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

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.

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.”

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 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.

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.
<< Glass Research at The Rakow Research Library | Auction Catalogs >>

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

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.

The first step in shoring 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.

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 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

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!

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.

Filigrana Goblets by Ethan Bond-Watts

In his thoughtful tribute, Ethan remembered the maestro’s words of encouragement.

You are my student. And now you will make the glass. And in the future, you will be the teacher and you will have students. You will teach for them like I teach for you. This is how we learn glass in Venice for a thousand years.” He pauses to let it sink in. “Now, it is your turn, in America.” He smiles, with pride, with humility.

The judges selected Ethan’s entry out of the thirty-two submissions received from artists across the world who shared their work along with stories and memories of the beloved teacher. In his submission, titled Il Maestro Mio Ethan shared great memories from Elio’s lessons on glass, and life.

“Proud, very proud,” Elio pulls back his shoulders and puffs up his chest. He lowers his chin, “but humble, always humble.” He is modeling the “drago,” the dragon that carries the cup on so many of his goblets. “For the swan,” he continues, “multo delicato,” this time it’s in the hands and wrists. He makes two dainty A-OK’s, and tilts them up as he lowers his arms, forming two tiny winglets at his waist. I am amazed at how convincingly a muscular 70-year-old Italian man can go into character as the mythological archetype of femininity and grace. “Please… I show you,” he silently whips an iron out of the pipe warmer. He takes his gather, the light and heat of the furnace make his face glow.

Horse Cornucopia by Ethan Bond-Watts

“His wonderful narrative of his experiences with Elio brought him alive for me again,” said one of the contest judges. “For the wonderful way he shared “Elio-isms,” through his numerous, sensitive description of Elio’s looking at glass, love and life, Ethan captured Elio’s essence. I think Elio would laugh and say “Bravo, Ethan.”

Elio and Sam, shared by Nikolaj Christensen of East Falls Glassworks, Philadelphia

“I want to thank everyone who sent in their memories.” said Amy Schwartz, director of The Studio, “The community that Elio created through glass and teaching was special. It was a privilege to help students connect with Elio and I am glad to see that community continue on in his memory here at The Studio.”

To read Ethan’s submission, as well as the others written in memory of Elio, visit the Remembering Elio page on The Corning Museum of Glass’ Flickr photostream.

The Rakow Library is fortunate to own one of the most famous books of early microscopy, Micrographia (1667), by Robert Hooke (1636-1703). This book (bibl 97629) is especially celebrated for its full-page, beautiful illustrations of objects Hooke examined under his microscope. These included linen and silk fabric, plant seeds and cross-sections, fungus, and striking images of insects like fleas, ants, head lice, and silverfish.

Illustration of 'blue mould' from Hooke's Micrographia. Image by the Rakow LIbrary.

Hooke also describes the many challenges he faced in his microscopic investigations, including one that caught me by surprise. Given my understanding of early microscopy, I expected all Hooke’s stories would be about making and grinding glass for his lenses. Instead, I turned a page and read about Hooke’s frustration when trying to view ants. The creatures would run off the stage and out of view or struggled so much when pinned in place by pincers that Hooke couldn’t get a good look at them. He tried killing some, but they shriveled quickly, making them (naturally) not life-like. What was a microscopist to do?

Here is Hooke’s solution:

Having insnar’d [ensnared] several of these [ants] into a small Box, I made choice of the tallest grown among them, and separating it from the rest, I gave it a Gill [approximately half a cup] of Brandy, or Spirit of Wine, which after a while e’en [even] knock’d him down dead drunk, so that he became moveless [motionless], though at first putting [the ant] in [the brandy] he struggled for a pretty while very much, till at last, certain bubbles issuing out of its mouth, it ceased to move; this ( because I had before found them quickly to recover again, if they were taken out presently [right away] ), I suffered to lye [lie] about an hour in the Spirit ; and after I had taken it out, and put its body and legs into a natural posture, remained moveless [motionless] about an hour;…

Passage from Micrographia, page 204. Image by the Rakow Research Library.

What Hooke is basically saying is that he figured out that putting his ant specimens in brandy for an hour knocked them out long enough for them to be examined under his microscope! Therefore, some of our first and best-known microscopic images of ants are actually of drunk ants.

Illustration of a (presumably drunk) ant as seen under a microscope in Micrographia, page 203. Image by the Rakow Research Library.

This amusing anecdote highlights one of the wonderful things about studying the history of glass and glassmaking at the Rakow Research Library: frequently you also learn about other subjects, such as the history of science or the economics of an industry. And, every once in a while, you come across a tidbit like this that makes for great conversation at your next holiday dinner party.

11 Shiny Brite Christmas Ornaments. Max Eckardt & Sons; Corning Glass Works. About 1938-1960. Machine made, enameled, silvered. 97.4.237

For centuries, the small German village of Lauscha, located in the Thuringian Mountains, was the center of glass ornament production. Creating handmade glass ornaments was a craft that involved the entire community: various groups of individuals were needed in order to complete different aspects of production.

Skilled glassblowers made delicate ornaments by heating glass tubes over a flame and then introducing a small ‘puff’ of air in order to expand the tube into a small bubble. The glass ornament was then left as it was or was manipulated into various shapes, such as stars or reindeer. 

With the blowing and shaping of the ornament complete, it was sent to be decorated, a task often undertaken by women or children. This was accomplished either with a brush, by pouring liquids into the ornament’s interior, or simply by dipping the glass into a liquid color. After careful packing, the ornaments made in Lauscha were shipped and sold all over the world, including to the United States.

A closer view of two Shiny Brite glass bulbs. Max Eckardt & Sons; Corning Glass Works. About 1938-1960. Machine made, enameled, silvered. 97.4.237 A & 97.4.237 E

The Museum’s collection includes a number of traditional handcrafted and machine-made ornaments such as this set of eleven Shiny Brite ornaments made in Corning. The manufacture of Shiny Brite ornaments can be linked to the history of the Lauscha ornament industry through Shiny Brite’s entrepreneur Max Eckhart.

In 1926, Eckhart and his brother opened a toy and ornament factory in their birthplace of Oberlind, just twenty miles from Lauscha. After opening a branch in New York, Eckhart immigrated to the United States in the late 1920s. With the onset of World War II, Eckhart became apprehensive of how much longer Germany’s export production of glass ornaments would continue.

In 1937, he founded The Shiny Brite Company. During certain months of the year, a Corning Glass Works ribbon machine, originally used to make lightbulbs, produced these delicate ornaments. They were then sent to New Jersey for decorating before being packaged and sold. This proved to be a wise decision for Eckart: the outbreak of war, and later the location of Lauscha and Oberlind in what became East Germany, would end the exportation of ornaments from the Lauscha area to America until the mid 1950s.

Bell-shaped “Shiny Brite” glass ornaments. Max Eckardt & Sons; Corning Glass Works. About 1938-1960. Machine made, enameled, silvered. 97.4.237 K & 97.4.237 H

You’ve been to The Corning Museum of Glass before, right John?

The first time I came to the Museum was in 1994 and the Libenský/Brychtová show was up and it completely blew me away. I was just driving through town as a student.  And I came to the Glass Art Society conference in 2000 and was asked to come back and teach at The Studio the following summer. Visiting the Museum gives me enough inspiration to last a year; till the next time I come back and then I can revitalize myself at the Library and everything.

Tell me about what you worked on at 2300° tonight

This evening we did a cheeseburger goblet, Venetian style, that we stuck all together hot. I think it was about 12 lbs. And then we did a slice of pepperoni and bacon pizza.

I have to ask – why bacon?

Everything has to be decadent. The work that I make; it can’t be good for you; even the lettuce kills me to put it on, when I’m putting it on the cheeseburger.  So it had to be the meat lovers special, no green peppers or anything good like that –pineapple? No way.  Has to be old-school American, diner style, everything has to be bad for you.

The cheeseburger goblet

Diner style is kind of your thing

When I was 5 or 6, I used to go a drive-in diner all the time with my father and it really became part of my personality and my upbringing. When I started making more sculptural work, I started to sketch crinkle-cut fries on napkins everywhere I went and I knew I had to make the work at some point.  And it really just exploded.  And, it’s a little bit of social commentary on the Route 66 Americana thing. I really embraced that and the whole hot rod scene and the 50’s scene is part of the whole thing.

Why is glass your medium for interpreting those cultures?

It was something, in the beginning, that was a challenge for me – just to try to be proficient. And then I started realizing with the sculptural work that I could freeze gesture and also use the color palette that glass offers in different ways than paint, ceramics, or print making offers. It’s just a way I can really replicate surfaces. Sandblast surfaces to soften them – like bread. And leave them shiny – like grease – on bacon and burgers and things like that. It’s a really versatile material for me and it’s really fun to work with.

