Introduction to the Collection Series: Prints & Drawings

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Tracy Savard

Of the many resources found in The Rakow Research Library, prints and drawings are among our most fascinating. As the Library’s Cataloging Specialist for works in this category, I have the opportunity to surround myself with these items on a daily basis. Currently, we hold several thousand of these prints and drawings and our collection is constantly expanding. Each piece contributes to the wealth of information that the Library offers on the history, art, business, and science of glass and glassmaking.

Our prints and drawings are stored flat in a secure, climate-controlled environment in either print boxes or flat file storage units. And, depending on their fragility and media, they are also matted, housed in mylar (archival quality polyester film), or in acid-free folders, as their continued preservation is of the utmost importance.

Anne Gant, Drawing #3, 2010. Burn marks and pencil on paper ; 27 x 19 cm.

Two of my personal favorites are fairly recent acquisitions. The first is a pyrography by Anne Gant. Pyrography is a term used to refer to burn marks left on a material by the controlled application of a heated object. In this case, the artist has used the application of hot glass onto wet sheets of rag paper to create stunning imprints. Drawing #3 is a pyrography she completed in 2010 of a vessel with two handles on a double layer of Rives BFK cotton rag paper.

Fallbrook vitreograph by Harvey K. Littleton

Harvey K. Littleton, Fallbrook, 1993. Ink and pencil on paper ; 56 x 65 cm.

My second favorite, Fallbrook, is a vitreograph by Harvey K. Littleton, one of the founders of the American Studio Glass movement. Vitreography is a printmaking technique that uses the altered surface (for example, through cutting) of a glass plate to hold ink for its transfer to paper in an etching press. This limited edition, four color print was hand printed on Rives BFK acid-free paper in 1993 and was acquired by the Library in 2011. It captures a piece of Corning’s glassmaking history – the glass plant formerly located on Tioga Avenue, just across the bridge from The Corning Museum of Glass.

Each piece beautifully embodies the artist’s remarkable and unconventional use of glass.

Also inside this collection are prints and drawings that use other forms of media such as chalk, charcoal, watercolor, pencil, and ink. They are all available to see – just stop by The Rakow Research Library and ask a reference librarian for help.

This is the second installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series. Read the first post: Glass Research at The Rakow Research Library.

One lucky member’s design selected for Making Ideas preview GlassLab session

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

A summer of Making Ideas kicks off tonight with the Member’s preview of Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab. GlassLab, the signature design program of the Museum, offers a unique opportunity for designers to work with hot glass. Historically, access to glass has been limited for artists and designers. Through GlassLab, nearly fifty international designers from various disciplines, including product, industrial, graphic and fashion design, have worked with the Museum’s artist-glassblowers to create prototypes of their design concepts and work with glass in ways never possible before. In lieu of a glassblowing production factory, designers work on a mobile glassblowing stage at museums and design events across Europe and the United States including Design Miami, Art Basel, Vitra Design Museum, and Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Designer Nacho Carbonell at GlassLab design session

Designer Nacho Carbonell assists GlassLab gaffers during his design session at Vitra Design Museum

Members of the Museum have exclusive access to one of the world’s best collections of glass design. The GlassLab program has increased access to the material of glass for designers and artists. In the spirit of this summer’s exhibition, we invited our members to become designers themselves in a live GlassLab session.

Museum Members at the Friend level and above were asked to submit a design concept to be made in glass during a special Hot Glass Show at the Member’s-only reception for Making Ideas. Designs could be functional vessels, lighting, or sculptural explorations. After receiving many sketches and unique concepts, a winner was selected.

GlassLab Member's preview design concept

Dr. Wayne C. Templer's design concept

Dr. Wayne C. Templer, a member of the Museum for nine years, submitted this design for an Atlantic salmon fly. Museum glassmaker Eric Meek said, “This design will be fun to see come together onstage because of its shape. It’s not a typical vessel – it was the most unusual design that was submitted.” He noted that a fly fishing lure is something that is universally identifiable, but not necessarily when made in glass.

