Is there something about glass you’d like to know? Ask a Librarian!

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Amy De Simone

Have you ever wondered what raw materials are combined to make a batch of glass? Are you looking for information on a certain glass artist? Is glass a liquid or a solid? Do you know where to look to try to figure out what company made that glass piece that was passed down to you from your great grandmother? These are all examples of the types of questions that the Rakow Research Librarians answer quite frequently. There are currently over 700 question and answer pairs viewable online and that number is constantly increasing as over 4,000 reference questions are asked each year. Ask us your questions through our customized online reference service, LibAnswers.

Screenshot of the Rakow LibAnswers landing page

Tag cloud for browsing questions by subject

Questioners can choose if they would like their question viewable by the public. Public answers show up as search results in Google and allow other researchers to further explore the topic. For those interested in browsing the questions, there is a tag cloud to allow topical browsing or a keyword search can be done.

The Rakow Library focuses on the art and history of glass and glassmaking. We have many topical bibliographies to share ranging from glassmaking techniques to glass companies, types of glass, glass artists and beyond. Though our collection does not circulate, we are happy to loan second copies of books or send copies of articles to your local library through Interlibrary Loan.

The Rakow Research Library is open from 9-5, Monday – Friday | Telephone: 607.438.5300
Email: rakow@cmog.org

November 2012 Artist-in-Residence: Andrew Erdos

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Mandy Kritzeck

Headed into his senior year of high school in the summer of 2002, Andrew Erdos came to The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass to take a glassmaking class with Stephen Powell. Ten years later, Erdos returned to The Studio as an artist-in-residence, having had successful solo and group exhibitions across the U.S. and internationally.

The opportunity to study glass sculpture at The Studio as a teen, he says, “gave me the confidence to pursue glass as a career.” He jokes that his plans up to then had been to study finance, as a rebellion against his artistic family. Instead, he applied early decision to art school.

Artist-in-residence Andrew Erdos works on a blown glass sculpture.

It wasn’t long after graduating with a BFA in glass from Alfred University in 2007 that Erdos began making his way into the art scene. That same year, his work was included in a major group show in Beijing alongside artists such as John Cage and Kiki Smith. It was this event that Erdos defines as the “start” of his professional career and the moment that he came into his own, yet in retrospect he acknowledges that his childhood was “all about art and building installations.”

Andrew Erdos' silverized glass sculptures resemble futuristic animals.

In Melt From Us, Like the Substance of a Dream, Erdos’ installation at Art Miami in 2011, his silverized, futuristic glass sculptures reflected in a mirrored room, where the viewer was completely immersed in a sensory experience. All of the work in the installation was made at The Studio. He used video projected on the ceiling to activate the reflective surfaces of the almost alien-like animal forms. Footage of a sunrise over abandoned ruins in the deserts of Arizona played along with the sun setting over the skies of New York City. The contrast between an abandoned civilization and a visual representation of the western world intrigued Erdos, who says that he’s fascinated by complicated relationships: culture and technology, nature and science. His work incorporates glass sculpture, video, performance, and sound to explore these intersections, but not to make a definitive statement. He remains a neutral observer of humankind’s place in the stages of world history.

For his next installation, Erdos plans to include video footage from a recent trip Iceland. He’s intrigued by the geological makeup of the land, which he says, having a high concentration of silica, relates to glass in its rawest form.

In his recent November 2012 Residency at The Studio, Erdos created work for his upcoming April 2013 solo exhibition at the Claire Oliver Gallery in New York City. For the exhibition, he has crafted an even larger interactive installation than what was at Art Miami. Erdos continues to explore with video components in his installations, noting that as video is the controlled transmission of light, and glass is the best material for transmitting light, the two are a perfect complement.

November 2012 Artist-in-Residence: Andrew Erdos

Artist-in-Residence Andrew Erdos at The Studio.

He enjoys working with glass as a material. “There is no reason to make art unless you truly enjoy it. I absolutely love glass. It was a raw energy, a raw power that can’t be found in other materials. Glass is a living organism: it moves, it generates heat, it brings a power that the material provides, not that the artist brings to it.”