When did you get started in glass?

I got started in 1987 at Southern Connecticut State University, and it was just a mistake. I walked into the glass studio because Bill Gudenrath was doing a demonstration. I had no idea who he was. I walked in and was blown away. I signed up for beginning glassblowing classes the next semester, and that was that; it was over.

And now you’re teaching at The Studio. You have a class this week.

It’s a very short three-day intensive class with six students. I’m going to scale everything down a little bit and what I’m going to concentrate on is the one-on-one. I’m going to let the students get used to the shop and then examine how they work with the material and then find out what they want to make and then help them execute that by demonstrations – it will be exciting.

John Miller with Marlo Cronquist during his three-day workshop. Photo provided by Marlo Cronquist.

Tell me more about tonight

People were pretty happy. You know, feed them some food and a few drinks and put them in front of some glassblowing and that is that. They love it. But they were yelling and screaming and clapping and we were throwing t-shirts out. I think it went well.

Did anything unexpected happen this evening?

Sure, we were taking off the cheeseburger goblet and it fell apart in our hands. We put it back in the kiln and it stuck back together. It happens – at least it didn’t hit the floor, but that’s more dramatic anyways! But everything else went nice and smoothly. It’s a beautiful shop, great assistants, and just a wonderful place to be in general.

Is there anything else you want to share with us?

I like to eat cappuccino beans on my cereal. Chocolate covered.

More glass from the workshop – an over-sized soda glass, key and doughnut. Photo provided by Marlo Cronquist.

See more photos from John’s 2300° show on Flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCS9Ne1

Cream Jug, United States, Philadelphia, PA, about 1800-1815. Overall H: 12.2 cm, W: 9.3 cm. Knop contains a copper 1794 American Liberty penny.

The small light blue creamer, which measures 12.6 cm high and 5.5 cm in diameter (rim), includes a knop (hollow bubble in the stem) enclosing a 1794 U.S. cent coin—a feature rarely found in American glass of this period. Often, coins included in hand-made glass objects were meant to commemorate a special date, such as an anniversary or birthday.

The creamer was given to Frank W. Hill by his grandmother, Abigail Ware Foote (b. 1819) on January 16, 1860. According to family tradition, it was originally a birthday present for Hill’s great-grandmother, Abigail Whitaker Ware (1781-1865) or her mother Ruth Whitaker. The piece was probably made in the early 1800s, likely at the glass works in Kensington, North Philadelphia. The name of the craftsman who made the creamer is not known. Descendants of Hill sold the piece at auction in August 2012.

“It’s highly unusual for an early American glass object of this caliber to survive and appear on the market,” says Jane Shadel Spillman, the Museum’s curator of American glass. “What’s even more unusual is that this creamer was held by the same family for more than 150 years, so its history is well-known. We are pleased to add this important object to our American glass collection.”

The Museum’s outstanding collection of American glass dating from the early 18th century to the mid-20th century includes more than 11,000 works. The collection showcases the history of American glass production ranging from rare early blown glass to mass-produced bottles and tableware, elaborately cut and engraved glass and decorative art glass.

There are two similar early American 19th-century creamers in the collection; one has a knop with Spanish coin dated 1781. The new blue creamer is now on view in the Museum’s American gallery.

The Osler Candelabrum (96.2.10)

The candelabrum's shades waiting to be washed.

Some of the shades are replacements for missing original ones. These replacement shades are made from a different glass than the originals, one that has an unstable composition. They are in the first or incipient stage of a degradation process known as “crizzling,” sometimes referred to as glass disease.

Two of the candelabrum's shade. The original on the left is clear, while the replacement on the right has become hazy because of incipient crizzling.

Crizzling is affected by two main factors, the composition of the glass and the climate in which it is kept, especially the relative humidity. During the crizzling process, moisture in the air leaches out the alkali elements of the glass which accumulate on the surface. The alkalis on the surface attract more moisture, sometimes to the point of forming droplets on the surface. This symptom of incipient crizzling is known as “weeping.” If the climate is drier, the alkalis can form as crystals. The alkalis also turn the surface hazy and slimy and have a distinct smell which I like to describe as dusty vinegar. A buildup of alkalis on the surface not only looks bad, it is also bad for the glass because it creates an alkali solution that starts breaking down the silica network of the glass. If the crizzling continues, the structure of the glass is eventually so compromised that the glass falls apart. The composition of the glass plays a huge role in how long it takes to reach the final stage of crizzling. Usually it takes many centuries, but if the composition is really unstable the glass can disintegrate in just a few years.

One of the shades being washed. The conservation lab has a plastic sink for washing glass to help prevent damage from accidental bumps.

Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse the crizzling process; the best we can do is slow it down. We do this by washing the glass to remove the alkali buildup and by making sure crizzling objects are kept in a stable environment. Air circulation around the objects also helps evaporate moisture on the glass surface.

The replacement shades on the Osler Candelabrum turn hazy about every 5 years which is when we bring them into the lab and wash the alkalis off the surface. The washing is done with tap water and a mild, conservation grade detergent, followed by thorough rinsing in de-ionized water to remove the minerals left by the tap water. The original shades were a little dirty, so we washed those as well.

The clean shades back on the candelabrum in the galleries.

More on crizzling: http://www.cmog.org/article/crizzling
View the Osler Candelabrum in the collections browser: http://www.cmog.org/artwork/candelabrum-0

The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) is a professional group with the mission to promote the role of art museums throughout North America, cultivate leadership in the field and communicate standards of excellence in museum practice. Membership in the association is based on the qualifications of both the individual director and the specific art museum. In June, AAMD chose the Museum’s executive director, Karol Wight, to become a member of the organization.

“Everything that the Corning Museum does matches the purpose of AAMD to increase the contributions of art museums to society,” says Wight. “This membership will allow us to more strongly network with other museums, and to broaden the recognition of The Corning Museum of Glass and its collections.”

Wight plans to become active in the association’s committees and meetings, using her experience at The Corning Museum of Glass and also from the experience she gained previously as senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

This past summer we invited designers to come to the Museum for public GlassLab design performances.  Dan Ipp and Tom Zogas are the winners of Metaproject 02, a Rochester Institute of Technology student design competition, in collaboration with The Corning Museum of Glass.  The two designers share their experience:

The start of our design process for GlassLab was a late night in the studio. We found tiny cardboard tubes, which are meant to be put on the end of the jack tool, and clustered them into a bundle, varying the heights of each tube to create a more dynamic form, and then placed the bundle in a bucket of sand to hold it in place. After forming a blown vessel, we dropped the hot form directly on top of the cardboard cluster. The result of the experiment was a uniquely organic indent in the bottom of the vessel.

Tom Zogas and Dan Ipp at their GlassLab design session.

From this first experiment, we decided to propose the theme of “kicks” in different vessels, and our GlassLab theme was born. The kick is the indent on the bottom of a cup or bottle. It is typically added to a vessel for structural purposes and additionally to make the bottom of the vessel more stable when set down. We decided to push the “kick” idea to an extreme and make it a focus of our designs.

Tom Zogas and Dan Ipp's design drawings explore kicks in glass.

We arrived on our first morning, excited to get started with our design session. Some excellent pieces were created; most notably a big bulbous bottle, where the kick went up into the neck of the bottle. Another interesting piece was a small cup where the kick goes up and then back out the bottom. This makes the cup unusable and very impractical. We went into the GlassLab design sessions with certain expectations, but the outcome was different than we had expected. It was a great experience to have expert gaffers execute our designs. It’s truly a unique experience to see the object being made in-front of your eyes and being able to change the design as it is made. Glass is an excellent material for prototyping and its rapid production process shows that. The natural properties of glass make it such a great material to be used for everyday objects. Glass is a material of the past, but more importantly, a material for the future.

The final objects from RIT Metaproject students Dan Ipp and Tom Zogas' design session

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.

Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab is on view at the Museum through January 6, 2013.

A beautiful sunset backlights downtown Chicago, taken from Navy Pier.

Welcome to part two of my photojournalistic quest to document and share the incredible happenstance that was the Hot Glass Roadshow at SOFA Chicago. Having our glassblowing stage set up for demonstrations at this expo was a wonderful opportunity for people to view glass artists actually creating their work; instead of just seeing the end result all throughout the room and wondering how it was made. Being able to view the process in situ was a unique chance to gain a new or better appreciation for the work and skill that went into crafting the glass creations exhibited at this annual gala event.

One last glimpse of a large feathered vase being made by George Kennard, CMOG gaffer.

One of our demonstrating artists that I was happy to reconnect with was John Miller, a well known glass sculptor who heads up the glass department at Illinois State University. The last time I worked with this larger-than-life-living gent was last December on the Celebrity Cruise’s ship the Solstice where John was a visiting artist on our Hot Glass Show stage.