This summer, visitors to the Museum will have the opportunity to see GlassLab in action at design sessions at the Hot Glass Show every Tuesday and Wednesday from May 29 through August 29 (see the full schedule). Designers will work with glassmakers to explore and prototype their design concepts live. If you missed your opportunity to submit a design for the Member’s reception, You Design It; We Make It begins on May 25^th, and become a Museum Member for special access to events throughout the year.

May Flowers at the Rakow Library: Design Drawings by the Tiffany Girls

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Nive Chatterjee

The Rakow Research Library holds eight original Tiffany drawings: Branches Bearing Yellow Berries, Chestnut Leaves, Dandelion Plant, Marsh Marigold, Peonies, Thistle, Violets and Yellow Berries. All of them except for Branches Bearing Yellow Berries have the titles handwritten on them. Five of the drawings are signed by Alice C. Gouvy and two by Lillian A. Palmié (Peonies is the unsigned drawing and was most probably also completed by Gouvy or Palmié). All of the drawings are watercolors that have the Tiffany Furnaces stamp, five of the drawings have the Enamel Dept. S. G .Co. (Stourbridge Glass Company) stamp, and three of the drawings are dated 1902. Violets at 24 cm by 29 cm, is the smallest drawing and Chestnut Leaves measuring 48 cm by 66 cm, and Thistle at 64 cm by 45 cm, are the two largest.

Chestnut Leaves design drawing for Tiffany Furnaces by Alice C. Gouvy

These drawings were water damaged, most likely in the flood of 1972 when Hurricane Agnes struck the Corning area. When I first saw them, I can remember seeing embedded grime, discoloration, tidemarks, and tears. In 2007, the eight drawings were taken to The Westlake Conservators in Skaneateles, New York, where paper objects and photographic materials conservator, Michele Philips treated and matted these drawings.

: Dandelion Plant

: Peonies

: Yellow Berries

The artists, Gouvy and Palmié, are documented in New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls by Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray and Margaret K. Hofer, 2007. Lillian Palmié was born in Brooklyn, NY around 1871-74 and was at Tiffany Studios by 1897. Her twin sister, Marion Palmié also worked for the firm. Alice Carmen Gouvy was born in Cleveland, OH, around 1870-75. She graduated from Cleveland School of Art in 1894, moved to New York and probably started working for Tiffany then. Clara Driscoll’s work is unraveled in this book from her letters to her family. She was employed by Louis Comfort Tiffany as a creative artist from the late 1880s until around 1909 and led a staff of women known as the “Tiffany Girls” that included Gouvy and Palmié. They worked behind the scenes and made a valuable contribution to Tiffany’s creations. Gouvy and Palmié and other ladies of a small female staff were part of the enamel and pottery department under Driscoll’s direction. Their drawings are the first step in the process of creating designs and decorative objects produced by the enamel department. Importantly, Driscoll reveals that Tiffany generally approved of her ideas, and rarely did he make changes to her designs.

Branches Bearing Yellow Berries design drawing for Tiffany Furnaces by Alice C. Gouvy and Lillian A. Palmié

Branches Bearing Yellow Berries design drawing for Tiffany Furnaces by Lillian A. Palmié

Two of the drawings, Thistle and Marsh Marigold were on loan to the New York Historical Society through May, for inclusion in their traveling exhibition titled A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls at The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida.

Marsh Marigold design drawing for Tiffany Furnaces by Alice C. Gouvy

Thistle design drawing for Tiffany Furnaces by Alice C. Gouvy

Local Student Creativity Takes Center Stage at the Annual Corning/Painted Post Student Art Show

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Amanda Kiesl

Each spring, the Museum is proud to showcase the creativity and talent of local students through the Annual Student Art Show. This year alone, the artwork of over 2200 students in elementary, middle and high schools in the Corning/Painted Post area is on display in the Museum’s Auditorium. While the process to plan the show begins in January, area students excitedly anticipate the art show as soon as the school year begins each fall. I sat down with Louise Maio, Public Programs Planner for the Museum and organizer of the student art show for almost forty years, to learn a little bit more about this annual event.

Louise (right) and Tammy (left) organized the 2012 Student Art Show.

