Equinox Gaffers head to The Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Dan Alexander

After working numerous contracts as a glassblower on Celebrity Cruise ships, there is always so much anticipation waiting to see what itinerary the ship will be on when I arrive, and which amazing ports I will get to explore. When I received my current contract I was ecstatic to find out that I would be traveling to numerous ports in Greece, Turkey, and Italy for the next 3 months! Since many of these ports would be new to me, I always begin by researching the cities and countries, and planning possible activities long before I get onboard the ship. One of the stops that I was most excited to explore on this itinerary was Istanbul, Turkey.

Istanbul is the second largest metropolitan city in Europe (after Moscow) and has a population of 13.5 million people. It has 17 palaces, 64 mosques, and 49 churches. There are many other attractions such as the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque, but one of the stops I wanted to visit the most you probably won’t find on any travel website or shore excursion onboard. It is a large glass teaching and production studio called The Glass Furnace.

Dan Alexander, Matt Decker and Gabe Bloodworth at The Glass Furnace

Matt Decker, Dan Alexander and Gabe Bloodworth at The Glass Furnace.

While attending the Glass Art Society Conference in Toledo, Ohio before I left, I received information about the Glass Furnace and made contact with several glassblowers from the studio. Knowing that Istanbul was on my cruise itinerary, I made sure to stay in contact with the studio to set up a tour. I could not wait to tell the other glassmakers, Matt Decker and Gabe Bloodworth, when I got to the ship. After I received an e-mail from the studio confirming our visit, all 3 of us could not stop talking about this upcoming opportunity. Gabe even said he couldn’t sleep the night before because he was so excited! The Glass Furnace sent us a cab and a contact person to meet in Istanbul to make sure we arrived to the studio without any trouble. We were overwhelmed with excitement as we travelled outside of the city taking in all of the beautiful views of the countryside, and being able to see both the European and Asian side of Istanbul.

When we arrived at The Glass Furnace we got a grand tour of all their equipment and the teaching facility. All three of us were impressed by the grand size of their facility and their beautiful location. While walking past their basketball court, swimming pool, and housing area, there was a small room with a furnace that instantly caught my eye. This functional wood-fired glass furnace was built from firebrick, clay and straw, and was used to create what is known as the Evil Eye Bead which holds a tradition to eliminate any bad luck in your studio or home.

A wood-fired glass furnace built from firebrick, clay and straw.

The furnace had several small pots melting different colors used in the bead. The beads were made by master glassblowers who used the power of fire and the power of the symbolic eye figure to create this talisman.

An evil eye bead from The Glass Furnace.

After walking down a trail we arrived at a scenic outdoor patio setting overlooking a waterway. This was a great place to lounge, and to reflect on all that we had seen and learned after a long day with our new friends at the studio. We sipped on some local Turkish coffee and found out that the body of water we were sitting right next to is connected to the Bosphorus waterway which travels from the Mediterranean all the way to the Black Sea. We watched several glass demonstrations and looked through their collection of glass before making our journey back to the ship.

Thank you Elif and Guclu of The Glass Furnace for all of your help in making Istanbul, Turkey a truly memorable stop for 3 Corning gaffers!

The Glass Coffin

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Amy De Simone

American Casket with Stand by DeCamp Consolidated Glass Casket Co., Factory

Constructed in the 1920s, the Museum’s glass casket (2001.4.234) weighs between 400 and 500 pounds. The type of pressing machine that was used to make it weighed approximately 31,000 lbs. The American Glass Casket Company claimed that their casket press, measuring 13 feet tall, 25 feet long with a width of 5 feet was the largest glass press in the world in 1921. Glass coffins, which were cushioned with yards of fabric, were not meant to display the body but rather to hygienically protect it from the elements.

Glass was being used in casket construction as early as the 1850s and patents are seen starting in 1859 for glass caskets, but DeCamp did not patent his two piece adult sized casket until 1915. In 1921, the American Glass Casket Company owned “the exclusive right to manufacture and sell the DeCamp Glass Casket in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and New Mexico and [was] the parent-producing company in the making of this glass casket under the DeCamp patents” ([Glass casket catalog] Bib # 74869, page 12) while other plants each had their own respective territories.

