La versión español está después de la versión inglés.
SAN GERALDO AND I collected contemporary American art glass beginning in the early 1980s. Although we collected it simply because we liked it, it was “a great retirement investment,” we were told. It WAS great… until we retired. It wasn’t easy to find buyers and we were too lazy to try very hard. So we donated almost the entire collection to the San Diego LGBT Community Center for them to use at fundraisers and silent auctions. We kept a couple of our earliest pieces for ourselves and gave our latest acquisition to L&T (Jerry’s sister and her husband) as a thank you for all they did for us during our move from California to Spain, including putting us up (and putting up with us) at their house in South Dakota while we waited for our visas.
During our early days of collecting, the owner of one of our favorite art glass shops in Boston kept telling us we really needed to buy a piece by Dale Chihuly. We didn’t think much of his early pieces, so didn’t take her advice. Chihuly may now be the most famous American contemporary glass artist. His creations can be seen just about everywhere, including on the ceiling of the main lobby of Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Now THAT would have been something to retire on. Check out the Bellagio ceiling (that we didn’t buy) and then check out some of our s0-called retirement collection.
MY MOTHER THE Dowager Duchess dwelled on regrets. My father said she was the president of the “I Shoulda” Club. So, I’m not saying “we shoulda” but… well, maybe we shoulda. However, as actress-comedian Carol Burnett once said (when she was in character as tragic-comic Eunice): “Coulda and shoulda are words we don’t use. They only depress us and give us the blues.”
.
SAN GERALDO Y yo recogimos vidrio de arte estadounidense contemporáneo a principios de los años ’80. Aunque lo recolectamos simplemente porque nos gustó, fue “una gran inversión para la jubilación”, nos dijeron. FUE genial … hasta que nos retiramos. No fue fácil encontrar compradores y éramos demasiado perezosos como para esforzarnos mucho. Así que donamos casi toda la colección al Centro Comunitario LGBT de San Diego para que los usen en recaudaciones de fondos y subastas silenciosas. Mantuvimos unas de nuestras primeras piezas para nosotros y le dimos nuestra última adquisición a L&T (la hermana de Jerry y su esposo) como agradecimiento por todo lo que hicieron por nosotros durante nuestro traslado de California a España, incluido el hecho de que nos pusieron en marcha (y nos dejaron con nosotros). nosotros) en su casa en Dakota del Sur mientras esperábamos nuestras visas.
Durante los primeros días de la recolección, el propietario de una de nuestras favoritas tiendas de arte en vidrio en Boston nos decía que realmente necesitábamos comprar una pieza de Dale Chihuly. No pensamos mucho en sus primeras piezas, así que no seguimos su consejo. Chihuly ahora puede ser el artista de vidrio contemporáneo estadounidense más famoso. Sus creaciones se pueden ver en casi todas partes, incluso en el techo del vestíbulo principal del Hotel Bellagio en Las Vegas. Ahora eso hubiera sido algo para retirarse. Así que echa un vistazo al techo de Chihuly (que no compramos) y luego echa un vistazo a nuestra colección de jubilación.
MI MADRE LA Duquesa Viuda habitaba en los arrepentimientos. Mi padre dijo que ella era la presidenta del club “Yo Debería”. Entonces, no estoy diciendo “deberíamos” pero … bueno, tal vez deberíamos.Sin embargo, como dijo una vez la actriz-comediante Carol Burnett (cuando estaba en su personaje tragicómico Eunice): “La palabras que no usamos son yo podría y yo debería”. Sólo nos deprimen y nos dan la meloncolía “.
BIGGER THAN A BASKETBALL. / MÁS GRANDE QUE UN BALONCESTO.
I LOVE art glass. It was a big seller in my shop.
That Chihuly ceiling is unbelievable! I could spend a lot of time there with my camera.
I prefer coulda instead of shoulda……it is less negative and says one chose not to do something (in my mind anyway).
Jim,
Having grown up with a mother whose life seemed to revolve around regrets, I really try to avoid any ‘ouldas! Not always easy.
Nice stuff!
We have a big Chihuly sculpture hanging in our St.Louis Art Museum, and several pieces of his at our Missouri Botanical Garden, because we had an exhibit of his works there, for a while, and MOBOT bought a few to keep, after.
Sí, sí, youse shoulda !
Judy,
He’s everywhere… except in our house!
I have tried, and I can’t change the past. Buy what you like, and enjoy it. Surround yourself with things that make you happy. About a quarter of the contents of the house in Lexington went to auction last week, I watched and was astounded at the junk that sold well, and the good stuff that no one wanted.
It must be very difficult to find a time traveling Delorean these days! One man’s junk is another man’s good stuff, and vise versa.
Deedles,
I still have my Delorean if anyone wants it. It’s timing is a bit off.
David,
I agree completely. We had an estate sale in Vegas. Couldn’t give away most of the good stuff! The junk flew off the shelves. If we DID have an early Chihuly, it would have been one no one wanted!
That ceiling art is awesome! Looking at the close-up without context, it reminded me of the ‘art’ I used to make as a kid. It consisted of crayon shavings (all different colors) pressed between two sheets of waxed paper and then ironed. I loved doing that! I agree with Jim on the shoulda coulda stuff. It be what it be 🙂
Deedles:
We “shoulda” bought a Deedles!
Yeah, the whole collection would be worth about a buck fifty now!
Deedles:
it wouldn’t matter how much the collection would sell for, I’d never part with an original Deedles. Priceless.
It’s all water under the bridge now, as they say. You had some lovely pieces in your collection and you donated it to a good cause.
Debra,
Giving it all to the Center was very satisfying. If we had sold it for big money we would have blown the money anway!
chihuly’s glass art is FABU! he is a customer of my employer. hell, we all should have bought (cr)apple and microsoft and amazon stocks back in the day too. but tis what tis.
anne marie,
You’re exactly right!
Ooooh, I love the ceiling of Bellagio and the fact that the time I was there, was together with Mim and the two of you😍 Brings back good memories!
Ellen,
That was such a wonderful time. And the best catered birthday party ever!!!
One of his most interesting shows was at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. Exciting big glass pieces among the cactus !
cheers, parsnip
Parsnip,
His glass gardens are magical.
Those are pretty.
Adam,
Chihuly has some incredible installations.
If I’m ever in San Diego, I’ll pay a visit to the LGBT center, and have a look at the glass collection you donated.
I remember about 20 years, Ted Turner donated a billion dollars to the United Nation. I remember thinking, supposes I had a billion dollars and donated it to a LGBT charity. What transformative effect could it have? Of course, I’ll likely never have a billion dollars, so I guess I’ll never know.
Kirk,
When we lived in San Diego and HAD money, we donated a lot every year to The Center. I hope none of our art glass is still there. It was intended to make them a lot of money at their annual gala dinner silent auctions.
Yeah, it’s pretty and all but, in my book, the best measure of glass is how much wine it can hold. 😉
Walt the Fourth,
Well, Chihuly’s stuff is worthless, then.
You’ve just reminded me … there’s a Chihuly exhibition at a nearby museum at the moment. I must go.
G Keijzer:
Where’s “nearby”? Great art!