Throughout the school year, teachers from the thirteen participating area schools are asked to select works from their students to be included in the show. The week of the opening, these teachers are invited to help hang the show and place all the artwork from their schools on specially designed boards.

Local art teachers are invited to help hang the student artwork.

The Auditorium is a flurry of activity the week before the opening, as everyone prepares for the event and works to display each piece. The day of the opening, students and their families, along with area teachers and administrators, are invited to an opening ceremony, where each participating student receives a signed certificate, congratulating them on having their work included. Several special works are also chosen to grace the cover of the program, poster and invitations for the show. These are framed and presented at the ceremony.

This year, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were presented with blue glass stars.

Over the years, as the number of participating schools and students has grown, Louise has worked to add other awards to the program. Middle and high school works are currently judged in twenty different media categories by invited judges from the community. For the first time this year, the medals awarded are made of glass. This year judges awarded 208 blue glass stars for first, second and third place.

Another special part of the ceremony is the awarding of scholarships to local seniors who are looking to pursue art in college. Having organized the student art show for many years, Louise enjoys seeing a familiar name win the scholarship, as she as seen the student’s work change and grow over the years as they participated in the show.

When asked about her favorite part of the Student Art Show, Louise describes seeing the pride and excitement on each child’s face as they take their parents to see their work. “The students love the opening,” Louise explains, as she emphasizes the goal of the show; to give recognition and encouragement to each young artist.

A view of the finished show.

The Annual Student Art Show is on display in the Museum’s Auditorium through May 9^th. Check out more photos of the show installation on our Flickr stream.

A Conversation with Jim Friant, Paul Stankard and Lucio Bubacco at the Rakow Library

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Beth Hylen

This year we celebrate 50 years of studio glassmaking – 50 years of stories of chance, experimentation, and courage.

This past January, we interviewed on camera long-time friends Jim Friant and Paul Stankard together with Lucio Bubacco as part of our oral history interviews at the Rakow Research Library. The three share connections to 1960s glass making and their story illustrates how a chance meeting sparked discoveries that eventually helped influence glass history.

Jim Friant, Paul Stankard, Lucio Bubacco and Brad Turner oral history interview at the Rakow Library

Jim Friant, Paul Stankard, Lucio Bubacco and Brad Turner (interviewer)

Jim Friant is a glassmaker and researcher who now lives in Corning. Paul Stankard and Lucio Bubacco are internationally known glass artists. Stankard lives in New Jersey; Bubacco in Murano.

Friant and Stankard describe a “sweet memory” from about 1967 or 1968 when the two took a bus from southern New Jersey to Philadelphia. There, in the center court of the department store Wanamaker’s, they saw Lucio Bubacco’s father, Severino Bubacco, creating and selling glass during the holidays. He was an Italian glassmaker working in the United States. He eventually had a glassblowing shop on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City where he demonstrated glassmaking and sold glass figurines, flowers and animals.

Paul Stankard oral history interview at the Rakow Library

Paul Stankard being interviewed at the Rakow Library

With a kiln, a crucible and an 18-inch spoon, Bubacco sprinkled chunks of Baccarat crystal and powdered colored glass into the crucible and waited a few minutes while it softened. Then, he scooped the glass out. In seconds, pinching and pulling the glass, he deftly transformed the gob of molten glass into a dragon! He knocked it off onto the table (without annealing) and put it on a shelf to sell.

Jim and Paul were fascinated – each dragon Bubacco made was a different color.

Seeing Severino Bubacco’s work strengthened Paul Stankard’s desire to “be creative.” Stankard, then a scientific glassblower, trained at vocational school and worked for ten years making lab ware for industry. But he longed to make colorful lampworked vases like John Burton created on his TV program and was inspired by popular New Jersey “Millville Rose” paperweights.

Here was a man blowing glass and selling his work to the public independent of industry. The experience helped inspire Stankard to make the leap to paperweight making full time, developing his signature botanical style over the next 40 years.

Paul Stankard and Lucio Bubacco discuss glassmaking at the Rakow Library

Paul Stankard and Lucio Bubacco at the Rakow Library

Friant brought samples of Bubacco’s father’s work to the interview, as well as photographs of subsequent trips to Italy where he visited the Bubacco family.