Patent Information Plate on CMoG Casket for DeCamp Consolidated Glass Casket Co., Factory

Patent Information on Casket Plate for DeCamp Consolidated Glass Casket Co., Factory

Of the trade catalogs in the Rakow Library’s collection, one on glass caskets is fully viewable online. The catalog for Crystal Glass Casket Company, Washington, DC describes their caskets as “hermetically sealed by applying a composition which renders the casket air-tight, water-tight, vermin-proof and absolutely sanitary, thus assuring a perfect burial receptacle” (page 7). The makers explain that the strength of glass is greater than other materials commonly used in coffin or casket production including woods and metals. The catalog contains interesting photographs documenting the production facilities and can be seen online here.

DeCamp trimming room, Cut No. 13 from Bib 52588 - DeCamp Consolidated Glass Casket Co., Muskogee, OK, USA.

After the glass bowl and lid of the casket were pressed, they had to be annealed for approximately six hours to relieve stress from the glass. Dealing with pieces of such a large size, cracks were often a problem. In the trimming room at the factory, felt or fabric was applied to the outside of the glass to prevent the metal handles from coming in direct contact with the glass surface. Silk or brocade was used to decorate the caskets as can be seen in the photos above and below. Small caskets were used as samples since they were easier to produce. It is unknown how many full size caskets were produced, but today only two 6′ 3″ caskets remain intact, both in museum collections.

Glass casket from Bib 45886 - DeCamp Consolidated Glass Casket Co., Muskogee, OK, USA.

Many questions still surround the history of glass casket production. Some accounts relate that certain factories did not produce any full size glass caskets at all, but were merely a front to attract investors. In 1923, several company representatives were indicted and charged with conspiracy in connection to the sale of company stock. Most investors saw no returns and bankruptcy came for companies rather quickly. For further information, or to view additional catalogs from other firms, including the DeCamp Consolidated Glass Casket Company, contact or visit The Rakow Research Library.

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
Explore the collection online using the classic catalog or the Library’s collection browser.

Exhibition on Louis C. Tiffany features Stained Glass Window from Corning Museum

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Yvette Sterbenk

Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion, an exhibit currently on view at the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), in New York City, showcases the array of church decorations and memorials that Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933) produced beginning in the early 1880s. On view through January 20, 2013, the exhibit shows the breadth and depth of the firm’s oeuvre, and the place Tiffany Studios created for itself in American religious art.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a Corning Museum artwork, The Righteous Shall Receive a Crown of Glory (96.4.230). The window, which measures 12’ 10” x W. 8’1, was created for the United Methodist Church of Waterville, New York, around 1901.

Warren Bunn, CMOG’s manager of exhibitions and collections examines the window pre-conservation with Drew Anderson, conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and independent curator Diane Wright.

When the window was removed from the church, it went into the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Randall. The couple offered it to the Corning Museum in 1996. At that time, it was too large for the Museum to display in any of its gallery areas and needed restoration work. However, since one of the most important roles of a Museum is to collect and preserve important objects for the future, the donation was accepted and the window stabilized for storage.

Curators and conservators from The Corning Museum of Glass and the Metropolitan Museum of Art examine the window to assess conservation treatment.

When MOBIA began planning its Tiffany exhibition, it approached the Corning Museum about this window. Several institutions then came together to complete conservation work on this beautiful object. CMoG offered its existing conservation report to facilitate work on the window. The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass offered conservation studio space where the treatment could take place. MOBIA incorporated the cost of the restoration into its exhibition budget.

The window was secured in 12 custom-built crates at CMOG and taken to the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in July 2012. Over the summer, it was restored by Drew Anderson, a conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art who specializes in stained glass.

Preparing to install at MOBIA.

When the exhibit at MOBIA ends, the window will come back to Corning, and the curatorial staff are working on trying to find a space to display it. We’ll keep you posted.

In place at MOBIA. The window measures 12’ 10” x W. 8’1.