John Miller attaching some chopped up cane sprinkles to his giant hot glass donut.

One of the benefits of seeing John make one of his signature giant solid glass donuts was that after his demo you could go see and marvel over a wonderful display of his work while he was there to meet and talk to.

John Miller's super sized Americana diner food exhibit at SOFA.

Every glassblower who works in a new studio is always prepared to adjust to using different tools or equipment that might be set at different temperatures. It’s comparable to a chef cooking in someone else’s kitchen. Several of the artists who came onto the Roadshow stage were challenged by their choosing to create a piece that was similar to their work displayed at their booths because they were accustomed to using torches; which enabled them to control the temperature of the glass at specific points. I was impressed when Nadine Saylor successfully put together one of her signature elegant teapot forms without the use of a single torch.

Nadine Saylor putting the final touches on her 3 part teapot.

The handle and spout were made separately and attached. I thought it made for a rather exciting demo as the handle was flopping around wildly prior to Nadine sticking it to the body of the teapot. We were all excited when it was successfully completed; a round of high fives was triumphantly exchanged amongst the glassblowers (Nadine, Steven, and I) on stage.

Nadine's gold adventurine teapot on display at Riley Gallery's booth.

Prior to her demo, I had visited Nadine’s work on display. The domestic icon imagery of barns, windmills, and tractors that she had applied to her teapots and thimbles by sandblasting and painting the surfaces was evocative in many ways.

Amber Cowan reconstructing pieces of vintage white pressed glass.

Another of our demonstrators was Amber Cowan, whose manipulation of American pressed glass tableware into ethereal and forlorn creations couldn’t help but capture the viewer’s attention. She brought several thrift store found pieces of Colony Harvest pattern vintage milky white compotes, along with flowers, feathers and pearls that she had flameworked herself with solid white glass. Everything was put into a cold pick up oven and brought up to 1000 degrees; then attached together; tweezed and cut into its final nostalgic reincarnated form.

Amber Cowan's Wedding Compote shown at Heller Gallery, similar to the one made during her demo.

All the amazing talent and joie de glass vivre on the Roadshow stage those three days was just the tip of the proverbial art and design iceberg of all the artists represented at SOFA this year.  As a first time SOFA attendee I can safely say that all my expectations and preconceived notions of what to expect were pretty much blown out of Lake Michigan’s waters and I can’t wait for next year. Hope to see you there!

Until Next Time,

Ryan

Full moon plus downtown Chicago equals splendid!

A camel and a skyscraper right in front of Navy Pier! Surreal much?

Christie’s (New York) June 7, 2001

Why is establishing provenance important for museums and other art collectors? The provenance history of an object works as the object’s “genealogy”; it provides a record of names, dates of ownership, means of transference, and locations where the object was kept. These records are very important when evaluating an object’s authenticity, establishing its value, or determining an object’s legal owner.

Early’s Auction Co. (Ohio) April 1-2, 2011

Bonhams (London) November 12, 2002

The Rakow Library regularly receives more than 50 current auction catalogs a month published by auction houses located all over the world. These range from small, specialized glass auction companies like Glass Works Auctions, to larger, well known auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The Library maintains auction house subscriptions for sale categories where glass objects and art are usually found—these include decorative arts, modern art, antiquities, general antiques, and Asian art. However, there is more to the auction catalog collection than just current sales. A significant number of auction catalogs from the 19^th and early 20^th century can also be found in the collection showing historical sales.

Skinner auction catalog from 1786 featuring the famous Portland Vase

The Rakow Library also provides onsite access to several online auction databases which are great tools for provenance and valuation research at the library. Artfact, AskArt, and Artnet can all be used on their own or with the library’s print auction catalog collection in order to help find sale dates, auction house names, price information, and other useful information about glass objects.

Fun Fact: The Auction Catalog collection is the heaviest group of materials at the Rakow Library, weighing an average of 145 pounds per shelf. By comparison, an average shelf of books weighs about 72 pounds.

This is the eighth installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series.
<< Glass Research at The Rakow Research Library | Documents >>

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

Those who knew him personally share fond memories of him as a man with a kind heart and an aptitude for teaching. “Elio’s greatest lesson for me – Whatever you bring into the shop will manifest itself in your glass. If you approach your work with passion, humility and respect, great things will happen,” writes Eric Meek, Hot Glass Show supervisor at the Museum.

For the giveaway, artists are asked to submit a statement about how they were influenced by Elio, as well as images of their own work. We’ve set up a page displaying the images and statements submitted in memory of Elio. You can see them at www.cmog.org/remembering-elio.

Roberto Dona and Elio Quarisa

The giveaway will provide the winner with the tools necessary to keep this type of glassworking flourishing.

To participate, visit www.cmog.org/remembering-elio. The giveaway is open to artists who have studied under Elio, as well as artists who have a passion for Venetian style glassblowing, to which he dedicated his life. The deadline for submissions is this Saturday, December 1.

Micki and Jay Doros

Fifty years ago, Micki and Jay Doros were vacationing on Cape Cod. With not much else to do, they spent some time casually browsing an antique shop, where they became fascinated with the glass on display. Since that day, they have been avid collectors.

Says Jay, “We were both interested in glass and it was something we could do together. Although our collecting interests have changed over the years, we’ve both remained engaged.”

“During that same vacation, we were reading an antiques magazine and we saw an advertisement for The Corning Museum of Glass Seminar,” says Micki. “We thought we should go. We largely owe Corning for educating us about glass. We purchased a lot of books, and we became good friends with Rakow librarians Norma Jenkins and Virginia Wright. They were a great help to us. The Seminar lectures are wonderful and we always come home having learned something.” The 2012 Annual Seminar on Glass (held annually in October) marks the 49th Corning Museum Seminar the Doroses have attended.

During their first 20 years of collecting, Micki and Jay focused on cut glass. Micki then became interested in art glass. Minna Rosenblatt, an art glass dealer on Madison Avenue, advised them, as did their son, Paul Doros, then curator of glass at the Chrysler Museum of Art. Paul suggested they specialize in one maker, and they chose Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Favrile Kerosene Lamp with Morning Glory Shade and Peacock Feather Base, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Corona, NY, about 1895-1905. (Gift of Micki and Jay Doros, 2006.4.287)

One of the Doroses’ Tiffany objects was displayed in the 2009 exhibition Tiffany Treasures: Favrile Glass from Special Collections. “We bought a lamp at auction. How can you let a (Tiffany) Peacock Eye Lamp Base go?” says Micki. “Then, when we redecorated the house, the lamp got broken. It lay in a box for a year, broken, because we couldn’t bear to look at it. We eventually gave it to the Museum, and conservator, Steve Koob, fixed it.” Learn more about the restoration of the lamp base in the article Restoring Tiffany.

Jay and Micki are active supporters of the Museum. Jay is a Museum Fellow, and both are founding members of the Ennion Society. The Ennion Society is an honorary group for donors who make annual gifts to the Museum of $1,200 or more. Donations are used for acquisitions to the Museum’s glass collection, the world’s most important collection of glass, including the finest examples of glassmaking spanning 3,500 years. Members of the Ennion Society play a critical role in ensuring the Museum’s stature as the international leader in the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge about the art, history, science, and technology of glass and glassmaking.

After all these years, the Doros’ interest in glass in only growing. “The Rakow Library has always been our favorite spot at the Museum,” says Jay. “We spend five days at Seminar, and we spend time at the Library doing research. No matter how much you know, you never know enough.”

Manousis earned a B.F.A. in Glass from The University of Wolverhampton, England, and came to the U.S. to study at Alfred University in 2008. She received her M.F.A. in Sculpture in 2010, and has since been continuing her work in blown and kiln-cast sculpture.

“My work,” Manousis states, “captures and animates liminal moments, revealing a world in which objects, beings and places are interconnected and in flux. I re-appropriate objects that exist in the world as a device to lure and engage a universal audience.”

Her Lace series (2007) draws from childhood memories and the contradiction of fragility and strength. The Self-Contained Spray series (2007-08), cast glass bottles, sandblasted and portrait painted, is a comment on the 1950s kitsch nostalgia in today’s society. 2010’s Life Lists, included in New Glass Review 32, is a series of thin hand-painted pâte de verre sheets, hung to move and catch the light of projected written to-do lists. Inverted Vanitas (2010) incorporates a pâte de verre skin encompassing the mirrored internal flesh of a pomegranate, complete with glass seeds.

During her October 2012 residency at The Corning Museum of Glass, Manousis created works for her upcoming shows: Old and New, a solo show at The Philadelphia Art Alliance running now through January 2012, and New Visions at the Wexler Gallery in 2013.

At work in The Studio's hot shop.

