Monthly Archives: December 2011

John Miller in the Celebrity Solstice house!

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Hello again my darling country! After cruising around the Mediterranean for four months it did my heart some good to skip down the ship’s gangway and plant both my feet on some good old Florida asphalt. I may have raised both my arms in the air and shouted “Ha!!” Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adored traveling around Europe for the first time and getting to see many phenomenal sights that I had only seen in my history books in school.  Being able to do what I love, blowing and sculpting glass, with a fabulous team was icing on the baklava cake for sure. The cherry on top was that we had an audience who truly gained an appreciation for the glassblowing craft and in many cases we passed on the glass bug that encourages one to be a glass addict (yay!).

John flattening his first piece

The last cruise of my contract was in the Caribbean and it was an extra special cruise because we had a guest glass artist by the name of John Miller. You may have heard of him. John’s work is easily recognized for its boisterous charm and humor in the form of super-sized blown-glass sculptures of everyday items and fast food. That same creativity and his sheer showmanship easily won our audiences over in the shows that featured our resident Celebrity Solstice glass artist. It was a marvelous example of how an experienced glassblower can pick up a blow iron in an unfamiliar hotshop with a new crew and make glass magic happen. Though we did have to teach John the all important glassblower ship stance. He cracked up when the furnace door closed on him when he was gathering some glass.  During his shows, John made a huge 15-gallon incalmo beer glass that impressed everyone with the sheer amount of glass he was able to lug around. He flipped the coin and made a slider stem goblet that was absolutely adorable and funny for his next piece.

John and his darling slider goblet

Our auction to benefit the Celebrity Cruises Glassmaking Scholarship Fund was a resounding success with the addition of several of John’s pieces. One special crackle vase raised almost a thousand dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Listening to the slide lecture that John gave brought me back to my formative college years and how inspiring it can be to take a peak into another artist’s motivations and processes. Having John and his dynamite wife Daniella cruise with us was a real treat not only for John’s amazing glass skills, but because they were such fantastic company to host. Daniella was ecstatic to see John don a suit (he called it a monkey suit) for the first time in 20 years and have many 5 star dining experiences. I was happy that my last cruise was by far the best one and to have had such an amazing time with talented glassblowers and a wonderful crew. Hopefully I will see some of you on the high seas in my next contract! Happy 2012!

The CMOG Crew (Dane, Ryan, Zac) with John after the last show of the cruise

No Snow? No Problem. We’ve Got Snowmen Anyway.

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Have you ever tried to make a REALLY big snowman? The snow is heavy as you begin to roll it, and you have to work fast so you can get the snow in the right shape before your hands become numb with cold. When it’s done, you sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate…and hope that the snowman doesn’t melt too quickly.

Well, making a 6-foot tall snowman out of glass is kind of like that…only different.

Imagine trying to hoist 50 lbs of 2100°F molten glass on the end of a 4-foot blowpipe to make the giant snowman’s body parts.  It takes at least four people to turn the pipe to keep the snowman’s shape.  You constantly reheat to keep the glass from freezing up.  It’s hot, sweaty work…and the reward after is moving away from the fire of the glass furnaces and drinking something cold while you wait to see if your glass snowman anneals properly (cools slowly overnight). The good news is, if you are careful, glass snowmen never melt.

George Kennard and a team of glassblowers from the Hot Glass Show made two snowmen (actually, a snowman and snow-woman)  last spring that are 6-feet tall, and you can see them on view at the GlassMarket through the end of February.   The rumor is that there may even be offspring soon.  Check back often at the Museum to find out.

And, while you can’t make a 6-foot glass snowman yourself, you can Make Your Own Glass Snowman at The Studio through the end of February. Great for all ages!

Glass from Christmas Past

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Pages from a 1936 trade catalog, Erwin Geyer, Lauscha, Germany (bib no. 101943), illustrating ornaments, as well as other decorative items for Christmas.

Pages from a 1936 trade catalog, Erwin Geyer, Lauscha, Germany (bib no. 101943), illustrating ornaments, as well as other decorative items for Christmas.

For many, ‘tis the season to haul boxes of ornaments, lights, and prickly plastic wreaths with dusty bows out of the attic.   And for glass aficionados, many of those ornament boxes contain collectible antique ornaments, one-of-a-kind hand-blown creations from studio glass artists, or, perhaps, ornaments made by someone in your family at The Corning Museum of Glass Studio.

Have you ever wondered about the history of those dusty ornaments… the ones handed down to you from generations past or the ornaments you picked up in an antique shop or at a flea market on impulse?

Once you begin to explore the history of Christmas decorations, you will quickly become hooked.   The traditions of Christmas, and their social history, are chock-full of questions, mysteries, and theories.   Christmas festivities, prior to Victorian times, were often more about wassailing (that is, drinking a lot of alcoholic beverages!) than about stockings on the hearth, joy to the world, and the spirit of giving.