Paul Stankard and Lucio Bubacco were in Corning teaching an advanced workshop, “Fiori e Angeli (Flowers and Angels),” sharing their flameworking techniques with students at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass – inspiring a new generation of glass artists. A video of their Studio Demonstration is available on the Museum’s YouTube channel:

The full oral history interview will be available to view at the Rakow Research Library.

Artist Christopher Lydon inspired by B.B. King’s Lucille at 2300°: Blues

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

Philadelphia-based artist Christopher Lydon makes organically inspired sculptural and vessel forms as well as works with intense color contrasts that reference street art and anime. At the March 2300°: Blues, Lydon was inspired by the theme of that night’s event – the blues, and special guest Tony Coleman, drummer for the legendary American blues guitarist B.B. King.

For his Hot Glass Show demonstration, Lydon challenged himself to sculpt something fun and recognizable to the audience, all within the two hour time limit of the event. Working closely with his team of glassblowers, he created a glass guitar modeled on B.B. King’s signature Lucille. See the demonstration and hear from Lydon on how he’s progressed as an artist and the importance of working with a good team.

See more photos of Christopher and the band Howling Waters at 2300°: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzroaZ6

Honoring National Poetry Month at the Rakow Research Library

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Megan McGovern

What better way to honor National Poetry Month than to focus on the collection of glass-related poetry at the Rakow Research Library? The Library has a modest group of poems about glass or glassmaking collected from various sources over the years, including direct submission by the poet. It even has a poem written about the Museum!

A file full of poems at the Rakow Research Library

Poems about glass collected by the Rakow Research Library. (Photograph by The Corning Museum of Glass)

One example of a glass-related poem is by the esteemed Amy Lowell (1874-1925), an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1926, a year after her death. Her poem, “Fragment,” was first published in 1912, in a book of her poetry called A Dome of Many-Colored Glass. In the piece, Lowell compares poetry to mosaics (which are created by building a pattern or picture from raw materials – glass stones or fragments for mosaics and words for poems) and to glass vessels (which are created, like poems, from hard work into objects of art and beauty).

Image of a mosaic glass tabletop, CMoG accession 97.3.10

Mosaic Glass Tabletop, about 1866. (97.3.10)

Fragment

What is poetry? Is it a mosaic
Of coloured stones which curiously are wrought
Into a pattern? Rather glass that’s taught
By patient labor any hue to take
And glowing with a sumptuous splendor, make
Beauty a thing of awe; where sunbeams caught,
Transmuted fall in sheafs of rainbows fraught
With storied meaning for religion’s sake.

Another noteworthy example of a glass-related poem was published in a 1713 book called Miscellany Poems on Several Occasions Written by a Lady. The poem, called “Glass,” is by English noblewoman Anne Kingsmill Finch (1661-1720). In this poem, she marvels at windows (which divide light and air, letting light into homes while blocking wind), mirrors (which provide reflections), and vessels such as wineglasses.

Image of a mirror, CMoG accessioin 98.3.18

Reverse Painted Mirror in Gilded Wood Frame, about 1720-1730. (98.3.18)

Glass

O Man! what Inspiration was thy Guide,
Who taught thee Light and Air thus to divide;
To let in all the useful Beams of Day,
Yet force, as subtil Winds, without thy Shash to stay;
T’extract from Embers by a strange Device,
Then polish fair these Flakes of solid Ice;
Which, silver’d o’er, redouble all in place,
And give thee back thy well or ill-complexion’d Face.
To Vessels blown exceed the gloomy Bowl,
Which did the Wine’s full excellence controul,
These shew the Body, whilst you taste the Soul.
Its colour sparkles Motion, lets thee see,
Tho’ yet th’ Excess the Preacher warns to flee,
Lest Men at length as clearly spy through Thee.

Although by no means comprehensive, the Library’s collection of glass-related poetry contains a variety of poets, styles, and subjects, as well as a date range of over 200 years. Check it out the next time you visit. The Library also welcomes you to submit a glass-related poem of your own, any time, to reference@cmog.org.

