Chihuly first filled boats with glass in Nuutajärvi, Finland, during the Chihuly Over Venice project in 1995. After several days of glassblowing, Chihuly and the team made temporary installations along the Nuutajoki, the river nearby. He often tossed glass into the river, letting it float downstream. Local kids in small wooden rowboats gathered them, and it was probably then that Chihuly saw the opportunity for a new type of installation. When the team found a partially submerged wooden rowboat, which was hauled out and emptied of mud and debris, Chihuly filled it to overflowing with glass. He has continued to revisit the "Boat" idea ever since.