Where Is Ma Chihuly's Floats? See It at Tacoma Art Museum

Q: Why is this piece called Ma Chihuly's Floats?

Chihuly dedicated it to his mother Viola ("Ma") following her passing in 2006. The gift joined earlier donations honoring his father and brother, making TAM's collection a deeply personal family tribute.

Q: What inspired the float design?

Chihuly discovered Japanese glass fishing floats on Pacific Northwest beaches as a child. His Niijima Float series scales them up to monumental proportions, creating orbs that seem to glow with inner light.

Dale Chihuly dedicated this installation of 39 Niijima Floats to his mother, Viola, following her passing in 2006. The spherical glass forms fill the inner courtyard of the Tacoma Art Museum.

The Niijima Float series was inspired by Japanese glass fishing floats Chihuly discovered on the beaches of the Pacific Northwest as a child. He scaled them up to monumental proportions, creating orbs that seem to glow with inner light.

This gift joined Chihuly's earlier donations honoring his father and brother, making TAM's collection a deeply personal family tribute as well as a retrospective of his pioneering career in studio glass.

The installation of 39 glass spheres fills the inner courtyard of the Tacoma Art Museum in Washington state.

Chihuly dedicated it to his mother Viola ("Ma") following her passing in 2006. The gift joined earlier donations honoring his father and brother, making TAM's collection a deeply personal family tribute.

Chihuly discovered Japanese glass fishing floats on Pacific Northwest beaches as a child. His Niijima Float series scales them up to monumental proportions, creating orbs that seem to glow with inner light.

Ma Chihuly's Floats

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