Renovation Begins on Glassmaking Icon

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Corning Museum of Glass

Work began last week to renovate the iconic ventilator building of the former Steuben Glass factory adjacent to The Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, NY. The building will become the largest space in the world for public glassblowing demonstrations. The renovation is part of a 100,000-square-foot North Wing addition to The Corning Museum of Glass, designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners and opening in 2014. The expansion also includes a new 26,000-square-foot contemporary glass gallery space.

Visitors will be able view the Museum’s daily live Hot Glass Show glassblowing demonstrations and other special glassmaking activities from many angles. The space will accommodate 500 people and offer 360-degree views of the glassmaking show. The venue will have retractable banked seating, and a gallery-level balcony running around the perimeter of the hotshop.

“The design of this new glassmaking venue allows the beauty of the original ventilator structure to shine through,” Phifer said. “The new seating, balcony and hotshop are detailed to never touch the exterior walls. The ceiling has been cleared of pipes so that the original roof truss is fully exposed. When you walk into the space, it will feel as if you are entering an industrial cathedral.”

Corning Museum of Glass Opening New 500-seat Glassmaking Hotshop in 2014.

During the year-long renovation of the ventilator building, the exterior cladding is being removed to expose the underlying steel structure, and the building’s distinctive claw-like shape on the roof of the building (designed to efficiently ventilate massive amounts of heat) will be temporarily removed. The structure, which was built in 1951, will then be reinforced to bring it up to modern building codes, designed to withstand wind, snow loads and earthquakes.

Windows, exterior cladding, and the roof -including the claw- will be rebuilt using modern, insulated, energy-efficient building materials. The building is designed to be LEED-certified.

Renovation of the iconic ventilator building began last week.

“The ventilator building is an icon of mid-century glassmaking factories,” said Karol Wight, the Museum’s executive director. “We are pleased to continue the tradition of glassmaking that has occurred in that space since 1951: to showcase the art of glassmaking to our 400,000 visitors that come to The Corning Museum of Glass each year and to provide international glass artists with one of the best hotshops in the world in which to work.”

The glassmaking facility will include a highly capable hotshop with energy-efficient glassmaking equipment built by Spiral Arts in Seattle, including a 32-inch glory hole, a 1,000-pound furnace for colorless glass, two furnaces for colored glass and four 83-cubic-foot annealers. The glass melting and reheating furnaces are designed to use waste heat to reduce energy consumption.

The hotshop will be supported by a fully equipped cold shop with sandblasting, cutting and engraving capabilities. In addition to the main demonstration space, there will be a smaller, private hotshop for behind-the-scenes activities such as training and private sessions of the Museum’s glass design program, GlassLab.

“We wanted to build a hotshop that any artist would want to work in, so we turned to the glass community for advice,” said Steve Gibbs, senior manager of Hot Glass Programs. “Their dream became our objective: to build the best hotshop in the world in a light-filled, temperature-controlled environment. The large space and equipment will provide our staff and guest artists the capacity needed for large-scale contemporary glassmaking.”

The space will be highly configurable to accommodate special events and demonstrations. The banked seating can retract and additional equipment can be set up to allow for multiple demonstrations to occur at the same time or provide floor space for events. For indoor/outdoor events, the north and south walls can open to adjoining outdoor spaces designed by Reed Hilderbrand Associates.

The live, narrated, Hot Glass Show glassblowing demonstrations have been offered all day, every day, year-round at The Corning Museum of Glass campus in Corning, NY, since 1996. The demonstrations have become one of the Museum’s most popular attractions. Currently, the Museum has a new 150-seat Hot Glass Show theatre, as well as a 141-seat capacity seasonal outdoor demonstration area; both will remain open during construction of the North Wing. The Museum employs almost 40 glassblowers annually who provide glassblowing demonstrations at the Museum, on the road and at sea on Celebrity Cruises.

To learn more about the North Wing expansion project, visit cmog.org/expansion.