Saving the Sycamores

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Cowden

There are two sycamore trees growing near the entrance ramp to the Admissions Lobby of the Museum. As part of the construction on the new North Wing, a sanitary sewer line has to be re-routed between the trees to be outside of the footprint of the new addition. The logical route for the new line is in between these two trees. Informed opinion said that a trench deep enough for the sewer line, and wide enough to safely accommodate a crew to install the pipe, could damage the sycamores.

However, we quickly identified a solution – use a borer to avoid damage and save the trees. Edger Enterprises, Inc. of Elmira Heights, NY was the subcontractor for this project. The first step was to dig two holes. One is at each end of the bore. Next, trench boxes were installed to protect workers from cave-ins.

A laser is used to check that the track is level.

After that, a 40 foot long track was installed on leveled, tamped crushed stone. Hydraulics at the end of the boring rig push the entire auger, its plastic coating sleeve and rig forward into the dirt. In our soil, the auger moves forward quite quickly, about one foot per minute.

The track has square holes in the rail. The boring machine has corresponding dogs which fit into the holes which are spaced about 18 inches apart.

The truck has sleeves with augers inside. There are three 20 foot long sections and one 10 foot long section.

After all 70 feet of sleeves are installed and the bore is completed, the augers are withdrawn and dismantled one at a time. The 24 inch sleeve remains in place for the 18 inch sewer line to be installed inside it. The light green pipe is the new sewer line. If you look closely, you can make out the sleeve hidden in the dirt. The brown pipe laid diagonally to it is the old sewer pipe. At the top of the picture, you can see the bottoms of the tree trunks, protected from harm.

The old pipe, made of ceramic or vitrified clay, had been damaged.

The set up takes quite a bit longer than the boring, but the process is worth the time in order to preserve the two sycamore trees, which will become part of the new one-acre campus green. Designed by landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand Associates, the football field-sized outdoor space will feature a large central lawn area, with a terraced plaza and more large canopy trees in addition to the sycamores.

Landscape rendering by Reed Hilderbrand Associates of overview and plaza.

To design the green space, the Reed Hilderbrand team researched the history of the Museum campus, which includes buildings by the architectural firms Harrison & Abramowitz, Gunnar Birkerts, Smith-Miller + Hawkinson, and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

For the North Wing Expansion, they are collaborating with the project architect Thomas Phifer and Partners. The plan will include tall canopy trees to provide shade, and showcase the architecture of the new North Wing contemporary gallery, which features a 150-foot-long window wall overlooking the campus green.

Reed Hilderbrand has worked with many museums including The Clark in Williamstown, MA, Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX, Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, AZ, and Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, NY. Their work has been recognized by numerous local and national awards. In 2005, they were selected as The Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices, and they have twice received the prestigious American Society of Landscape Architects Award of Excellence in 1997 and 2007.

Learn more at www.cmog.org/expansion.

Three Degrees from Galileo

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Megan McGovern

The other day, while looking for books on microscopes, I came across an old volume called Persio / tradotto in verso sciolto e dichiarato da Francesco Stelluti (Rakow bib. 95536). Imagine my surprise when I saw on the title page that the book was published in 1630 in Rome and dedicated to Cardinal Franscisco Barberini. This placed the book firmly in the world of Galileo Galilei. Because I love learning about the history of science and because I am a librarian (which, to me, entails being perpetually curious), this connection had to be investigated. Did this copy of Persio link me, however indirectly, to Galileo himself?

Title page of library item 95596. Image by the Rakow Research Library.

The answer turned out to be yes, on two levels. Persio was printed in Rome during Galileo’s lifetime (1564-1642). Galileo and Francisco Barberini were friends. In fact, Galileo was called to Rome and tried there in 1633 (Barberini defended him). So, there is a possibility, however extremely remote, that Galileo himself could have seen or even handled the Rakow Library’s copy of Persio.

Barberini coat of arms. Image: Public domain.