This work brought a unique occupant to the artist-in-residence studio at the Museum in the form of a large taxidermied peacock. Manousis was on a bus in Seattle when she first saw a peacock in a store window.  “I did a double take – it looked so real that it might fly off its perch.” She knew that she wanted to incorporate a peacock into her work, but the concept took a few years to formulate. As part of the Fertile Groundseries, flameworked and cast crystal succulent cacti are incorporated to explore the questions of “What is real?” and “What is artifice?” as the viewer encounters “mere reflections of what the living entities once were.”

“It’s over-the-top embellishment,” says Manousis, “The bird doesn’t need decoration.”

Manousis uses glass to induce reflection—both physically and metaphorically. Her other major work involved casting large scale mason jars. Work on the jars began the first day of her residency, as the objects would take just about two weeks to anneal. The interior of each jar had an individual mold, the negative space of an object sitting atop the exterior of the jar, in this case, a magpie. “Human, chimps, and magpie are the only animals to recognize their own reflection,” said Manousis. After casting the jar, the glass is acid polished for clarity, and then the interior form is given a reflective mirrored surface, in effect creating a 3D reflection of the external viewer.

When asked if she feels as though she has reached a certain level as an artist, Manousis replied, “I don’t see there being a pinnacle, because you never know what’s in the future.”

This past summer, we invited designers featured in Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab to come to the Museum for public design performances. Designer Wendell Castle lives in New York State, but the first time he worked with GlassLab was actually in Germany. “My first session with Glasslab was at Vitra Design Museum in Germany, which I found quite enjoyable and I thought was successful from a design perspective,” said Castle. “This second time, my hope was to build upon what I had learned before. The studio sessions went even better than I had anticipated and I came out with a wealth of new knowledge about the process.”

Designer Wendell Castle at GlassLab

Castle decided to continue focusing on his designs for martini glassware. “My designs for martini glasses were basically simple: Utilize a traditional glass shape at the top to hold the beverage and allow the base or stem to serve as the sculptural element.  However, this proved not so simple to implement in glass.  My GlassLab team, G Brian Juk and Chris Rochelle, were up to the task.”

Drawing and model for Wendell Castle's design at GlassLab in Corning NY, June 19-20, 2012.

“The results were fantastic, amounting in 4 working prototypes.  Being part of the Museum’s design sessions has been a wonderful experience and I hope to have the opportunity again soon.”

Gaffer Chris Rochelle and designer Wendell Castle discuss the ellipsoid martini glass design at GlassLab.

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.

Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab is on view at the Museum through January 6, 2013.

CPP group working on puzzle

.

De situ orbis (manuscsript)

Children gaze in awe at a leather-bound 15th century manuscript that survived the 1972 flood. When we bring the oversized tome down to eye-level, their faces light up and a chorus of “wow” is generally audible.

Two favorite activities are the glass matching game and completing the large 1882 Corning map puzzle. Using a word bank, students identify glass objects that used to be common, but today are a bit tricky. They are quick to identify the glass shoes, necktie and pen, but stumble most with small antique hair gel jars shaped like bears. Librarians explain that before hair gel became what it is today, people used to slick their hair back with bear grease. This draws comments of “ew” and “gross,” and then it’s time to move on to the map puzzle!

We use the Corning map to show what methods of transportation were available in 1882 and how they influenced the development of Corning as a glass production hub. Focusing on the railroads and Chemung River, we talk about shipping and the importance of being able to bring in raw materials and send out finished glass goods. Working in groups, children assemble the approximately three foot wide map puzzle. Upon completion, if there’s time remaining, students figure out where the Museum would be located.

1882 Corning map

Approximately 275 third graders will visit the Library this November and December, including the groups who visited us this past spring in March and April. Each librarian and docent pair covers the same material in a slightly different way. Working with the visiting school groups is an exciting part of our day that we really look forward to. This program has happened each fall and spring for the past five years, and we anticipate continuing the tradition. If you are interested in bringing a school or other group to the Rakow Library, request a program online or e-mail us for more information.

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

Museum gaffer George Kennard walking down Navy Pier on his way to SOFA to light up the Roadshow stage.

The windy city of Chicago was swept into a frenzy of creative synergy as the 19th Annual Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA) Fair once again graced historic Navy Pier.

SOFA Chicago 2012.

In a matter of days, an empty warehouse pavilion was transformed into a warren of world-renowned galleries displaying an impressive and inspirational display of contemporary sculpture, design and fine art.  A surprising amount of the work shown was from both emerging and well-known glass artists.

An artist meticulously installing his work.

At the far end of the exhibit space, the CMOG Hot Glass Roadshow trailer was driven in and unfolded Transformer-style to be set up for glassblowing fun. The opening night gala was teeming with excitement because it was the public’s first chance to see the crème de le crème of modern art and design.  The next day saw the beginning of a dynamite three days of hot glass demonstrations by local and international glass artists who all had work showing in their respective gallery’s exhibits at the Fair.

Shelly Muzylowski-Allen adding an ear bit to the mustang head with the help of Davide Salvadore, Lisa Piaskowy and George Kennard.

It seemed to be the year of collaborations on our stage, beginning with our very first demo. Shelley Muzylowski-Allen and Davide Salvadore had just recently worked together in Murano, Italy for two weeks to create the sculpted animal and instrument fusions that were their stunning additions to Habatat Gallery’s booth. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to assist these artists, who I have long considered my glass heroes.

Shelley and Davide's seahorse, shown in Habatat Gallery's exhibit space.

Shelley’s affinity for sculpting realistic animals that may as well be breathing, plus Davide’s beautiful murrine that is patterned and surface cut to a textured exquisiteness, is a combination that effortlessly captures and holds the viewer.

Needless to say, this was a tough demo to follow but we had yet another collaboration that I found quite enchanting. Canadian artist Laura Donefer, well known for her eclectic and exuberant style and joy, was once again working with Jeff Mack, a phenomenal glass artist.

Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack putting the finishing touches on the ewer handle.

This pair has just recently worked together in an Instructor Residency at The Studio, and they are without a doubt quite a dynamic duo. For our Hot Glass Roadshow demo, Jeff blew a beautiful transparent purple classic ewer vessel with a separately made foot. Then Laura jumped in and slathered the surface of the ewer with fresh hot glass that she stamped or “bizzeled” with a variety of texture imparting tools. The end result was just the right mix of bizarre and traditional, since the transformed surface of this classic form had created something completely new.

George Kennard and Ryan Doolittle, the CMOG Roadshow crew, after the last scoop of hot glass has been ladled from the furnace at the triumphant end of an amazing weekend of demos.

There were too many amazing artists demonstrating on our stage to cover in one blog so please stay tuned for part two of the Roadshow at SOFA Chicago.
Until next time,

Ryan

©Michael Orr Associates

These 3 major architectural elements are integrated into the spacial planning of the new Café to add function, seclusion and intimacy within the large open plan renovation.

The screens/walls are planned as:

• a 4 Panel Mobile Screen which functions as a café bar.
• a 4 Panel Pocket Sliding Wall Screen which functions as a private entrance divider.
• a 6 Panel Fixed Screen Wall which acts as a space divider to adjacent retail areas.

Each Screen/Wall explores industrial glass transparency and translucency by combining clear class rods, hollow glass tubes, ribbed glass tubes and clear glass frit filled tubes.

©HAIGHArchitects

The glass raw material is Simax borosilicate scientific tubing, rod and milled frit. The selection of borosilicate is an industrial reference to the Corning’s history of manufacturing scientific glass. A precedent for utilizing glass rods in architectural elements is evidenced in the original Corning Glass Center bridge damaged in the flood of 1972.

Courtesy of Corning Incorporated, Archives

A number of years ago I worked with Peter Drobny, formerly of Steuben Glass, to realize some initial concepts in glass tubing and develop fabrication techniques. The opportunity to develop and realize these ideas for the GlassMarket Café project brought these concepts to life.

©Kevin Smith Carbone Metal Fabricators

Prior to final fabrication, by Carbone Metal Fabricators in Boston, several small scale mock-ups were built to visualize the prismatic and optical effects created by the varying tube and frit types.

Once finalized, Pegasus Glass of Toronto, Canada, fabricated the glass components for assembly on-site. Each screen/wall is fabricated from custom anodized aluminum sections and assembled from multiple panels, The glass tube/rod types are randomly stacked within each panel during assembly into the frames.

©HAIGHArchitects

Enjoy and linger a little longer.

Paul Haigh : November 2012

Architect, designer and educator, Paul Haigh is Principal of HAIGHArchitects llc. His most recent projects for the Corning Museum of Glass include the GlassMarket Café in association with Hunt EAS and the Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab Exhibition.