Winter’s Frictional Electrical Machine

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Corning Museum of Glass

Around 1745, the German scientist Johann Heinrich Winkler demonstrated the effects of static electricity by electrifying his assistant, who was then handed a glass of brandy. As soon as he lifted the glass to his mouth, sparks would fly from his tongue and set the brandy on fire. The popularity of such performances, and the unexpected effects related to electricity, triggered the invention of various electrical friction machines—for private and public use—throughout the 18th century.

Winter Frictional Electrical Machine, A. Pichler's Witwe & Sohn Lehrmittelanstalt, Austria, Vienna, 1875-1933. Glass, Cherry Wood, Brass. Static machine consisting of wood and glass framework, a glass disc, and a wooden hoop. Overall H: 125 cm. (2007.3.120)

The core feature of almost all of these devices was a piece of revolving glass that rubbed against fixed pads, thereby creating an electrical charge.

Leyden Jar (left)

The pads are connected to a cylinder-shaped negative conductor, while a hemispherical positive conductor almost touches the glass disk. The most conspicuous feature of this machine, an invention by the Austrian scientist Georg K. Winter, is the large wooden ring, which originally had a thick wire running through its center. The device did not aim for accumulating particularly high charges, but rather to generate long and dense sparks. Together with additional devices, such as a Leyden jar (a condenser that was invented in 1745), it probably served as a teaching tool for high school and college students learning about physics.

Introduction to the Collection Series: Photos, Ephemera, and Patents

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Tracy Savard

For our latest installment in the Introduction to the Collection Series, I bring you three more categories of materials you can find at The Rakow Research Library: photographs, ephemera, and patents.

We have a sizeable photograph collection at the Library and many more photographs reside within our archives, such as the one pictured below. You’ll soon see why it’s no surprise that I chose this photograph to feature.

Photograph of George Otis Gleason taking measurements of 200” disk, bib no. 117727

A childhood memory combined with some luck led me to the discovery that the man in the middle of that 200 inch telescope mirror is my great, great-grandfather! When I was a child, I visited the Museum many times; on one of those visits, I remember my mom pointing to that same disk (it’s still on display and you can see it for yourself!) and told me that a relative of mine was involved it its making. Fast forward many years and – as luck would have it – I happened to be researching photographs for inclusion in the Library’s 2011 exhibition Mirror to Discovery: The 200-Inch Disk and the Hale Reflecting Telescope at Palomar. I joked that the unidentified man inside the center of the disk had to be my relative and presented a photocopy of it to my mom who confirmed my hunch and promptly showed me an identical photograph in her possession. What luck!

The second category of material is ephemera, the term used for various printed or written material intended for short-term use. Some examples of ephemera include baseball cards, invitations, greeting cards, trade cards, menus, and advertisements. If you’re interested in a quick etymology lesson, ephemera comes from the Greek word ephemeros which means lasting about a day. The images below are of two advertising cards for Mishler’s herb bitters (which were sold in glass bottles, of course). The cards proclaim that the bitters alleviated various digestive ailments, among other complaints.

bib no. 69482

Ephemera relating to bitters, bib no. 69482

Lastly, we have a growing collection of patents such as the one featured below. This cut glass design was patented by George E. Hatch in 1886; Hatch owned a cutting shop in Brooklyn in the late 19^th century.

Ornamentation of glassware patent, bib no. 119140

Often, patents can provide unique historical insight because they showcase inventions and progress (and don’t forget popular taste) from a certain era. The patents we have mostly fall within the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Stop by and check out these collections for yourself!

This is the ninth installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series.
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The Rakow Research Library is open from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday
Telephone: 607.438.5300 | Email (general inquiries): rakow@cmog.org

Two Significant Acquisitions of Ancient Glass

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Corning Museum of Glass

Today’s post is from Karol Wight, executive director and curator of ancient and Islamic glass.

