Dale Chihuly is arguably the best known glass artist in the world. Each title in the 'Chihuly Mini Book' series takes readers on a visual tour of Chihuly's work, exploring what makes each of his genres unique.

Dale Chihuly is the most famous and influential artist working in glass today. A career-spanning biographical essay by curator Timothy Anglin Burgard and stunning colour photography of the works will captivate Chihuly's myriad fans - both old and new.

Dale Chihuly is arguably the best known glass artist in the world. Each title in the 'Chihuly Mini Book' series takes readers on a visual tour of Chihuly's work, exploring what makes each of his genres unique.

For five thousand years, artisans have worked in glass to create forms that serve and delight. But only recently have artists turned their hands and minds to this traditionally utilitarian and decorative material. Clearly Inspired: Contemporary Glass and Its Origins contrasts the work of contemporary glass artists with examples of earlier glass that have inspired them to rediscover or reinvent forgotten techniques. Transforming an ancient craft into a contemporary art, they honor the past while making visual statements that are very much of our time.

"This book celebrated the work of iconic artist Dale Chihuly in the landscape of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. A reverie of form, colour and light, Chihuly's exquisite and utterly unique artworks are often described as exaggerated celebrations of what is found in nature. As the most biodiverse place on the planet, Kew's breath-taking setting is the ideal home for such work" - back cover.

As we look back at a career over fifty years and counting, we realize that Dale Chihuly's five best- known series"€"the Baskets, Seaforms, Macchia, Persians, and the Venetians"€"which were created sequentially in rapid succession over a nine-year period from 1977 through 1986"€"were the ones that really defined his aesthetic and effected the most dramatic change in the centuries-old medium of glass. In recognition of the importance of these five series, Chihuly Workshop has chosen to reissue in this single-volume format, essays on these bodies of work that were initially part of a multi-volume edition published in 2009 and 2010. The texts have been updated slightly with some fresh observations about how this modern master continues to grow and refine his aesthetic and impact the art of today.