Seattle Art is in the Eyes of the Beholder

If art is of interest to you, there is plenty to keep you occupied during your visit to Seattle, Washington. From small galleries to big museums and places where you can create art of your very own, there is a little something that will appeal to almost any art lover.

I could begin by telling you about the various art museums in the area, but I think that is how I will end. I would first like to tell you about some shops that offer unique experiences with art and the processes of creating art. The first of these called Art By Fire. This unique little shop not only displays the artwork of artists but also offers classes in Glass Blowing. The classes are probably not a good choice for those vacationing as they meet once a week for four weeks and each lesson is four hours long. But, regardless of whether you are planning an extended stay or just curious about the offerings, there is great glass artwork to be seen here and I hope you will take me up on my suggestion that you stop by. They also offer bead making classes that are far less intensive and only require two nights effort (usually consecutive nights) that may be of interest to you as well.

The next shop I want to tell you about is called Glazed and Amazed. Slowly we are seeing more shops along these lines crop up across the country, but not everyone has discovered them and they are a great, fun way to bring out the inner artists in you and the rest of your family. You start by choosing a piece of ceramic to paint. You paint your masterpiece, then the kind folks at Glazed and Amazed fire it for you and you get to pick up your finished product in a couple of days. I recommend stopping by this shop early on in your trip as it does take a couple of days for the firing process. I believe you will have a lot of fun here and any children you have should really enjoy the experience as well. I know mine do.

Just a short drive from Seattle, in Tacoma, Washington is the Museum of Glass. While this doesn’t exactly sound like an art museum, it is just that. One of the neatest things about this particular museum is that you can actually watch glass being made in the Hot Shop Amphitheater. This is perhaps the greatest thing about the glass museum, because here, you can actually watch glass become art. This museum is different enough to make it well worth the drive from Seattle to Tacoma and I really hope you will consider the drive if you have a passion for art. I really believe that the experience is one of a kind.

While you are in Tacoma, assuming of course that you visit the Glass Museum, it would probably be a good idea to head on over to the Tacoma Art Museum. You can see more beautiful works of art including more blown glass by Dale Chihuly who is truly is a master of the art.

Whatever your personal interest in art, whether watching it, observing it, or creating it, there is plenty to feed that need in and around Seattle. I hope that you will find this great city to be as much of a home to your artist heart as it is to many other great artists.

PPPPP

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• Seattle