The Museum’s collections of ancient glass show great chronological breadth and depth, and include indisputable masterpieces and works of high aesthetic quality. The opportunity to work with these objects was one of the reasons I came to Corning as the Museum’s new executive director just over one year ago. But as my title also includes a second line, that of curator of ancient and Islamic glass, I am continuously scanning the art market for objects that can add significantly to our already great holdings of ancient glass. Two such opportunities arose this past year. With the support of our Board, and in compliance with our policy for the acquisition of archaeological material, I was able to enhance our holdings of Egyptian and Roman glass with two significant acquisitions. I hope you enjoy these new objects as much as I do.

Face Inlay of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, Egypt, New Kingdom, Amarna Period, Dynasty XVIII, about 1353–1336 BC. Cast, then cold-worked to refine the sculptural quality of the portrait and to create cavities for additional inlays for the eye and eyebrow. Overall H: 4.2 cm, Th: 0.6 cm; Ear to Nose W: 2.9 cm. Gift of the Ennion Society (2012.1.2).

The first is a portrait inlay of the pharaoh Akhenaton, which is now on view in the permanent collection gallery. The artist who created this inlay was part of a large group of workers who constructed and decorated the city of Amarna, the new capital of the pharaoh Akhenaton (d. 1336 or 1334 B.C.). As this is a royal portrait, the inlay is of the highest aesthetic quality and craftsmanship.

Inlays like this were used to decorate pieces of jewelry, furniture or for relief sculpture. They were inset into carefully carved cavities, and formed parts of highly colorful figural compositions in which parts or the entire figure were made of separate glass elements. The best surviving examples of glass inlays from this period are found in the artifacts preserved in the tomb of Tutankhamen, the son of Akhenaten.

The works of art created during the reign of Akhenaten broke the long-standing traditional style of Egyptian art which was idealized and severely formal. Human figures were always shown in the same manner, with few individualizing elements. The works of the Amarna period, while often called “naturalistic,” are instead also highly stylized in that the human form seems to be an exaggeration, with sagging bellies, thin arms and legs, sumptuous lips, long oval eyes, and high, carefully carved cheekbones. These physical characteristics are present in the inlay. The long neck, high cheekbone, full lips and long, slanted eye are typical of portraits of the ruling family in the Amarna style.

Hemispherical Bowl with Inlaid Nilotic Scene. Roman, 4th-5th century A.D. Cast, inlaid glass technique to add scenic elements, ground, polished. Overall H: 4.4 cm, Diam (max): 20.2 cm. Purchased in part with funds from the Ennion Society and the Houghton Endowment Fund (2012.1.1).

The second acquisition is a hemispherical bowl. Presented against a background of dark purple glass is a landscape scene showing the flora and fauna of the Nile River. Eight colorful birds and a dragonfly are displayed amid a variety of plant life, including the nelumbo lotus. Each of the birds is different from the other, and the plumage, beaks and feet are carefully articulated in glass of different colors. Most easily identified is the flamingo on the left side of the bowl. This scene is characteristic of later Roman art, and similar Nilotic landscapes can be found on the floor mosaics and wall frescoes that decorated Roman houses.

The bowl was constructed by first creating the glass disc that forms the background for the scene. The elements of the composition were arranged on the disc, and then heated and pressed down until they were embedded in the purple glass. The disc was then placed over a hemispherical form and slumped into its curved, bowl shape. After annealing, the bowl was ground and polished.

The bowl is currently undergoing treatment in conservation.

Karol Wight became executive director of The Corning Museum of Glass in 2011, after 26 years at the J. Paul Getty Museum. A specialist in ancient glass, Wight received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has curated numerous exhibitions on ancient art and glass, including Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity (Getty Villa), Athletes in Antiquity: Works from the Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum (Utah Museum of Fine Arts during the 2002 Winter Olympics). In 2007, she co-curated the exhibition, Reflecting Antiquity, with David Whitehouse, which was shown both at the Getty Villa and The Corning Museum of Glass.

North Wing Addition Update: Pencil Rods and Cat Heads

Posted on January 2, 2013 by John Cowden

One of the most complicated operations of constructing the new North Wing is shoring the wall which is in between the Museum and the addition. The wall is an old one made from brick and concrete block. Brick walls are very strong as long as the forces on them are vertical (straight down from the top). If the forces are horizontal (side to side), the bricks need to be held in place. Such a horizontal force might be wind load: big walls can act as a very large sail and catch a lot of wind load in extreme weather.