The pals inside these paperweights offer young readers the opportunity to explore shapes, colors, and numbers, and have also recently been the inspiration for a new song by a local musician.

Doc Possum is a singer-songwriter who performs at family events in the local region. No stranger to the Museum, he has been performing at Little Gather events since the release of his CD, Pouch Music, in 2004. In the past, Doc has written about the story of glass, incorporating objects from the Museum’s collection into his song lyrics. This year, he was excited to write songs based on the theme of the Paperweight Pals book. When asked if there was a special paperweight that he liked when writing the lyrics, he declined to pick a favorite, saying, “It wouldn’t be fair to pick just one!”

To travel to the moon, you must be very brave... (Paperweight, 1969, 78.4.180)

Doc began writing and playing music when he was seven years old, and has never stopped. His songwriting transitioned to children’s music as a result of his family. He has two children, now ages 14 and 12. “When they were younger, I was playing music, and staying home with the kids,” said Doc, “And that influenced what I was writing about.”

Doc’s original song “Look Inside” expands on the story of Paperweight Pals in a fun, energetic tune that encourages children and their parents to dance around – a popular activity at Little Gather events.

Well they hold things down while you’re dancing around The Paperweight Pals

They’ve got so much to say in a colorful way The Paperweight Pals

Look inside what do you see

A story to be told for you and me

At the summer finale Little Gather, Museum glassmakers held a special hot glassmaking demonstration for the kids and families in attendance and crafted a glass sea turtle, one of the animals featured in the paperweights.

Four green turtles crawl to the sea...

Paperweight Pals is available for purchase in the GlassMarket. Learn more about the paperweights featured in the book: cmog.org/set/paperweight-pals.

Song lyrics courtesy of Doc Possum: www.docpossum.com

I explored flameworking and glassblowing techniques through The Studio for the past several years and found my niche in flameworked jewelry. In my work, I enjoy pushing the limits of the soft glass I work with, which is sensitive to temperature shifts and prone to cracking, by creating sculptural beads. Recently, I have been focusing on expressive sculptural pieces, which are great for display but are not intended to be worn. Ultimately, my objective is to create quality pieces of wearable art, so to steer myself in that direction, I took Don Friedlich’s class, Coldworking: Jewelry and Sculptural Forms class at The Studio this September.

I admire the gemstone-like quality of coldworked jewelry and sculptures by artists like Martin Rosol and Pavel Novak, and I wanted to gain an understanding of how they worked and be able to find my own use for the techniques. In the class I learned how to cut glass with diamond saws, grind with flat wheels and lathes, polish, engrave, and drill holes. It opened me up to shapes and finishes that can be achieved by the gradual removal of cold glass. Don also dedicated a portion of the class to jewelry assembly – findings, mechanisms, and glues. In retrospect, I don’t know how we managed to fit so much material into six days.

Don Friedlich instructs Lindsay Woodruff on the flat wheel at The Studio.

The Museum, The Studio, and the Rakow Research Library are all phenomenal resources, and I am very fortunate to have them so close to me. The Studio facilities are well-maintained and well-stocked with quality tools and quality technicians, and I often feel spoiled when I’m there. For instance, in class I discovered that the coldshop runs heated water to the machines, providing maximum comfort while working. Being a student at The Studio involves other perks, like lectures, opportunities to meet with experts in glass art and research, lessons on how to photograph glass, and in-depth tours.

My other experiences during the week were invaluable. My class met with the Curatorial Assistant of Modern Glass to look at modern jewelry that is not currently on display. Former Steuben engraver Max Erlacher stopped by to give a demonstration of engraving cuts. I got a massage halfway through the week by a masseuse The Studio brings in for students, empowering my body to keep working through the busy schedule. On top of that, I spent the week with interesting, creative people who share my passion for glass and my passion for jewelry.

Objects made in Don Friedlich’s class, Coldworking: Jewelry and Sculptural Forms

All of this was made possible by the Celebrity Cruises Glassmaking Scholarship I received. It not only paid for tuition – it gave me the stress-free, glass-centric week I had been craving for a long time. I now feel more refreshed, inspired, and motivated than ever before and I can’t wait to get started on materializing some of my new ideas.

Megan is a demonstrator aboard Celebrity Solstice, and previously blew glass on Celebrity Eclipse. When she was informed earlier this year that both her sister and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer, Megan became determined to support the cause. On each cruise, she and the Hot Glass Show team host a “Hot Pink Glass Show” where they make one-of-a-kind pink glass creations to be sold at an auction at the end of the cruise. The funds from these auctions go to Celebrity’s charitable partner, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

“These impressive women personify the qualities we admire among our Solstice Class Godmothers: remarkable strength and courage, along with optimism, warmth and genuine care for others,” said Michael Bayley Celebrity’s President & CEO. “They beautifully represent countless other women within our company and around the world who have battled the disease or supported the cause in honor of friends or family who have done so.”

Megan learned to blow glass at the Columbus College of Art and Design, where she earned her BFA in 2006. Megan loves the immediacy of creating art from molten glass, as well as the cooperation between artists working together in the studio. In addition to blowing glass, she is also an avid painter and textile artist.

Being selected to be a Godmother of a new ship is one of the highest honors in the maritime tradition. This recognition is usually given to celebrities, industry leaders and heads of state. Like the Godmothers of every prior Solstice Class ship, the cause of breast cancer research and awareness is of great personal interest to these women.

Megan and her fellow Godmothers Jovanka Goronjic, Helen O'Connell and Rosey Rodriguez will officially launch the ship at a gala naming ceremony in Miami on December 1. 

This past summer, we invited designers featured in Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab to come to the Museum for public design performances. Illustrator Peter Sís had never worked in glass when he arrived in Corning for his June design session. “I did animation but I never was able to create things in space, and here, it’s fascinating to see that these things are working in the third dimension. Somehow you feel the object and it’s completely inspiring – and magic – I would say.”

Peter Sís works with gaffers Chris Rochelle and Aaron Jack at GlassLab in Corning, June 12 - 13

Sís chose to use illustrations from his most recent book project, The Conference of the Birds, to create 3D vessels. The result was a series of whimsical birds, cats, and flying fish that reflect the recurring characters in his work.

Creating a design by Peter Sis in hot glass

“I like the idea that the Museum is forward-thinking and inspirational,” Sís said of his experience. Embracing the concept of prototyping ideas, Sís already has inspiration for future projects. “I wish I had had more time to integrate more complicated techniques such as graphic elements… I was just touching the surface of possibilities and connection to my two dimensional work.”

Design sketch and finished prototypes by Peter Sís for GlassLab

“Glasslab was an interesting experience,” Sís said. “It was fun to see how quickly they could take my sketches and decide how to proceed and how to translate my ideas into glass.” 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. 

Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab is on view at the Museum through January 6, 2013.

Teachers: are you eager to take your students beyond the classroom walls and help them prepare for the future? We’re dedicated to helping you. The Museum offers a dynamic and engaging environment for learning. Our school programs align with NYS Common Core standards and enhance literacy by integrating interdisciplinary discovery-based learning with academic and domain-based vocabulary and verbalization.

Here are 4 steps you can take to learn more about our programs and help students excel beyond the classroom.

1. Come to Evening for Educators on Thursday, November 15, 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm at The Studio. Enjoy this free professional development event for regional educators of all grade levels and subject areas. Education staff will share how the Museum’s school tours address Common Core Shifts and the FOSS science curriculum. We will also give you a glimpse into our exciting North Wing Expansion and discuss upcoming education programs. Be sure to ask your principal if you can receive an hour of in-service credit. Registration is requested. And, stay for our popular free event 2300˚ immediately following.

2. Visit our website to see School Tour Options, Plan Your Visit, and explore Pre-Visit and Post-Visit Resources. Try making a Collection Set of images, articles and videos for online learning in your classroom. If you don’t see the type of program you have in mind or if you are having a hard time imagining how your curriculum aligns with glass, contact us. We will help you design a tour and age-appropriate activities. We have new exhibitions and program opportunities each year.

3. Tell your students about Museum programs and encourage them to get involved. Do you have students who are interested in learning more about museums or having careers related to art, history or science? Encourage teens to attend Fire Up Your Future on January 11, 2013 to learn more about our after-school and summer programs. The Families Explore series is great for elementary and middle level students. The program focuses on Science in November, Space in February and Music in March. If you teach high school, we would welcome having your class take a leadership role and share their projects, knowledge and skills with younger visitors. Contact us for more information.

4. Signup to receive email notifications about Evening for Educators and other educational programs and events at the Museum. Visit cmog.org and scroll down to the footer. Enter your email address under Join our mailing list and select Educator and School Programs.

We look forward to helping you and your students engage in learning at the Museum.

Students on a visit at The Corning Museum of Glass.

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.

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!