Second, Galileo was probably indirectly involved in the making of Persio. Persio (1630) is considered the first book to include microscopic illustrations. Persio is a work of verse (the Satires of Persius Flaccus) not science, but it includes a rather incongruous section about bees. Why bees? Bees were on the Barberini crest, and Francesco Stelluti, the author of Persio, was trying to court favor with the wealthy and powerful Cardinal Barberini.

The section on bees features a full-page illustration of them as observed through a microscope. This illustration was actually first published in short 1625 treatise, Apriarium, by Federico Cesi (Cesi was also trying to court favor with Barberini). The author of Persio, Stelluti, borrowed it for his book.

Illustration of three bees. Note the similarity to the Barberini crest. Image by the Rakow Research Library.

The image is also how Galileo is involved with Persio. Galileo, best known for his work with telescopes, also experimented with microscopes. He sent one to Cesi in 1624, and it was probably used to create the illustration.

Illustration of a weevil. Image by the Rakow Research Library.

Persio also features an illustration of a magnified weevil. As Cesi and Stelluti were both members of the Accademia dei Lincei (Academy of the Lynx), Stelluti may have used the microscope Galileo sent Cesi to observe the weevil. Unlike the bee, the weevil does not appear to have any special significance, besides being mentioned in one of the verses.

Thinking of the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, I believe coming across Persio and researching its history puts me three degrees from the great Galileo. Galileo probably lent the microscope that was used by Cesi and maybe Stelluti (degree 1) to make the illustrations in the Rakow’s book (degree 2), which I (degree 3) held and researched for this blog post.

Sometimes, the littlest moments remind me of why I love working in a library!

To learn more about the history of microscopes and Persio, you can read the Oklahoma University History of Science Collections blog; A. G. Keller’s article on Franscesco Stelluti from the Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, available through encyclopedia.com; and David Bardell’s article, “The Dawn of Microscopy,” from the journal, The American Biology Teacher.

Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack at The Studio: September 2012 Collaborative Residency

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Lindsay Woodruff

Each year, The Studio invites selected instructors who have taught intensive courses during winter or summer class sessions over the past five years to apply for the Instructor Collaborative Residency, a seven- to ten-day residency held in September. The chosen artists have access to The Studio facilities to create a collaborative body of work with one or two other glassmakers of their choice. This September, The Studio hosted Laura Donefer, a Canadian artist and travelling instructor who teaches regularly at Pilchuck Glass School, Penland School of Crafts, and The Studio, and Jeff Mack, studio manager at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion who also teaches courses at The Studio.

Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack

“The only artist I wanted to work with was Jeff,” Laura says. The pair was eager to continue a collaboration born in 2010. That year, Jeff and Laura began making experimental pieces together during Laura’s residency at the Glass Pavilion. This year, the artists and their four assistants used ten days in The Studio to refine the work made in Toledo, which they describe as “classically creative contained chaos.”

Jeff Mack and Laura Donefer at work in The Studio's hot shop.

The pieces are “a marriage of our styles and skills,” said the pair, combining Jeff’s skill in executing classical techniques with Laura’s eye for color and texture to create medium- and large-scale traditional vessel forms that seemingly float within textured clear glass on the perimeter of the vessel. This surface is made by adding a large bit of glass to the exterior wall of the vessel and pressing designs into the hot glass with special tools, like gears, springs, and stamps, a technique Laura calls “bizzling.”

Jeff Mack and Laura Donefer's hot glass piece is warmed at the furnace in Corning

Special tools like gears, springs, and stamps create what Laura calls "bizzling."

The artists credit The Studio for “making life easier” over the ten days they spent working and experimenting with glass. On top of having access to The Studio’s tools, colors were mixed in the hot shop’s color pot furnace, and many other colors were ordered especially for the residency. Not only were the artists-in-residence given the time, facilities, and materials to complete their work, but they were also provided with food, transportation, and room and board during their stay. Without much to worry about other than their work, Jeff and Laura were able to maintain their go-with-the-flow attitude as they developed their work.

The Instructor Collaborative Residency serves as a thank you to instructors for being a part of The Studio community, according to Studio director Amy Schwartz. In addition to this program, The Studio aims to be an advocate for glass artists by providing classes, scholarships, and month-long residency programs, which host one or two individual artists in March, April, May, October, and November of every year.

