“Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab” showcases the Museum’s signature design program, GlassLab, in which designers are invited to work with hot glass. The exhibition features over 150 design prototypes by more than 45 international designers. Over the last decade, the field of design has shifted from a focus on industry and architecture to a practice increasingly informed by contemporary art and craft. Glass, in particular, is being used in newly expressive ways as a result of increased access to the molten material through programs such as GlassLab. Working with the Museum’s artist-glassblowers outside the context of factory production, designers are able to explore concepts and to learn about the properties of glass in ways that were not previously possible. Presented in 2012 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of American studio glass, this exhibition celebrates the spirit of freedom and experimentation with material and process that characterized the early years of the Studio Glass movement. At The Corning Museum of Glass, exhibitions honoring the history of studio glass in the United States and in Europe highlight individual artists. They are “Founders of American Studio Glass: Harvey K. Littleton” (on the West Bridge), “Founders of American Studio Glass: Dominick Labino (in the Rakow Research Library), and “Masters of Studio Glass: Erwin Eisch (in the Focus Gallery).