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 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.

Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion

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.

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.

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

“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.”

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.

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

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

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.

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

We have just wrapped up the 7^th edition 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

All project photography courtesy of Domaine de Boisbuchet © Alessandro Fedeli 2012

Madam J. Rieth's troupe of American and Bohemian glass blowers advertising card, bib no. 112398

J. Hoare & Company stock certificate dated January 29, 1920, bib no. 92684

These documents mostly originate from glass production centers in the United States (mostly Northeast and upper Midwest) and western Europe (primarily England, France, and Germany); the bulk of them date from the second half of the 18^th century through the first half of the 20^thcentury.  Perhaps one of the most captivating items from this collection is a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1807 during his time as president.  His brief words to James Dinsmore concerning glass for window sashes help document plans for his octagonal Poplar Forest plantation retreat in Bedford County, Virginia. This retreat was designed by Jefferson himself as a sanctuary from the popularity of his Monticello home.

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Dinsmore dated December 29, 1807, bib no. 126520

We have another presidential document within our collection, this one from Dwight D. Eisenhower.  This letter, dated 1964, was written from Eisenhower’s Gettysburg, Pennsylvania home after his visit with Mamie to The Corning Museum of Glass.  In it, he thanks former director Paul Perrot for his “courtesy and helpfulness”.

Letter from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Paul Perrot dated October 21, 1964, bib no. 126517

Our documents collection continues to grow and there is always something new and exciting to discover.  From a 10 cent admittance ticket to see glassblowers on stage performing with Punch and Judy, to a mid-nineteenth century “fancy glass working” advertisement on an As You Like It playbill, to a Corning Glass Works stock certificate, this collection has something for nearly every glass-related interest.

Playbill for As You Like It, bib no. 107850; Admittance ticket to Gray's glass blowers, bib no. 112399; Corning Glass Works stock certificate, bib no. 89684

The entire collection is available to see here at the Library, so stop by and ask a reference librarian for help!

This is the seventh installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series.
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Telephone: 607.438.5300 | Email (general inquiries): rakow@cmog.org

The sleek and modern High Museum of Art

As I’m settling back into the swing of things in Seattle after my last ship contract, I am still spinning around like a top from the fabulous whirlwind that was The Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Roadshow’s visit to Atlanta. The High Museum of Art welcomed us with open arms into their arts- and culture-rich Midtown abode as we trucked and rolled our Hot Glass Show equipment right to their Sifly Piazza.

The Sifly Piazza with our hot shop set up under the tent

It took three days to set everything up and forklift a brand new beaut of a furnace onto our portable stilted stage. Fellow glassblowers, Eric Meek, Ian Schmidt and I were asked by passersby if we were setting up for a BBQ and we replied after laughing that no food would be cooking on this stage but that we’d be opening up everyone’s eyes to the wonderful possibilities of hot glass with five days of demonstrations. Then we asked if they knew of a good BBQ place in the area.

Eric Meek putting the finishing touches on the elephant holding a taco.

The High invited the Hot Glass Roadshow to help commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the American Studio Glass Movement. Our show was free to the public and one of the absolute highlights was the field trip visit that many local schools took to come and visit us. It was wonderful to look out at the 300-plus sea of young faces day after day and see the delight and curiosity on their faces as we made various You Design It; We Make It pieces such as a penguin holding a candy cane, an owl, octopus, goldfish, etc. My favorite question to ask them was “Now, who wants to grow up and be a glassblower?” I always got a plethora of hands raised and waving wildly in response, which always makes me happy.

You Design It pieces: Penguin by Ian Schmidt, Owl by Eric Meek.

Check back soon for more from the Hot Glass Roadshow’s visit at The High, including photos from sessions with visiting artists Richard Jolley, Johanna Grawunder and Gyun Hur.

Until next time,

Ryan

The future occupation I have chosen is museum studies and art history (with a curatorial focus).  I chose to pursue this career because I have an interest in both art and history.  I love art.  Learning the history behind art pieces makes it so much more interesting to me; which is why I think the field of museum studies and art history would make be a good fit for me.  I was given the opportunity to be able to shadow two different employees at The Corning Museum of Glass; gallery educator Bonnie Wright, and curatorial assistant Kelley Elliott.  This was very helpful for me because I was able to see two different jobs that make it possible for the Museum to operate successfully.

Part of Bonnie’s job in the Educational Department is to prepare educational material for different uses and audiences.  Bonnie explained to me a bit about marketing, editing, and advertising for the Museum.  I observed Bonnie while she edited a page of the Museum’s website.  I also was able to attend a Hot Glass Show which helped me understand how glass is formed and fashioned.  During the Hot Glass Show there was a drawing to win a vase that was made by the gaffers, and just my luck, I won it!  It was very interesting to watch and I would recommend that anyone who visits the Museum should attend a show.

Bonnie also organizes some of the educational events for the Museum.  For example, she organizes an event called Glass Camp.  Glass Camp is a five day summer camp for children ages 9 through 11.  I was able to help Bonnie go over the schedule for Glass Camp. Some of the activities for the children include gallery hunts, themed crafts, and attending Little Gather.  Little Gather is a themed performance for children ages 3 and up that explores different types of glass through storytelling, puppet shows, music, and singing.  Additionally, I observed Bonnie conducting one of several 3-hour training sessions for the Museum’s Explainer program.  Explainers are teens and college students who are stationed throughout the Museum during the busy summer months, sharing information about the glass collection with visitors, and conducting youth tours.  Bonnie was so helpful and full of information that I now am strongly considering becoming a museum educator.

I also learned a lot while shadowing Kelley.  I was able to visit the Museum’s warehouse where collection items not on display in the galleries are stored.  While there, I helped Kelley and the registrars unpack a large shipment of Pyrex glass that was donated to the Museum.  I also helped do some research for a public inquiry about a Pyrex glass hurricane lamp.

A table full of Pyrex glass at the warehouse waiting to be cataloged.

Shelves full of glass in The Corning Museum of Glass’ warehouse.

Also while shadowing Kelley I was able to attend a meeting with designer Jon Otis at GlassLab, a design program at The Corning Museum of Glass.  On July 17 and 18, Jon Otis created some design prototypes for the Museum. During our meeting we talked about which designs were successful, and we discussed the inspirations behind the designs.

Some of Jon Otis’ design protoypes made at GlassLab.

From right to left is GlassLab designer Jon Otis, me, G. Brian Juk (gaffer), Hot Glass Show supervisor Eric Meek, and hot glass programs manager Steve Gibbs, at The Corning Museum of Glass.

I also helped Kelley with a research project on a glass vase by the famous French artist Émile Gallé (1846─1904).  The vase, made sometime between 1890 and 1904, is called Vase with Tomatoes, but when looking at the vase it looks as though the tomatoes might be pumpkins because they are orange.   We did research to find out if they were tomatoes or pumpkins.

Vase with Tomatoes, Émile Gallé (1846─1904), Nancy, France, about 1890─1904 (Anonymous gift, 82.3.55)

We researched the archives related to Gallé in the Museum’s Rakow Research Library.  We found a photograph of a vase that looked very similar to the Vase with Tomatoes but there was no title on the photograph to indicate whether these were  tomatoes or pumpkins.

So we continued our research online by comparing pictures of the leaves of tomato plants to the leaves on pumpkin plants. We decided that the leaves looked more like those found on a tomato plant. We also saw images of yellow and orange tomatoes with shapes very similar to what was on the vase. So we concluded that the piece by Gallé, Vase with Tomatoes, should keep its name based on what we found in our research.

Photograph of a vase by Émile Gallé (1846─1904) similar to the Vase with Tomatoes.

Orange colored Kellogg Beefsteak tomatoes. Source: Urban Farmer

While at The Corning Museum of Glass I was also able to explore the Museum for myself.  My favorite part was the Contemporary Gallery of the Museum.  The word “contemporary” simply means of the present time (specifically it means made in the last 30 years).  I am a huge fan of contemporary art.

Overall my experience at The Corning Museum of Glass was amazing.  The staff is wonderful and without them the Museum wouldn’t be as successful as it is.  It was such a pleasure visiting the Museum for 20 hours and shadowing Kelley and Bonnie.  It was definitely a great experience for me and I have memories I will never forget.  I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and new knowledge of the field to my classmates and teachers this fall.  I recommend The Corning Museum of Glass as a must visit on anyone’s vacation list.

The Museum collaborates with Celebrity Cruises to tell the world about glass. Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Eclipse each include a hotshop on the top deck of the ship where Corning Museum of Glass gaffers present live, narrated Hot Glass Show glassblowing demonstrations.

