One of the things that I love about Joint Base Lewis-McChord is it’s proximity to cities and culture. Coming off years of living in NYC where I lived down the street from museums, film shoots, great restaurants, this is a huge plus for me! HUGE! I had been meaning to go to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma since we arrived but one thing or another always came up and I hadn’t gone yet. They hosted a Military Appreciation Day in February so we headed on over to enjoy a free day at the museum.
We started in the Hot Shop, aka where they make glass pieces. It has molten glass, ovens, and all the tools necessary for artists to create their work. For the day we went, as it was a special event, the hot shop was manned by Dale Chihuly and his team. Chihuly is famous for his baskets, and the ceiling in the Bellagio. He’s from Tacoma and is huge here in the Pacific Northwest. (His Garden & Glass museum in Seattle is beautiful and showcases all types of his work.)
The cool thing about the hot shop is that you get to watch artists make glass art from scratch. You learn a lot in the process and get to see some cool work.
After watching the glass artists at work in the hot shop we walked around the galleries. The galleries are pretty small but feature some fun art from local artists and those that have visited the museum/made pieces in the hot shop. Don’t expect to spend a lot of time in the galleries when you visit – the hot shop will take up more of your time, and they do offer workshops and kids activities fairly frequently.
We had a good time at the Glass Museum and will probably go back to show visitors or when there is a new exhibit that looks interesting.
Anyone else ever go to the Glass Museum in Tacoma? See anything cool while you were there?
It’s on our event to do list for our group. I’ve had so many fun events and friends I’ve got to know by creating this Facebook page for the greater Kitsap region. We would love to have you join us in exploring the Pacific NW. Our most recent, adrenaline filled adventure, was to Emerald City Trapeze which I would highly recommend getting a Groupon for.