Chihuly is an internationally celebrated personality in contemporary art and design whose prominence in the field of studio glass is unmatched. From the beginning of his involvement with glass in the 1960s, he has focused on the sculptural qualities of the material, using the blown vessel as a vehicle for the exploration of color and form. In 1975–1976, Chihuly devised a decorative technique in which he picked up patterns of colored glass threads, inspired by vintage Navajo and Pendleton trade blankets, onto the surface of a cylindrical glass vessel. This series of vessels was called the Navajo Blanket Cylinders. Chihuly says: “I blew the Navajo Blanket Cylinders for two years. . . . Looking back, I think it is possible to say that . . . the pieces were wearing their drawings just as the Indians were wearing their blankets.”