Interested in a residency at The Studio? The deadline for proposals is October 31, 2012. Visit http://www.cmog.org/glassmaking/studio/residencies for more information.

Telling a story in glass: Celebrity Scholarship recipient Elizabeth Fortunato

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Lindsay Woodruff

Elizabeth Fortunato began studying glassblowing at the Pittsburgh Glass Center through a high school program. She continued working with glass through college, exploring kiln working at Kent State. This summer, she was awarded a Celebrity Cruises Glassmaking Scholarship to take Erica Rosenfeld and Leo Tecosky’s class, Cross Pollination at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass.

In this class, students designed patterns out of Bullseye glass murrine and fused the glass into a solid block. This type of glass, typically used for kilnforming applications, was brought into the hot shop where it was heated, rolled up onto a blowpipe, and formed into objects.

As a kiln working glass artist, Elizabeth doesn’t generally blow glass to make her pieces. Instead, she recreates found objects in cast glass, making molds from everyday objects like hats, tools, houses, and suitcases – “anything I can tell a story with.” The tradition of storytelling is an inspiration to her, and her work is her “rendition of a true or fictional story.” Her classwork was primarily formed by slumping in the kiln.

While in Corning, Elizabeth sought to meet other artists and aimed to “see how much I can learn.” In the week-long class, she absorbed knowledge and exchanged ideas with other students from various backgrounds. The techniques she learned have provided her with new elements that she now has the option to incorporate into her style.

Elizabeth Fortunato at The Studio

“Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t be here,” she says. At the post-collegiate stage in her life, the receipt of the scholarship enabled her to take the “fun, fast-paced class” in a well-maintained studio with multiple ovens and a state-of-the-art hot shop. Elizabeth also took advantage of the other perks of taking a class at The Studio, including a tour of the eleven large-scale glass sculptures in the Corning Inc. Headquarters building, free admission to the Museum, and the use of the Rakow Research Library.

Learn more about the Celebrity Cruises Glassmaking Scholarship Fund, and others.

See the 1-hour Live-Stream demonstration from Erica Rosenfeld & Leo Tecosky’s course – Cross Pollination at The Studio: http://youtu.be/ERtj0HNYf1g

More Hot Glass Show Atlanta

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Ryan Doolittle

During the Hot Glass Roadshow’s five-day visit at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, we had three very different visiting artists come and work with us on our stage. The first was Richard Jolley, a renowned Tennessean glass sculptor whose technique and body of work is a true embodiment of the American Studio Glass Movement.

Richard Jolley getting started while I shield him from the heat. Photo credit: Abel Klainbaum

The ease and familiarity that Richard displayed while quickly sculpting this difficult molten material into figurative form was humbling to me and it reminded me that without him and other glass pioneers I wouldn’t be working with this material today. He helped pave the glass way for me and a multitude of other aspiring glass artists. It’s not a bad day of glassblowing at all when you get to work with one of your glass heroes.

Richard's sculpted bust with some flaming hair. Photo credit: Abel Klainbaum

Another in our visiting artist series was architect and furniture designer Johanna Grawunder. It was a sheer delight to work with her since the combination of her design aesthetic and excitement to see what could be translated into hot glass was a essentially a glassblower’s dream.

Johanna Grawunder looking on as Eric Meek creates her vision in glass. Photo credit: Abel Klainbaum

The focus of her design was the contrast between nature and man; organic and streamlined, and how that dichotomy could be uniquely showcased using hot glass.

One of Johanna's pieces being made. Photo credit: Abel Klainbaum

The highlight for me was her enthusiasm and our lead gaffer, Eric Meek, having to challenge himself by making a vessel really off center to stay true to Johanna’s design. As he was intentionally distorting his perfect bubble we were both laughing because we knew it went against his fine-tuned glassmaking grain, so to speak.