Making History in Glass: Bee, Fifinella, Women Airforce Service Pilots and the Hot Glass Roadshow

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Annette Sheppard

Every once in a while the opportunity comes along to meet someone truly inspirational.

The Hot Glass Roadshow travels around the globe and I have been lucky enough to accompany it a smattering of times. We get to meet a plethora of different people, a host of different characters with stories and histories as varying the places we visit. If we are lucky, sometimes we are able to spend some time with these amazing people, listening, laughing and learning from them first hand. One of those amazing people whom I was extremely fortunate to have met is Bernice “Bee” Falk-Haydu.

Everett, Chris and I met Bee while the Hot Glass Roadshow temporarily resided in the courtyard of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL. Every Thursday night, the Norton hosts an “Art After Dark” event. Keeping its doors open a bit later than usual, the Norton welcomes the community to enjoy art and our shows in a lively, festive atmosphere.

Bernice “Bee” Falk-Haydu with Fifenella "You Design it; We Make it" drawing for The Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Roadshow

Bernice “Bee” Falk-Haydu with her "You Design it; We Make it" drawing of Fifinella

It was at one of these events where I spied a keen eyed woman with a gold medal around her neck. She was paying particularly close attention and I guessed she wasn’t a day over 18. Accurately guessing ages not being high on my list of skills, it was not surprising to find she was a few days older than 18; 91, in fact. Regardless, she was sharp as a tack.

She spoke with Chris and they connected right away over a mutual love of flying. Bee’s love and dedication to flying, however, runs a bit deeper than most. She was a member of WASP. What is WASP, you might ask? In case it doesn’t ring a bell, it stands for Women Airforce Service Pilots. There were 1,074 female service pilots flying every type of plane in the US Airforce’s arsenal during WWII, and Bee had flown all of them. However, after the war ended, the real fight began.

The women pilots were denied veterans benefits. Bee began a fight she continues to this day to have these amazing women’s accomplishments and contributions to the country recognized. It took until 1977 before veterans benefits were granted to the WASPs. The gold medal Bee wore is the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to her by President Obama himself.

Fifenella (Image courtesy of the National Museum of the USAF)

Fifinella (Image courtesy of the National Museum of the USAF)

It turns out the WASPs have a mascot. Walt Disney designed and drew Fifinella, a little sprite in a flying suit complete with goggles, helmet, and wings, to represent the WASPs. Bee had a pin with her likeness and asked if it would be possible for Fifinella to be made in glass.

Unfortunately, Fifinella is really complicated. I knew she would take at least an hour or more to make. Even then, there is no way to know how well she would turn out. Human figures are extremely difficult to accurately sculpt. Everyone is intimately familiar with the human form, making any minor transgression glaringly visible. That, coupled with the scale (it would have to be fairly small), a lack of torches and the fact that we were confined by a set schedule… I thought it would be practically impossible. Bee, Chris and I all traded contact information and I let her know that maybe, in the future, we might try.

About a week later Bee returned, just to see a few more shows. I talked to Chris and Everett, asking if they were up for some running around. This piece would require teamwork, timing, and over 20 separate bits of added glass. For Everett, it would require running bits while assisting me; simultaneously holding a conversation with the audience while listening to me give directions on one of the most complicated pieces I’ve ever made for a “You Design It.” What’s more, he’d have to keep this up for an entire hour. Figuring it was as good a time as any, we decided to take the allotted hour and make an attempt at Fifinella.

Annette and Everett work on making Fifenella at The Norton Museum of Art for The Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Roadshow

Annette and Everett work on making Fifinella

Fifty nine minutes later we finished. While the colors were muted because of the heat, the form didn’t look too bad for a first try. We wouldn’t know till the next day whether or not she turned out.

Fiffy turned out better than I could have hoped.

Travelling and demonstrating glass with the Roadshow sometimes provides me with hidden, unexpectedly rewarding benefits, most importantly the chance to have unexpected encounters with incredibly inspiring people such as Bee. What’s more, every now and again, I have the chance to give back. It may not be in my power as a glassmaker to give medals, accolades, or veteran’s benefits, but I was given the opportunity to use my glassmaking skills to say thank you to an unsung American hero.

