Dale Chihuly is an internationally known artist whose prominence in the field of studio glass is unmatched. He is also an influential teacher. In 1969, he was hired to develop the glass program at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and two years later, he founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. Although Chihuly produced his own glass at RISD, where he taught until 1983, he preferred to work during the summer at Pilchuck. With the exception of Cadmium Yellow-Orange Venetian #398, all of the work shown here was blown at Pilchuck. After a 1976 car accident, when Chihuly lost sight in his left eye, he worked with gaffers (master glassblowers) instead of blowing the glass himself. Many of the artists who have blown for Chihuly—such as Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, William Morris, Benjamin Moore, and Richard Royal—have established their own careers. The vivid “Macchias” are named for the large spots (macchie in Italian) that are characteristic of the series.