems earlier.

Dale Chihuly's role has been described as "more choreographer than dancer, more supervisor than participant, more director than actor".

In 2006, Dale Chihuly filed a lawsuit against his former longtime employee, glassblower Bryan Rubino, and businessman Robert Kaindl, claiming copyright and trademark infringement.

Kaindl's pieces used titles Dale Chihuly had employed for his own works, such as Seaforms and Ikebana, and resembled the construction of Dale Chihuly's pieces.

Dale Chihuly settled the lawsuit with Rubino initially, and later with Kaindl as well.

Dale Chihuly said the melting wall represented the "dissolution of barriers" between people.

Dale Chihuly maintains two retail stores in partnership with MGM Resorts International, one at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip, and the other at the MGM Grand Casino in Macau.

Dale Chihuly's art appears in over 400 permanent collections all over the world, including in the United States, Canada, England, Israel, China, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia.