If you're going to do it - do it big!

In the explosion of self expression, it seems as though everyone is looking to go bigger and better in the hopes of breaking through the clutter of competing voices. Some do it through blogging ;-), fanatical banner waving, even down to the art of a business card(especially in DC). While these guestures grow grander, some successess have been made in beating the system. Ironically, it was not the size or intricacy but the simplicity of color as the conduit for bold expression on a transparent medium - glass.

I don't know if something can be too colorful. Color is one of the great properties of glass and is more intense in glass than any other material. Imagine entering Chartres Cathedral and looking up at the Rose Window: you can see a one-inch square of ruby red glass from 300 feet away.

-- Dale Chihuly, Artist and glassblower.

A very good Friend of mine introduced me to Dale Chihuly's art. For those of you are not familiar with the master of glass-blown sculptures, he is responsible for the explosion of color in the Bellagio's Foyer and the Chandelier at London's V & A Museum. (Left) But as Chihuly indicated accurately, Chartres is a perfect example of signature color, so much so that the color Chartres Blue, originating from the cathedrals stained glass designs, is exclusive only to those glass designs. With all the impressive technology dedicated to art preservation and research, scientists have yet to replicate that exact color. Maybe glass expression isn't so transparent after all!