Are you a hardworking, articulate, friendly, expert glassblower? The Museum will be auditioning for the Blow Glass at Sea program at SOFA Chicago on Wednesday, October 31 and Thursday, November 1. For information and to apply, visit http://www.cmog.org/glassmaking/demos/hot-glass-show/sea/glassblowers-needed or call 607.438.5267.

Check out gaffers G. Brian Juk, Ryan Mellinger, and Taryn Bertolino onboard the Eclipse on the Baltic Sea.

A crab comes to life on Deck 15 aboard the Celebrity Eclipse on the Baltic Sea.

Special thanks to the Hurst family for photos of the Hot Glass Show on the Eclipse.

Have you ever seen something and felt like you had seen it before? That’s pretty much what happened when I walked into the Museum’s Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery of Contemporary Glass about seven years ago and saw this incredible, translucent life-sized dress.

Evening Dress with Shawl, Karen LaMonte (American, b. 1967). Czech Republic, Zelezny Brod, 2004.

The dress was softly illuminated from above. A glass shawl was draped over imaginary open hands, as if someone was caressing a treasured dress, or committing a precious moment to memory. I could even see the imprint of fingers in the shawl. It was if I was looking at the innermost details of a frozen moment in time that might have happened long ago or just a minute ago.

Fashion has always been very important to me, even when I was a little girl; more so as a teenager. This was a dress I could imagine myself wearing to a ball. I wonder how many visitors, particularly teens, must stand before this dress, made by American artist Karen LaMonte, envisioning themselves wearing it to their prom or wedding.

Fascinated by LaMonte’s work, I wanted to see more. I didn’t have to go too far. The Museum also has her Blue Dress, the size and style of a little girl’s dress.

Blue Dress, 1998

The sculpture is made of glass that gently shifts from translucent to opaque in hues of deep-blue and green/turquoise, with ruffles on the sleeves. You can almost see the little girl who loves it. I look forward to walking through the Museum with my granddaughter and standing in front of this life-sized dress. I wonder what she will be thinking.

I have a deep appreciation for artists such as LaMonte, who have devoted their careers to creating sculptures that have extraordinary visual appeal, but also dare us to imagine, think, and, yes, even dream, of what if’s.

View Evening Dress with Shawl and Blue Dress in the Museum’s collections browser.

Before I began the CMoG Junior Curator program I knew that it was a great opportunity for learning about different art forms (I am looking into making a career out of illustration) and also just something that would look good on my résumé. But I wasn’t so sure about what it would be like to spend several months on such a project.

However, being a person who gets excited about really anything I have in-depth knowledge of, it soon became a fantastic way to spend a Thursday.

For Week One we got a front row seat at the Hot Glass Show and a tour of The Studio (glassworking school) of the Museum.  We also learned about glass properties and terminology, which actually gave me a great idea for a band name: Punty Connection.

The Junior Curators’ job is to design a glass exhibit each year at The Studio.  We were shown four cases full of a variety of pieces that we were free to use.  We looked at these for a few days, and thought of a cavalcade of ideas for themes (pantheon of deities, space travel, the human figure, etc.).

Now, fast forward to May 3^rd – our motley group of misfits have settled on the theme of “Cups” (I have very few hard feelings for my space and pantheon of the gods themes being turned down).  We then commenced our numerous votes to determine things like the title and signage. As for the title, we decided on, Cups o’ Plenty: Half Full or Half Empty?

The signage involved figuring out what to say, how to say it and what illustrations and colors should be used to drive the point home.  This occurred directly after the laborious task of arranging the glass pieces in our case.

Now was time for the grand opening!  The signs all looked great, and the food we chose for the event was delicious!

At the exhibition opening for Cups o' Plenty

I wish the best to anyone planning on going into an art career (glass or otherwise) and also to anyone planning on taking this class next year!

Learn more about the Museum’s teen programs, including Junior Curators.

The roof airgapped.

Since only a portion of the buildings were being removed, it was necessary to “airgap the building.” All connections between the building to be torn down and the building to remain were removed.

The demolition was done by Environmental Remediation Services Incorporated. The machine used for the demolition is called a “grapple.” It is said to cost about $300,000. Many people use incorrect names for this machine:  “Grappler” is a term for certain wrestling styles. “Clamshell” is a term for a tool often used for dredging with a crane. “The Claw” is  the name for one of Dick Tracey’s criminal foes.

The grapple with a pad of paper for scale.

The grapple uses pincher at the end of the arm to grab onto the building and to pull it apart.

Demolition in progress.

As the grapple dismantled the structure, the debris was sorted into three main piles: structural steel, mixed metals and other.

Steel beams are cut with oxy-propane torches for transport.

The structural steel was cut into pieces with oxy-propane torches for transport to the scrap yard.

Spraying the debris with water to control dust.

A steady stream of water removed the dust from the air.

The old old North Wing offices of the Museum.

The demolished building’s removal exposed Hot Glass programs manager Steve Gibb’s old office through the back wall.  The paper tacked to the side wall is an old Celebrity Cruise line gaffers’ schedule.  This was the only item left in any office.

The Museum remains open throughout the Expansion project and demolition, since only office spaces were torn down. Visitors inside the Museum are not affected by the work happening outside. Our neighbors in the adjacent Corning Incorporated building had a bird’s eye view of the demolition, as seen in this photo taken from the seventh floor.

View of the demolition from the adjacent Corning Incorporated building.

John is working on a sinker form to use in his “Balance” series, a collection of work made with glass and wood that features two “disparate objects that are unified in their form but are different in scale.” Attracted to early industrial aesthetics, he will often coat his pieces in metal oxides to create a look closer to metal than glass.

“I’m definitely influenced by where I live,” John says of Philadelphia, where he is surrounded by “relics of industrial history” such old warehouse buildings, driftwood, and pulleys. He is particularly inspired by block and tackle systems, simple machines that have revolutionized how we relate to and manipulate nature through the use of mechanical advantage. In a post-industrial society, he finds inspiration in these machines, “marks of a good craftsman” that have withstood the test of time despite inevitable deterioration. “They have an influence on how I think about time,” he says.

Working on a glass form shaped like a sinker at The Studio

John was excited to continue to develop his series after spending a lot of time assisting other artists. The Celebrity scholarship to study at The Studio gave him not only financial assistance, but also the opportunity to focus intensively on improving upon his drawings and ideas. During the week-long course, students worked in small groups, allowing for individualized feedback from the instructor. Students caught glimpses of other classes going on during the session, and made connections with instructors and other students. The Studio also offers other benefits during class sessions – John was able to meet with the GlassMarket buyer, go through the Museum with Bill Gudenrath, and go on a guided tour of the glass sculptures in the Corning Incorporated headquarters building – a rare sight as this building is not open to the public. “Overall,” says John, “it’s very inspiring; it makes me want to come back to Corning and work hard on my body of work.”

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

The plate glass (which was so clear as to be invisible to the audience) was placed at an angle on stage, reflecting the image of an actor in a pit below the stage. When the ghost was ready to make its appearance, the room beneath the stage would be brightened, allowing the” ghost” (or reflection of the actor) to appear suddenly to the audience.

Image from Eyes, Lies and Illusions: the Art of Deception. 2004. This excellent history of “optical wizardry” reproduces a number of images of early optics research. This engraving of Pepper’s Ghost originally appeared in Die Physik in Bildern Eßlingen (1881). Rakow Research Library.

This curiosity of the Victorian age not only answered my patron’s question (yes, plate glass was being produced in large sizes, even before the plate glass process was automated!), but it provided a glimpse into scientific investigations of light and optics that had begun much earlier in history. You can trace these investigations in the Rakow Library’s collection of materials on early optics.

Pepper’s Ghost got its name from a scientist at the Royal Polytechnic Institute, John Henry Pepper. Pepper had recently seen an invention by engineer Henry Dircks who had the idea to use plate glass to create the illusion of ghosts.

Theatrical performances involving supernatural elements, called Phantasmagoria, were popular at the time, but Dircks’ invention proved too expensive to be of interest to theatres. Pepper, however, was able to modify the invention so that it was affordable for theaters to install. He and Dircks filed a patent and Pepper’s Ghost became the rage of London, and– rather quickly– other cities world-wide. P.T. Barnum, in his account of Humbugs of the World (1866), refers to “Professor Pepper, at the Royal Polytechnic Institute, in London, [who] invented a most ingenious device for producing ghosts which should walk about upon the stage in such a perfectly astounding manner as to throw poor Hamlet’s father… quite into the ‘shade.’ ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ soon crossed the Atlantic, and all our theatres were speedily alive with nocturnal apparitions” (quoted from the Gutenberg Project’s edition of Humbugs of the World).

Dircks himself wrote in his publication, The Ghost (1863) that the illusion was so popular that the Thames Plate Glass Company had completely sold out of the large plates of glass necessary for performing the stage trick.

