Tacoma, Wash. (September 12, 2006)— For the third year, a team of master glassblowers from Finland’s iittala, Inc., who specialize in making the glass birds created by revered Finnish designer Oiva Toikka, will  be at work in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop. From October 13 – 15, visitors will be able to observe the specific techniques and the original color palette developed by Toikka. 

Birds by Toikka represents thousands of individual birds and a variety of species that have been designed for Iittala since 1973. These hand-crafted, mouth-blown glass birds are collected worldwide Toikka has previously designed the Washington state bird, American Goldfinch and the Pacific Water Fowl specifically in honor of the Museum of Glass; both birds are limited editions.  This year, the limited edition bird of 1500 pieces is the Spotted Towhee, the symbol of the local Tahoma Audubon Society and a beloved backyard bird of the Northwest. The first 250 Spotted Towhees will be available at the Museum Store beginning October 13.

The Museum is partnering with Iittala, the Tahoma Audubon Society and the Point Defiance Zoo to offer two weekends of bird-related events and educational programming for adults and children:

Pre-Flight Weekend, October 7 – 8, 2006

Saturday, October 7, 1 – 4 pm
Bird Day for Families
Storyteller & Display by Tahoma Audubon Society
Family Bird Walk along waterway guided by Tahoma Audubon Society
Create your own Fantastical Birds, all ages, Studio
Design your own bird contest, kids12 & under, Studio

Sunday, October 8
Bird Day for Adults, presented by Tahoma Audubon Society
2 – 3 pm slide and lecture by Paul Bannick, nature photographer (featured in Sunset magazine)
4 – 5 pm Adult Bird Walk along waterway, Tahoma Audubon Society

Migration Begins!
October 13 – 15, 2006

Spotted Towhee, designed by Oiva Toikka and created as a limited edition, will be offered for the first time, exclusively through the Museum Store.

Iittala’s Birds by Toikka Glassblowing Team from Finland will demonstrate the art of forming birds from molten glass all weekend.

Children under age 12 may participate in the Design-Your-Own Bird Program in the Studio on Saturday. The winning entry will be blown in the Hot Shop Sunday afternoon.

Real birds from Point Defiance Zoo will visit the Museum October 13 & 14 from 1 to 2 pm.

Bart Rulon, a scientific bird illustrator, will give demonstrations October 13, 14 & 15 from 1 to 4 pm

Visitors of all ages may make a Bird Abode on Saturday, October 14, from 1 – 4 pm in the Studio

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Oiva Toikka’s work can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Corning Museum of Glass in New York, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Japan and numerous additional public and private collections.