Monthly Archives: March 2011

George & the Big Blue Bottle

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George Kennard

Museum glassmaker George Kennard, with the assistance of other Hot Glass Show staff, recently made a giant champagne bottle for our friends at Celebrity Cruises (we provide Hot Glass Shows on three  Celebrity Cruise ships). The bottle is completely blown by hand, without a mold or any special equipment – not an easy feat!

Making an elegant champagne bottle that is well shaped and will hold the cork in the neck with just the right diameter, no leaks, will hold the stopper wire, and is strong enough stand up to the tremendous pressure of a champagne is a technical feat that George does not take lightly. He puts an extra deep kick in the bottom of the bottles along with lots of heavy glass to take advantage of the tremendous strength of glass when it is placed under compression.

The bottles are filled with sparkling wine from local Glenora Wine Cellars, and they’ll be used by Celebrity Cruises for the July inauguration of their new ship, Celebrity Silhouette.

In the conservation lab

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I became the museum’s assistant conservator just a few months before the new conservation lab opened. We have certainly made good use of the extra space! The lab is full with all kinds of glass objects in need of some TLC and that’s what I’m here for.

Sometimes the objects I treat are ones that have shattered into many small pieces and sometimes there are just one or two broken or missing pieces.  A lot of the treatments are re-treatments of old repairs that have failed.

Usually I work on at least 2 or 3 objects at a time because the adhesives and resins we use can take days to completely set. Here are pictures of some of projects I recently finished or am currently working on. Check back for updates as these projects progress!

Therman Statom at 2300 Degrees

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Artist Therman Statom demonstrated at February 2300 Degrees, the Museum’s popular free evening event (which takes place on the third Thursday of each month from November through March). Here he talks about his demonstration, about his work in general, and about working with the Museum’s young, emerging glass artists.

An outstanding mixed media artists and one of the early artists working in American Studio Glass, Statom has work represented in the Museum’s collection. He generally creates large-scale sculptural installations; one of these installations graces the local Corning Incorporated headquarters.

Video by Jordan Miller.

The Studio Supports Seven Artists-in-Residence

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Each year,  The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, chooses about 6-8 artists for month-long residencies. The artists are supported with technical assistance, housing, a food stipend, and studio space for one month. They also have full access to The Studio’s state-of-the-art facilities, the Museum’s renowned Rakow Research Library, Museum staff, and can explore the collection at will. 

 Amy Schwartz, The Studio’s director, describes the program: “The artist-in-residence program is a core part of the programming ot The Studio, which is an advocate for artists working The residency program provides artists the luxury of spending a month focusing on their work without day-to-day worries.  The Studio handles the details and the artist engages in the process of creating and exploring.”

Each artist provides a free public Lunchtime Lectures during their residency. This year’s artists include Beth Lipman, Susan Liebold, Dan Mirer and Nisha Bansil, Min Jeong Song, Amie Laird McNeel, Veronika Beckh and Adrianne Evans.