The first step in shoring is to add strength to the wall by adding stiffbacks.

The first step is to add strength to the wall by adding stiffbacks.

The stiffback channels are lowered through holes in the roof and second floor and attached to the wall.

Composite mesh sleeves for hollow masonry and brick material.

In this case, stiffbacks are channels. Holes are drilled in the channels and into the brick and block behind. Inserted into these holes is a plastic sleeve with plastic mesh. It is slightly smaller than the hole.

The sleeve is filled with epoxy, and a length of all-thread rod is inserted. When the epoxy sets the washer and nut can be installed and the channel secured tightly to the wall.

Other steel members are secured into concrete with wedge anchors. The anchor is so tightly installed in the concrete it can support a very large load.

The wedge anchor is inserted into the finished hole. The washer and nut are placed over the anchor. The wedge anchor is hammered into the hole. The wedge spreads the end.

Stiffbacks are against the walls, and the other side of the shoring is secured to existing columns. Plates were welded to the columns to accept the diagonal bracing. The plates at the bottom of the columns will be encased in concrete. Angle bracing is extensive and prevents movement from front to back, side to side and up and down. In order to make sure the base of the columns do not move, additional weight is added to the bottom of the columns. Six cubic yards of concrete each weighing between 2,500 and 4,000 pounds were poured at the base to produce a deadweight of between 15,000 and 24,000 lbs. This is only a fraction of the amount of concrete that will be poured this winter forming the walls of the new addition, which is why the shoring is so important.

The forms are plywood supported with 2x4s. Vertical 2x4s are studs. Horizontal 2x4s are wales.

Because the concrete exerts a powerful force pushing the form outward, steel wire is used to hold the form together. Typically, snap-ties are used in standardized wall thicknesses like 8” or 12”. In our case, the form is much thicker, and we are using a special thick wire called pencil rod.

Pencil rod is inserted in between studs on opposite sides of the form, threaded through cast iron escutcheons called catheads. The pencil rod is secured by a set screw. The carpenters secure a cathead to one end of the pencil rod. A second cat head is placed loosely on the opposite side of the form. The pencil rod is pulled tight by hand. A tightener is also place over that end.

The pencil rod is inserted from right to left through this tightener. The lever clamps down on the rod and then the hand screw tightens the rod. Then the second cat head set screw is then secured. The wires are bent down for safety.

The carpenters pour three forms at a time. In order to reduce the outward pressure on the forms, each form is poured one third full from the first truck load. That way the concrete can begin to set before it is all added. The second truck adds a second third to all forms and so on.

The concrete truck does not enter the building, to prevent the possibility of a buildup of fumes in the area and also to make sure no fumes enter the Museum. A large forklift uses a half-yard concrete hopper to deliver the concrete to the form.

The concrete is placed (the forms are filled) and vibrated to eliminate voids. Later the forms are stripped and the ends of the pencil rods removed.

Twelve-Arm Cut Glass Chandelier Now on View

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

A recently acquired twelve-armed cut glass chandelier was installed this month in the Museum’s crossroads, at the intersection of the Contemporary Glass Gallery and the Glass Collection Galleries.

The ceiling where the chandelier was installed is above a two-story opening to the ground floor. Our preparators are no strangers to scaling great heights to install and de-install glass artworks, and were able to hang the delicate object piece by piece by using a lift.

The chandelier hangs over an opening to the ground floor and a lift was needed to install.

Crafted around 1760-1765, the Museum’s chandelier with twelve arms is one of the most intact examples of an English cut glass chandelier from that time period. The chandelier has all of its original arms and drip pans, a rare occurrence as these parts were often easily broken or damaged.

Museum preparators Fritz Ochab and Stefan Zoller carefeully install each drip plate.

Museum preparators Fritz Ochab and Stefan Zoller carefully install each drip plate.

