The Museum of Glass: Tacoma, Washington

While visiting Seattle, we took a day-trip down to Tacoma to visit the Museum of Glass.

An azure sky, benevolent clouds, and the soggy stench of papermill awaited us in this coastal burgh plopped in the southern reaches of the Puget Sound.

Upon entering, we headed directly to the Hot Shop (located inside the building's conical protuberance) to watch live glass-blowing and listen to running commentary by glass experts. Molten glass and fiery furnaces!

Not quite as thrilling as a monster truck rally, but watching artists mold liquid glass into priceless artifacts is invigorating in a certain way.
  

The final product of the live session we watched: a glass amber (complete with prehistoric insects trapped inside).

We then entered the main exhibition area and fell into museum mode -  a blissful condition marked by sweaty palms, dilated eyes, lightness of being, silent consideration, and aesthetic enchantment.

Outside we walked through Dale Chihuly's public installation (lining the walls of a freeway overpass).

All in all, it was a glassy day in Tacoma.