Chihuly's Pendletons and Their Influence on His Work

Trade blankets, often called "Pendletons" after their best-known manufacturer, were woven in hundreds of combinations of colors and designs by woolen mills. Chihuly, who had studied weaving and textiles, became intrigued by the blankets' vibrant beauty and began collecting them. Included in this collection are blankets not only from Pendleton Woolen Mills, but also from other manufacturers, such as J. Capps and Sons, Buell Manufacturing Company, Racine Woolen Mills, and Oregon City Woolen Mills.
Also included in this volume are selections of Chihuly's series of Blanket Cylinders. This series features an innovative technique: threads of colored glass are fused into a drawing of a blanket design, then picked up on the surface of hot cylinders, resulting in an image that vividly evokes a blanket's unique texture, pattern, and colors.
Chihuly's Pendletons has 172 full-color reproductions, including blankets from the artist's private collection, historical photographs, and the distinguished Blanket Cylinders series. The volume also features an essay by Chihuly on his attraction to the blankets and his creative process in developing the series.