In St. Petersburg, FL, recently, at long last I saw my first actual glass pieces by Dale Chihuly, the master glass artist. Until then, I’d only seen photos. And as you’d probably expect, there was just no comparison.

The permanent St. Petersburg collection is located on Beach Drive at a satellite facility of the Morean Arts Center. It’s near the St. Petersburg Pier and the new Salvador Dali museum. For anyone who has ever felt themselves drawn to the beautiful reflections and smooth textural appeal of really fine glass works, Chihuly is the best of all.

Chandeliers from the permanent St. Petersburg collection, each of them at least 5 feet in height:

Chihuly is known not only for revolutionizing the methods of glass artistry, but also for his complex multi-element glass installations, including large-scale works in Venice, Jerusalem and the “Chihuly Bridge of Glass” in Tacoma, Wash., where he was born in 1941. More at Chihuly.com.

The St. Petersburg display wrapped up with a room-size work that visitors can circle, taking it in from all angles.

Take your time when visiting a Chihuly exhibit. Circle the works and see them from all the angles. Don’t just look at the whole. Take time to get in close and look at the reflections, because of course, the lighting is an integral and dynamic element in these immensely reflective works.

In closing, it’s sort of cool how I first learned about Dale Chihuly. One of the longtime cartoonists we’ve used on The Evening Sun’s editorial page is Jeff Stahler. of The Columbis (Ohio) Dispatch. A few years ago, one of his cartoons contained a Chihuly reference. I’d never heard the name, but I was intrigued, googled it, and was hooked in an instant. I’ve always loved fine glass, colored glass. And here he was, the master of glass, Dale Chihuly.

All thanks to one of our editorial page cartoonists.