Bernice “Bee” Falk-Haydu with Fifenella, Chris Rochelle, and Annette Sheppard

Bernice “Bee” Falk-Haydu with Fifinella and glassmakers Chris Rochelle and Annette Sheppard

For me, making Fifinella was more than a glass demonstration. It was the chance to honor Bee for a lifetime of hard work, commitment and perseverance, not only to our country, but for ALL the female pilots overlooked, unrecognized and forgotten to history.

Every once and a while you get to meet someone truly inspirational. More importantly, every once in a while, you get to say thanks.

The Hot Glass Roadshow team and Bee

Visit Operation Fifinella to learn more about Bee and the WASPs.

Glass Research at The Rakow Research Library: Introduction to the Collection Series

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Amy De Simone

When you hear the word library, the first thing that comes to mind is likely books. With a little more thought, you may come to digital collections, videos, sound recordings, microfilm or archives. You might think of periodicals and articles. If you’re familiar with the Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library, you’ll also think of auction and trade catalogs, photographs, prints and drawings, patents, ephemera and a host of other documents.

Rakow Library reading room

The Rakow Research Library is the world’s foremost library on the art and history of glass and glassmaking. We want to share our collection with you piece by piece and we hope this Introduction to the Collection blog series will increase your awareness of the different types of materials that can be found in the Library.

De la pirotechnia by Biringucci. Bib. #93699

The Rakow Library has books ranging from a 12th-century manuscript to the latest exhibition catalogs of contemporary glass artists. Beside the glass-centered books on art, business, objects, history, people and science, we collect texts to support research in related fields of study. Virtual books make up part of the digital collection, which is also comprised of digitized slides, rare books, trade catalogs, photographs, oral histories, design drawings, works of art on paper, notebooks, and sketchbooks. Making this part of the collection easily accessible serves to support teaching and research while helping to preserve original materials.

Watercolor of Chestnut leaves by Alice Gouvy for Tiffany. Bib. #88922

To aid in the study and research of glass, educational and instructional videos, documentaries, lectures, presentations, non-commercial productions, and other films are available. Sound recordings, slides and transparencies also hold useful information for researchers. Unique to the Rakow Library, over 130 archival collections from individual artists, galleries, companies, scholars and organizations consist of primary materials such as personal papers, notebooks, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, drawings, blueprints, ephemera, posters, cartoons, photographs, slides, and transparencies. In addition, works on paper include art originals, drawings, prints, photographs, and posters ranging in date from the 16th century to the present.

Littleton in his office at his farm in Wisconsin. Digitized from Lipofsky slide.

With over 850 active subscriptions and over a thousand titles from the 18th to the 21st century, the Library houses a large periodical collection to support the study of glass. Online subscription databases also give library patrons on site access to articles, many in electronic full text. Auction and trade catalogs comprise a good part of the library’s collection at approximately 27,000 items. The catalogs are unparalleled resources in providing primary source information for scholars researching glass in its artistic, historic, economic, and sociological aspects.

Robert Florian Negative of June 1962 Toledo workshop. Bib. #105709

June 1962 Toledo workshop (Film Negative by Robert Florian) Bib. #105709

Finally, the Library houses patents, documents, such as glass factory correspondence and other miscellaneous records, and ephemera including postage stamps, calendars, and other glass-related resources.

We hope that this general introduction to the collection helps you understand the different types of resources that are available in the Rakow Library. Be sure to check back for upcoming installments of the Introduction to the Collection series that will focus on specific areas of the collection.

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

“I don’t want to be bored”: Ginny Ruffner talks genetic engineering and creativity at The Corning Museum of Glass

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

Ginny Ruffner with The Urban Garden, in Seattle WA

I had a chance to talk with Ginny Ruffner when she came to the Museum for a viewing of the film A Not So Still Life: The Ginny Ruffner Story from director Karen Stanton. Along with The Fund for Women, the Museum presented the film which explores the fascinating life of this world renowned artist.