The precise history of Christmas tree decorations is also somewhat obscured, though it is known that early Christmas trees were decorated with fruits and nuts, decorations which might have inspired 19th century German glassmakers to create the first glass ornaments in imitation of apples or oranges.   Glassmakers in Lauscha, Germany, originally made these glass spheres to hang in the window, but they soon became common tree decorations.   In the United States, in the 1880s, the giant department store, Woolworth’s, began selling millions of dollars worth of German-made ornaments to Americans eager to bedeck their trees.

Germany dominated the commercial market into the 20th century, although during the early 1900s Japan and Czechoslovakia began producing ornaments as well.  When World War II began in 1939, though, Germany was knocked out of the ornament market.  A company called Corning Glass Works stepped in to supply the demand for glass ornaments, substituting the hand-worked processes of the German glass makers for a mechanized process made possible by the Ribbon Machine.  This machine, built in 1926, produced 2,000 light bulbs per minute and, as it turns out, about 300,000 Christmas ornaments per day.   Corning Glass Works sold ornaments to the Shiny Brite company for further decoration and distribution, as well as a number of ornaments directly to stores such as Woolworth’s and the Chicago-based Butler Bros.

According to a Life magazine article, from December 9, 1940, Corning Glass Works expected to produce  40,000,000 ornaments by the end of that year and supply 100 percent of the domestic market for ornaments.   CGW made not only the traditional sphere-shaped ornament, but also bells, lanterns, acorns, and other shapes.

The Rakow Research Library has a variety of materials to help you research your own collection of Christmas ornaments, whether they are hand-painted German ornaments from 1900 or a box of Shiny Brites from the 1950s.  We have trade catalogs illustrating a company’s wares, department store catalogs, advertisements, a variety of published books on the history of Christmas traditions and price guides and overviews of the Christmas collectibles market.   For more information about our library collection, give us a jingle!

The Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library is open from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday – Friday (Extended hours, Sundays from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., January 8 – February 5)

Telephone: 607.438.5300 | Email (general inquiries): rakow@cmog.org

Washing Glass

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Glass waiting to be washed

Almost everything in the Museum’s collection gets washed at least once in its lifetime. Having a collection of more than 45,000 objects – that is still growing – means we spend a lot of time washing glass. Every new accession that can be safely washed gets washed. But we also have objects that have been in the collection for a long time that need to be washed.

Why do we wash the glass? The obvious reason is that it looks so much better! We often get asked to wash an object before it gets photographed or put on exhibition.

Two glasses before and after washing

But that isn’t the only reason, washing the glass actually helps to preserve it. Glass stored in an uncontrolled climate, especially one with high relative humidity (55% and up), is subject to atmospheric deterioration. Although some glass compositions are more susceptible to atmospheric deterioration than others, it can affect glass of any composition if the climate is bad enough for a long enough time.

A more in depth look at atmospheric deterioration will have to wait till another day, but the basic process is as follows: Moisture in the air leaches out the alkali elements from the glass itself. If the alkali is not cleaned off the surface of the glass, it begins to dissolve the silica of the glass, and free up more alkali. If the glass is subjected to cycles of very low humidity, as well as prolonged periods of high humidity, hairline cracks, and eventual crizzling occur. Simply washing the glass and removing the alkali deposits prevents the silica network from being destroyed and keeps the glass in better condition. Grime and pollution can exacerbate the problem.

Two bottles with mud from the 1972 flood on them.

Unfortunately, we don’t always know the history of the storage conditions that our objects have been exposed to. But we know that even in the Museum the climate has not always been as good as it is now. There are also smoke and nicotine deposits from when smoking was allowed inside the Museum’s galleries (until the mid-1980’s) and even some very fine, difficult to remove mud from the 1972 flood.

Which is why, starting around 1998, we began a process to systematically wash every piece in the collection. Most pieces will only need to be washed once because our current climate controls are very good. However, the glass with unstable compositions may need to be washed as often as every couple of years. There are also some glasses which can’t be washed, such as most ancient glass which often has a very fragile surface because of weathering or some modern glasses with water sensitive coatings/paints.

A cart of glass before and after washing.

How do we wash the glass?

Washing glass

Glass objects that can be safely washed are washed with tap water and a mild conservation-grade detergent (any mild detergent without dyes or perfumes would work), followed by thorough rinsing with de-ionized or distilled water. It is important to rinse with de-ionized or distilled water because tap water often contains minerals which will deposit on the glass and leave spots. We wash our glass in a plastic sink to help minimize any damage from accidental bumps. Brushes are useful for cleaning cut glasses, soft cotton or paper towels work better for smooth surfaces. We also recommend not wearing gloves because the glass is slippery, especially when it is wet and soapy.