In the 18th century, the English chandelier became an important decorative component within the elegant interiors in the homes of the nobility. This style of chandelier grew out of a 17th-century desire for spectacular lighted centerpieces that were originally constructed from rock crystal. Glass was more accessible and affordable than rock crystal, and it could be just as stunning when it was properly cut and illuminated.

Additional arms wait in carts to be put back together while Warren Bunn and Stephen Hazlett watch on as Fritz attaches an arm onto the hanging chandelier body.

A significant enhancement to the basic form of this chandelier was the use of finely executed decorative cutting on all of its elements. The cutting amplified the reflective qualities of the glass and made the entire assemblage a beautiful and glittering addition to an interior space. Watch how this technique was done in this video on lathe cutting.

Another similar chandelier of this period hangs in Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Dated around 1745-55, it differs in arm and stem configuration, but has twelve arms and is cut in a similar fashion to the Museum’s recent acquisition.

Chandelier with Twelve Arms, European, England, about 1760-1765. Blown, cut, and assembled. Overall H: about 125 cm, Diam (max): about 107 cm (2012.2.8) View the full record in the Collections Browser: http://www.cmog.org/artwork/chandelier-twelve-arms

Holiday Glass Around the World

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

Inspired by our ornament tree here at The Corning Museum of Glass, students at the Nuutajärvi Glass Village in Finland created their own hand-blown glass ornament tree to celebrate the season and the tradition of glassblowing.

The Finnish glass ornament tree

Nuutajärvi is home to Finland’s oldest glass factory, and is where the Toikka glass birds are made. Sara Hulkkonen, glassblowing teacher at the Tavastia Vocational Institute in Nuutajärvi, stated:

The tree was built up for the first time and will be shown at a craft fair in Tampere, Finland. Later, hopefully before the snow comes, we can install it in our glass village in Nuutajärvi where it will be a milestone for our jubilee next year. In 2013 it will be 220 years since the glass factory was started in Nuutajärvi and 20 years since the start of the glass education in the village…The project has been wonderful and we feel that it has made the glass community grow stronger.

The tree is made up of almost 1500 ornaments, and the frame was crafted by the school’s metal students. Congratulations to the students in Nuutajärvi, and happy holidays!

Making Ideas: Harry Allen

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

This past summer, we invited designers featured in Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab to come to the Museum for public design performances. Industrial designer Harry Allen’s work includes a line of products cast from real life, including a piggy bank and roller skate. He explored casting glass in antique waffle irons at the Museum last year, and came to his GlassLab sessions with fresh ideas to try.

Allen has worked with GlassLab previously at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Design Miami in 2008. At the Glass Art Society Conference in Toledo, Ohio, in June, Allen and a full team of glassblowers explored new ideas including three-part vases, stacking rocket ship containers, exploding bowls, a fern coil vase, and narrow standing circular vases. Allen also continued his design of blown glass bowls with the molded imprint of the designer’s hands.

Hot glass is blown onto a mold of the designer’s hands to create a bowl at GlassLab at the Glass Pavilion in Toledo, June 2012.

In August, Allen returned to the Museum for his fifth GlassLab design session, a collaboration with Chris Hacker, chief design officer for Johnson & Johnson.

Chris Hacker and Harry Allen at GlassLab in Corning, NY, August 21-22, 2012.

“I’m excited to be here,” said Hacker, “Harry and I have worked together for most of our careers, although we’ve never collaborated quite in this way.” The designers explored making color bands and texture bands that were joined together to form cylindrical vases.

Prototypes and design drawings by Harry Allen and Chris Hacker for their GlassLab design session.

Allen and Hacker also created a series of vessels using blocks molded with the texture of carpet squares. These objects were included in a charity auction to support the Design Industry Foundation Fighting Aids (DIFFA).

Currently, Allen is working with the Museum on the exhibition design for Life on a String: 35 Centuries of the Glass Bead, opening in May 2012. Before then, be sure to check out his design prototypes on view in Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab at the Museum through January 6, 2013.

More images from this summer’s design performances, as well as designer bios, process videos, design drawings, prototypes and more are available on the web-based GlassLab app at cmog.org/glasslab.