What was your inspiration for When Lightning Blooms?

When Lightning Blooms - Ginny Ruffner Aesthetic Engineering series

When Lightning Blooms, Ginny Ruffner (American, b. 1952), United States, Seattle, WA, 2006. H: about 106.7 cm, about W: 96.5 cm, about D: 61 cm (2011.4.71)

That piece is part of the Aesthetic Engineering series, which is a group of sculptures I’ve been working on for six or seven years and it was originally inspired by the amazing developments in genetic engineering particularly the inter kingdom sharing of genes between plants and animals. They put pig genes in beets to make them bigger, walrus genes in tomatoes to make them frost proof – it’s amazing what they’re doing! And what it makes me do is it makes me think – well what if? What if there were genetic implications for things? What I’m creating is hybridizing things that don’t have genes and thinking – what if?

In the case of When Lightning Blooms, it was what if lightning could bloom? What if lightning had a gene where it could flower, what would that look like? It’s fascinating to me; it’s evocative. That’s what generates my wonder machine.

That’s what I wanted to ask about next – how do you cultivate your creativity? Your wonder machine?

Thinking. I think a lot. I don’t watch TV, although I do watch basketball! I read a lot, and more importantly I spend time every day just thinking! And when I read something, I think about it. It makes me wonder. One subject that is really evocative and thought provoking for me is genetics and what’s actually happening in genetics, it’s not just what if? – it’s what’s happening now, and that inspires me to think.

What’s it like being a woman and a glassblower?

The glass world is predominantly male. There are many more male glassblowers, and if you were to get a list of who the artists are in museums, I would say it’s probably more than fifty percent male – it’s different now with Tina [Oldknow, modern glass curator] here, and there are more women in the field than there used to be.

Being a woman affects my work in that I tend to be an over achiever, and I like how it is – it’s just another challenge. But in terms of the way I look at the world that might affect my artmaking – if I start making broad generalizations that department it sounds stereotypical, but I think that I’m more open to the whole gestalt of it – seeing the world, looking for connections.

Tina Oldknow, Marie McKee, Ginny Ruffner and Karol Wight at the viewing of A Not So Still Life

Tell me more about taking on challenges

Well it’s a challenge to be female in any art field. The art world is very male-dominated – critics, artists, writers, museum people. And, being an artist over 30, there is a bias for youth in the art world. But also, new media, blogs and all that, that could be a challenge, but I think of it as an invitation. I love to learn, I’m pretty tech-savvy! The challenge for me is that I have so many ideas. I would love to incorporate more technology in my work, which is a challenge because I don’t have the specific skills to do that.

Are you working on any partnerships to work with technology?

Oh, I talk with people all the time, so who knows what will happen!

In the film, you ask people “What do you want to do with your life?” So, what’s next for you, what do you want to do with your life?

Well, specifically what’s next – the Aesthetic Engineering show is opening in Huntsville Museum in 2014 and they’re going to tour that around to other museums for about 5 years after that. And I am going to write – that’s another challenge – yesterday I went to a women’s writer’s retreat. I want to write a book that goes with the traveling show. I’ve written a couple pop-up books that accompany two previous traveling shows and I love pop-ups, but I don’t want to be pigeon-holed as a pop-up writer. But, I love that with pop-ups, you’re making words move and it’s a true intersection of visual and verbal.

I thought maybe there’s something that exists in that space in between; nobody’s done that that I know of. On the way here I was thinking about how I would like to do a book that has visuals in it – creativity is what I know, so I would need to make it about creativity. And I want to make it not a pop-up, but something beyond words on a page. I’m doing these little conventional words on paper, that are kind of like visual rapping, because they’re sampling a bunch of different things. It’s a really raw idea, but having a picture book with audio and lyrics, I don’t know – it’s all brand new!

When I asked about the accident in 1991 that greatly affected her life, Ginny said, “To me it’s old news. It is one of the answers to your question about challenges. If I could, I would talk a lot faster, and I hate not being able to walk fast, those are my challenges. I won’t quit until I can run again. I’d be bored if I gave up, and I don’t want to be bored.”