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They had a festival or something going on like Tacoma days or something. Tons of food trucks. Only thing is parking sucked so bad. They were completely packed. Very pretty stuff and fun karaoke going on. Too pricey for me but I get why the glass is expensive it’s all hand made. Fun place for a date night. …
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Date of experience: February 2020
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+1
Went here with my cousins as we heard so many things about it and thought it would be a nice way to spend the morning. Big mistake! We ended up spending the whole day here and none of us were sorry. From just walking into the lobby and seeing all the flags made of glass hanging over head to seeing the film by Dale Chihuly giving his story. To watching glass blowers at the kilns trying to make glass tumblers in under 7 minutes. Seeing all the incredibly detailed sculptures by native American artists is an explosion of kaleidoscopic colours so vibrant you just can't help but get immersed in the background stories. Our planned two hours ended up being six hours.…
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Date of experience: August 2019
1 Helpful vote
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The world class Museum of Glass in Tacoma is a place I'm sure to take out of town visitors. The exhibits turn over 2 to 3 times per year, so repeat visits are worthwhile. My most recent visit was on the Third Thursday of the month between 5 and 8pm, when admission is free to most Tacoma museums. The event was quite well-attended and they had many artists at work in the hot shop along with a narrator who explained what we were seeing. Make sure you begin your visit during daylight because many of the attractions are outside and free: the building itself with the tilted hot shop tower, the spectacular Bridge of Glass, other outdoor installations, and a view of the harbor. My favorite aspects of the museum include: - The Hot Shop with a half dozen fiery furnaces and artists at work. - The exhibit halls with rotating collections. - In the hallway toward the bathrooms are a delightful collection of glass art inspired by drawings of children. - The Museum Shop looks itself like a museum. - The cafe is great too.…
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Date of experience: February 2020
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Watching a master glass blower and his team working in the Hot Shop is always a wonderful experience. Add to that the wonderful exhibits and a beautiful gift shop gives you hours of art entertainment.
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Date of experience: February 2020
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Often before I write a review I read what others thought by way of comparing our experience. I was amazed anyone could rate this place "poor," but as members I forget it's not an inexpensive place to visit, and if you are just taking pot luck as to what is there, you could well be disappointed. When you learn who will be in the hot shop for your visit, find pieces of her/his work, or at least pictures of the work, and try to envision how all that you see got put into the glass. With that bit of prep, this place is brilliant! We went this time because the premier studio glass artist in the world was working in the hot shop. Seeing Lino Tagliapietra (hard G, every vowel pronounced) create his magic is the Superbowl of glass blowing. He's 84 and still turning out work that is new and cutting edge. Think about a vessel that starts as a blob that gets coated in canes (round slivers of colored cold glass) laid parallel on a sheet by rolling the hot blob across them. Once they are melted into the blob, maybe a puff of air or two will expand the blob, then it is coated in fresh hot glass again and another procedure or two will be done to it such as forcing it into a mold that adds uniform crinkles before being dipped into more hot glass for another layer. Then at some point a new pipe is attached at the bottom and the blob is broken from the original pipe, then more procedures, and end changes with a little air going in now and again, and finally the whole thing gets spun or swung or twirled into a whole new shape, then pulled or trimmed into a final shape, where every layer and procedure will be visible, and parallel, or jagged in a uniform way, or both, and all of it breathtakingly beautiful in Lino's case. (There are other glass artists whose work is intriguing et. al. where beauty isn't meant to be part of the outcome, but with Lino it always is,) Just the knowledge in the forearms and feel in the hands of Lino and the crew is amazing. The piece is fluid at all times, so it needs to be slowly rolled to keep gravity from slumping it off the pipe as it is heated and tweaked and rolled and smoothed and shaped, only to have that shape mashed into some other shape, but whatever happened during the previous shape will be visible and integral to the final piece. The displays in the gallery were excellent and particularly enjoyable this visit, but here again there is a certain pot luck in our case as were were there to Lino in the hot shop and everything else was a bonus. The theater also always has worthwhile things showing. If you are not familiar with the work of the artist in residence and there is (as there often is) a film about her/his work, I strongly recommend seeing the film first. It will help you appreciate what you are seeing. The cafe does excellent lunches also and can offer a perfect break during a visit.…
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Date of experience: February 2020
1 Helpful vote
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