Eric Meek spinning out the top portion of Johanna's encalmo design. The bottom section is square while the top is organically formed. Photo credit: Abel Klainbaum

I was reminded of my first glassblowing instructor’s early mandate that you have to learn to make a perfect cylinder before you can make something organic and get away with it. Well, Eric managed just fine as expected and the result was stunning glass.

Johanna bravely giving the sweaty glassblower (me) a hug after a great collaboration. Photo credit: Abel Klainbaum

Johanna Grawunder's final pieces.

Gyun Hur, a local Korean 2D and performance artist was our last designer and she brought a whole new conceptual portrayal to our endeavors. Her motivation was to display the sensuousness, strength, and fragility inherent to glass by comparing it to the Korean Gisaeng or courtesans, similar to Japanese Geishas. She depicted an elegant and simple long neck bottle shape with a beautiful color fade. The top piece was an ornate hair creation that Eric crafted into a cork for the bottle.

Gyun Hur's Gisaeng inspired bottle, gaffed by Eric Meek.

The second vessel was another bottle that showcased a Korean wedding blanket design that Gyun has spent a lot of time recreating in her own work. Her and her family spent 3 months chopping silk flowers to fabricate a huge installation depicting her mother’s wedding blanket design using techniques similar to Buddhist sand mandalas.

Gyun Hur's Korean wedding blanket piece, gaffed by Eric Meek.

All in all we had a wonderful time in Atlanta at the High Museum of Art. In our downtime we explored the city and delighted in some out of this world culinary adventures. To top off our visit we journeyed to the Georgia Aquarium, so I was able to assuage my pangs of longing for ocean travels. It was nice to get my land glassblowing legs back under me for a time, especially since I was fortunate to work with a great team on the stage and at the High Museum.

Hot glass team extraordinaire at the aquarium. Ian Schmidt, Ryan Doolittle, and Eric Meek.

Until the next glass adventure,

Ryan

Gemmaux in the Collection of The Corning Museum of Glass

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Kelley Elliott

Earlier this year, Tina Oldknow, the Museum’s curator of modern glass, asked me to research 16 glass panels affixed to light boxes in the Museum’s permanent collection. The panels, made in the 1950s and 1960s, came to the museum in 1993, and are called gemmaux. I had no idea what gemmaux were when I began my research, but I was excited for the challenge. I began my search by looking through the curatorial files on the objects in our collection. I also was able to find information online through the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution and through the Rakow Research Library here at the Museum.

Gemmail (plural gemmaux) is a French word that is literally translated as “enamel gem.” The term was coined by French painter Jean Crotti to describe a technique he developed for layering and adhering pieces of colored glass onto a panel in order to create compositions that are meant to be viewed in front of a light box or illuminated from behind. Gemmaux were very popular in the late 1950s and 1960s. They were made by technicians called gemmistes at a Paris studio called Les Gemmaux de France.

Nature Morte aux Fleurs (Still Life with Flowers), Roger Bezombes, France, Paris, Les Gemmaux de France studio, about 1954, H: 64.8cm, W: 50.8 cm (93.3.15, gift of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.)

Gemmistes used existing artwork by well-known artists, like Pablo Picasso and George Braque, to create re-interpretations of their work using the gemmail technique. Sometimes these artists even came to the studio to sign the gemmaux when they were finished. Young French painters also experimented with the technique.

Fifteen of the 16 gemmaux panels in the Museum’s collection were given by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company as a gift in 1993. These 15 panels were part of a 1962 traveling exhibition called Masterpieces in Glass organized by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company to promote their fiberglass curtains. The Rakow Research Library has two full-color 1961 advertisements for the Masterpieces in Glass exhibition that showcase the gemmaux alongside fiberglass curtains. Each panel depicted is now in the Museum’s permanent collection.

A 1961 Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company advertisement depicting the gemmail panel Voiles Heureuses (Happy Sailing), Danielle Dhumez (French, b. 1910, d. unknown), France, Paris, Les Gemmaux de France studio, about 1957, H: 63.5 cm x W: 53.5 cm. Winner of the “prix du gemmail” in 1957. (93.3.12, gift of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.). (Rakow Library bibliographic record number 131015).