After rinsing, the glass is either toweled dry with paper towels or air dried. For some objects, like bottles with narrow openings, the inside is rinsed with a small amount of acetone to help removeany remaining moisture. Old adhesives from previous repairs or labels are removed with solvents, mostly acetone, ethanol, or a petroleum distillate like naphtha.

This modern juice glass was once clear, but years of being washed in a dishwasher has given it a cloudy and etched appearance.

Some of you might be thinking it’d be a lot easier to just run everything through the dishwasher, but that is something we never do. Dishwashers are one of the worst environments for glass. Research has shown that dishwashers corrode glass in three distinct processes. The heat and humidity cycling as well as the alkaline environment all play a role. Ever notice haziness or slight iridescence on your glasses at home? Those are sure signs of damage caused by the dishwasher environment.

Ask Me

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Today’s post comes from Emily Tifft, Senior Explainer

Corning Museum of Glass Explainer Program

Two words. Two words have shaped the majority of my summers for the past three years: “ASK ME.” Working as an Explainer at the Corning Museum of Glass, it is my job to lead tours and answer questions about the Museum and its collection. Whether I am walking through the Museum or standing behind expository carts that read “ASK ME,” I field questions that are as diverse as the guests who ask them. Every day is different, and whether I am discussing the coloring techniques of Tiffany with glass experts or fantasizing about wearing a glass dress with a 6 year old, each day as an Explainer is an opportunity for me to grow and learn far more than I teach when guests “ask me.”

“What would you be if you could be any object in the world?” This is the question with which I was greeted on the first day I became involved with the Museum’s youth programs four years ago. I enrolled in the Museum’s Junior Curators program, a weekly program in the spring that allows students in grades 8 through 12 to curate their own exhibit for display in The Studio. When I entered the program, I was nervous and shy, expecting the mentor to do most of the instructing. That is, therefore, why I was not only shocked, but also more than a bit confused by imagining myself as an object; converting a gaggle of nine kids into a road sign, a bead, two Rubik’s Cubes, an Eiffel Tower, a rock, a horse, a pencil, and ballet shoes is certainly a non requisite for creating an exhibit in a museum. Learning to think about art in all forms, to appreciate the work an artist creates, and to explore the world around oneself, however, is essential for all good museum curators. That is what becoming involved in the Museum has given me. Entering as a student who knew next to nothing about art history or glass, I have learned to see the world in a new way. I have grown into a role that requires confidence and leadership: a Corning Museum of Glass Explainer.

Emily Tifft

Emily Tifft, Senior Explainer

The Museum’s Explainers are high school and college students, 16 and older, who lead Summer Youth Tours and stand at mobile carts throughout the Museum to do exactly what their name implies—explain. While the Junior Curators program is entirely separate from the Explainer program and is not required before becoming an Explainer, it was a natural progression for me; after making friends and developing a love of glass and art, I could not have been more excited to not only have the opportunity to spread my enthusiasm for and love of the Museum, but also to get paid to do so. I started training as an Explainer because I wanted to become more involved in the Museum. I did not realize I would gain a second family and a passion in the process.

When I drive into the Museum parking lot every morning, I do not always know what will happen. As an Explainer, I could go from talking about objects on a cart dedicated to ancient glass—complete with replicas and props—to playing “I Spy” with a group of kindergarteners, just in the course of an hour. I am proud to say, however, the people with whom I work are able to handle any challenge. They are bright, capable and interesting. That is not to say that they are boring. A true Explainer can easily transition from debating typical teenage concepts, like the latest Harry Potter movie, to discussing the Museum’s newest glass acquisition. While this characteristic is certainly admirable, the trait I love most about my coworkers is the way they support each other. Working as an Explainer is entering into a family, one that is quick to help in times of need and is always united by a single passion: the Museum itself. We work at the Museum because we love it, and we are always ready to share that love with others.

Throughout my three years working as an Explainer, I have shared the joy of Cinderella’s glass slipper with countless youth tours. I helped a blind woman accomplish her goal: to “see” the works in the Museum. I had the honor of giving a tour to a group of senior citizens, people who, I quickly learned, had been looking forward to the trip, their big outing, for months. I have made lasting friendships and have met visitors from around the world. So, whether I am coloring with kindergarteners or explaining an especially difficult question on a cart, I am proud to be an Explainer, a job that teaches so much more than facts about glass.

If you or someone you know would like to become involved with one of the Museum’s youth programs, there will be an informational event called Fire Up Your Future at the Museum’s Studio from 6:00 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 6, 2012. It is an opportunity to talk to teens who are already involved at the Museum. And don’t worry: you can ask all the questions you want. The Explainers are used to giving answers.

For more information about the Museum’s teen programs, check our website at http://www.cmog.org/get-involved/teen-programs.  Explainer training starts in January, so apply now!