Those three words describe both the work and the Northwest artist, Dale Chihuly.

Northwest Backroads

While his glass pieces are recognized around the world, few have the chance to get to know the man himself.

Recently, we had the rare opportunity to spend time with Dale Chihuly at his boathouse home and studio in Seattle.

Dale Chihuly is a Northwest legend – an artist who has single-handedly brought the medium of glass to fine-art status and made Seattle the glass capital of the world.

Working from his Seattle boathouse hotshop, one of six Chihuly studios, the artist is a frantic presence as he choreographs a creative team to bring his artistic visions to life.

Fate has played a major role in Dale Chihuly's career on more than one occasion. If it had been up to him, he probably would have never attended college, let alone become the artist he is today.

Northwest Backroads

Dale Chihuly

"I was not a very good student," he said. "I was sort of a hood actually. I got in a lot of trouble. Then by chance I ended up going to college because my mother wanted me to go. Neither my mother nor my father went to school and my father died when I was in high school. My only sibling, my brother, died when I was in high school as well."

Studying in both the United States and Europe, Chihuly excelled as an artist and revolutionized the art of glass. But in 1976, fate stepped in once again. He lost the vision in his left eye in an automobile accident.

With no depth perception, he could no longer work with molten glass. But instead of ending his career, Chihuly adapted, becoming the visionary for his creations. A team of skilled artists bring those visions to reality.

Today, Chihuly's work is in demand around the world. But even though he's one of the most commercially successful artists of this era, he's not without his critics.

Northwest Backroads

Dale Chihuly now creates with the help of his assistants.

"One doesn't take it all that seriously about what people think or the fame or the fortune or any of that. If you're an artist mostly what you want to do is just do your work," he said.

Chihuly's work has reached global proportions and epic scale. A 4,000-piece sculpture adorns the ceiling of the La Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. In 1996, he transformed the city of Venice with "Chihuly Over Venice." and the people of Israel are now experiencing "Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem," the largest exhibition he's ever mounted.

The artist continues to stretch the boundaries of the medium to bring his grand visions to life.

Although Chihuly's work takes him around the world, home will always be the Northwest. He values his time here and makes the most of it, working on new projects, helping charities and donating his skills to help kids.

"It's nice to work with the young artists because their heroes are all rock-and-roll or athletes," he said.

Chihuly probably has a soft spot for kids because he's a dad himself. His son Jackson is a regular presence in the hotshop and participates and inspires many of his designs.

Chihuly has achieved the kind of fame and fortune that most artists only dream of. But success has taught him that these aren't the things that really matter. For him, success is measured in his ability to bring his artistic visions to life and share them with the world.

"Fame and money doesn't make you happy, especially if you're a creative person and an artist. What's gonna make you happy is being successful with your ideas," he said.

Chihuly is a dominant presence in the art world and his work has provoked much controversy as part of the art/craft debate but there is little doubt his work will have a lasting impact on the Pacific Northwest and the world.