A 1961 Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company advertisement depicting the gemmail panel, Nature Morte aux Fleurs (Still Life with Flowers), Roger Bezombes (French, 1913-1994), France, Paris, Les Gemmaux de France studio, about 1954, H: 64.75 cm x W: 50.75 cm. (93.3.15, gift of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.) (Rakow Library bibliographic record number 131016)

Since I began my research, there has been a surge of public interest in this unusual mid-20th-century technique and the information I was able to uncover on the history of gemmaux has grown larger than a blog post can contain. So I wrote an article called A Brief History of Gemmaux. It is a fascinating history! You can also view all of the Museum’s gemmaux panels by using the online collections browser.

Liquid Fusion 2012: Design Explorations in Glass

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Corning Museum of Glass

Today’s post comes from Paul Haigh, architect, designer, educator, and founder of HAIGHArchitects+Designers.

The 'Liquid Fusion' participants and the Boisbuchet workshop group. Photo: Domaine de Boisbuchet © Alessandro Fedeli 2012

We have just wrapped up the 7^thedition of the Liquid Fusion workshop at the Vitra summer design workshops at Domaine de Boisbuchet, in Lessac, France.

This year we had an excellent group of twelve designers who were focused and inspired by the design exploration theme. They produced over 120 prototypes in the condensed 5 day workshop…no mean achievement.

Wolfram Solter, Double Optic/Double Layered Tumbler; Ana Vinuela Lorenzo, Double layered uplight shade; Nina Ruthe Klein, Pinnochio Glass.

Primarily focused on hybridization and duality, the work examined glass transparency, translucency and opacity in the context of simple functional typologies.

Anne-May Abel, Reversible Volume in Volume Vase; Chao Nan-Kai,'Ripple Reflection' double flute, Andreas Muller Eissing, Double Bubble Explosion Vessel, Damien Ummel and Thierry Didot, 1: 4 Pastis Mixer Glass.

As always, many thanks go out to the CMoG team of excellent glassmakers, Lewis Olson, Chris Rochelle and Marc Barreda, to the Boisbuchet Team and not least the participating designers.

The main emphasis is on glass design exploration as a rich palette for innovation and intervention. Emphasis is placed on the idea of “…glass as a liquid” in exploring an ancient material that can transform process into poetry.

Marlène Gourounas, Lemon Juice Squeezer w/ Perrier glass; Amandine Ansart, Fingerprint Dish with encased copper; Anne Schirner, Carafe with self centering drinking glass; Juan Ruiz-Rivas,'Volcano' finger glass.

This year’s group included industrial designers, graphic designers, artists and architects from around the world of varying ages and professional backgrounds. For many participants, this course represents the first time they have designed and worked in glass. The idea of providing access to glass through a direct proximity to glassmakers is fundamental to understanding the material and its potential applications in design.

Prototype designs underway on the GlassLab container set up in the Boisbuchet barn. Photo: © Ana Vinuela Lorenzo

The design sessions rotate throughout the day with each designer communicating with the glassmakers on the fabrication of prototypes. Each morning a review takes places at the annealer to discuss the previous days designs and refine fabrication issues in preparation for developing the next round of prototypes.

At the final presentation, the prototypes are displayed as a gallery exhibit in the context of the wonderful converted stables at Domaine de Boisbuchet. This year’s exhibition included lighting designs, hybrid drinking glasses, caged blown experiments and fish bowls…who knew?

Damien Ummel and Thierry Didot, Table Lamp w/ cord enclosure; Chao Nan-Kai, 'Leaf Twist' double green tea glass; Wolfram Solter, Wire Cage in Cage exploration.

Congratulations to all the participating designers: Nina Ruthe Klein, Wolfram Solter, Ana Vinuela Lorenzo, Damien Ummel, Thierry Didot, Chao Nan-Kai, Amandine Ansart, Anne-May Abel, Juan Ruiz-Rivas, Andreas Muller Eissing, Anne Schirner, and Marlène Gourounas.

Finally as they say in France…

…à bientôt

Corning Museum of Glass

Behind the Glass

Monthly Archives: October 2012