Barnum wrote about Pepper’s Ghost as if it were merely an entertainment, but Professor Pepper and Dircks saw the Ghost as a means to educate audiences about scientific principles of physics, light and optics. Other scientists, like Augustin Privat-Deschanel, in his Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy, made reference to Pepper’s Ghost as well, describing it as one of several “ingenious illusions that have been contrived” which rely on “the laws of reflection from plane surfaces” (From the Internet Archive). Pepper’s Ghost is still studied by illusionists and magicians today. Disney even adopted it for use in the Haunted Mansion in the 1960s to create the illusion of ghosts in its grand ballroom!*

Pepper’s ghost, however, was just the latest variation upon an even older technology called the Magic Lantern which had fascinated 17^th century scientists. Its exact origins are unknown, but the earliest image of the lantern appears in Athanasius Kircher’s Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae, published in 1646. Dutch scientist Christiaen Huygens is typically given the credit for inventing the lantern, however, and some historians even believe a form of the magic lantern existed prior to the 17^th century.

Magic Lantern projection. In Willem Jacob Gravesande’s Physices Elementa Mathematica, Experimentis Confirmata: Sive Introduction ad Philosophiam Newtonianam,(1742.) Rakow Library collection.

The lantern contained a mirror and a candle and had a tube attached to it, with convex lenses on either side. Inside the tube was a glass plate with a painted image–for a Phantasmagoria, the image would be of a ghost, skeleton, demon or other creepy character. The image would be projected onto a wall or screen of some kind.

Parts of a Magic Lantern. Also from Gravesande’s Physices Elementa Mathematica (1742). Rakow Library collection.

Later innovators, like Etienne Gaspard Robertson, a successful Belgian producer of Phantasmagoria and professor of physics, would put the lantern on wheels so that the images would seem to swoop in towards audiences, often causing viewers to scream with terror. His patented “Fantoscope” was a huge hit with his audiences, making him a kind of 19^th century Alfred Hitchcock.

Early drawing of a magic lantern in use from Zahn’s Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium (1702). Rakow Library collection.

Interestingly, another glass invention, Benjamin Franklin’s glass armonica, was frequently used as a musical accompaniment to Robertson’s spectral shows, presumably because of its eerie quality.

Robertson claimed, in his Mémoires: Récréatifs Scientifiques et Anecdotiques (1831) that his shows were a success only “if my spectators, shivering and shuddering, raise their hands or cover their eyes out of fear of ghosts and devils dashing towards them.” Robertson’s Memoirs describe his invention and his shows thoroughly and his work continues to intrigue illusionists and magicians. Harry Houdini even had a copy of Robertson’s Memoirs in his personal library!

(Drawing depicting a Robertson show. Frontispiece from Robertson’s Memoirs (1831). Copy owned and digitized by the Library of Congress.)

Magic Lanterns became so popular that versions for the home were marketed for a time. Marcel Proust writes, in volume one of Remembrance of Things Past, about receiving a gift of one of these lanterns which he kept in his room.  Advertisements from the late 19^th century show families gathered around the lantern in their living room, watching spectral images projected on the wall. You could even order one through the mail, as seen in pages from a T.H. McAllister catalog, along with slides to use in the lantern.

A higher end magic lantern from a T.H. McAllister catalog (1903).

These inventions may seem purely frivolous, but they represented innovations in thinking about light, glass, and optics that were significant at the time.

They are clearly the ancestors of the Cinématographe developed by the Lumière brothers and Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope, both late 19^th century innovations in “moving pictures.” More than that, though, the Magic Lantern and Pepper’s Ghost are, in fact, two in a long list of inventions, from the mundane to the supernatural, which rely upon that versatile and unique substance we call glass.  Find out more about these wondrous and clever inventions by calling, emailing or visiting the Rakow Library to explore our collection on early optics.

*Jim Steinmeyer’s Two Lectures on Theatrical Illusion, published in 2001, provides a comprehensive history of various versions of the Ghost trick.  Steinmeyer’s book is available in the Rakow Library collection.

In 2012, the Museum will loan objects to exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Receiving institutions include the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, NY, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, and many others. Our glass objects have gone as far as the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan, and as close as the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY.

Islamic bowl on loan to a traveling exhibition that will be on display in Provo, UT, Indianapolis, Houston, and Brooklyn. Bowl, transparent emerald-green, mold-pressed and cut. Islamic; Western Asia; perhaps Iran, c. 9-10th century. H: 7.6 cm.(55.1.136)

Have you ever wondered how and when this all happens? All the glass moves in and out through our curatorial loading dock, which recently underwent renovations.

For years, the Curatorial Department has struggled with an aging lift and a fairly ineffective loading dock. As the main artery for glass objects coming in and out of the building (and the first experience for other museums’ couriers and art shippers) we felt that it was finally time for an upgrade.

Construction on the new loading dock.

Earlier this year we embarked on a project to not only replace the often malfunctioning lift and to increase the effectiveness of the dock, but also, to make the back of the house as “World Class” as the rest of the Museum.

Ready to receive and ship glass around the world.

Thanks to the hard work and good planning of the Preparators, Operations, Safety staff and our contractor, Streeter Associates Inc., I am happy to announce that the new loading dock has been built with safety, efficiency and flexibility in mind, and is now officially open for business.

As you walk through the Museum’s parking lot or in the construction zone of the old bus parking lot and under the Courtyard Stage, you will see mysterious dots, arrows, and lines sprayed onto the asphalt surface.  They come in a variety of colors.

NY 800-862-7962 or www.digsafelynewyork.com

I got a lesson in what they mean.  As you might suspect, there is an Institute, Association, or Society which issues guidelines for which colors represent what underground facilities.  The American Public Works Association (and its Canadian affiliate) has established a Uniform Color Code.  This paint marking system is used to lay out a surface representation of underground utility lines. Pink is for temporary survey markings. Red is for electric power lines, cables, conduit, & lighting cables. Yellow is for gas, oil, steam, petroleum and gaseous material. Orange is for communications, alarm, signal lines, cables or conduit. Blue is for potable water. Purple is for reclaimed water. Green is for sewers and drain lines. White is for proposed excavation.

As you can imagine, in the complex of buildings around our parking lot, pipes and conduit have been added and subtracted many times over the years. Buildings were built, modified, brought up to the current Building Code, portions abandoned, fiber optic cable added, new steam lines added, electrical systems upgraded, etc.

Two steam lines 2 feet deep.

The contractor called the UFPO or Underground Facilities Protective Organization (800-862-7962) to mark all of the known utilities out on the pavement. Red marks the electrical lines. Sometimes there is a number next to the line. It is the depth in feet or inches. H.V. stands for High Voltage. There are yellow lines for gas and steam. STM stands for steam. There are blue water lines including the sprinkler lines. There are also some green lines most or all of which are for storm sewers. There are some catch basins, manholes, handholes and valve covers which are also painted or marked.

The painted lines show the direction of the pipe. As you walk across the lot, it will give you some idea of what lies below.

The focus of this class was on designing and creating goblets with the appeal of a modern aesthetic that can “have a sense of grace and beauty in the form” without the ornate style of the historical precedence of Venetian glass. Maintaining a focus on functionality was fundamental to this class, and to this end, Brandyn spent the week concentrating on making clean components and managing appropriate proportions in his pieces.

Brandyn Callahan at The Studio

He is dedicated to gaining proficiency in glass, and he says, “Goblets are a great way to build skills as a technical glassblower.” Michael Schunke’s goblets “flow really well together, none of his parts seem disjointed, and I’m trying to take that from this class and his work.”

Brandyn comes from a part of the country that has been influential to the Studio Glass movement over the last several decades, but he was excited to visit Corning, a town which he says has “such a rich tradition of people blowing glass, engraving glass, and being in the glass industry… for hundreds of years.” His time was well-spent immersed in the culture of glass – so much so that his initial week-long stay turned into two weeks. In addition to time spent in class, Brandyn found “so much material to soak in” within the Museum collections and the Rakow Research Library. “I’ve wanted to come to Corning for a long time,” he says. “I feel honored to have been given the scholarship.”

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

See the 1-hour Live-Stream demonstration from Michael Schunke: Goblet Thinking for the Modern World: http://youtu.be/PRPP3yZMvbw?hd=1

The Library acquires video materials in support of the instructional, research, and informational scope of its collection policy. Videos are purchased new and used and are often received as gifts from donors, artists or organizations. Some of the most unique videos are those created by artists which have been donated to the Library. Topics covered include glass in its many forms. Educational and instructional videos, documentaries, lectures, presentations, non-commercial productions, and other videos aid in the study and research of glass. The collection also contains a few fictional and animated features. Videos are collected in any language. When possible, we purchase two copies of videos so that one can be used by patrons and one can be placed in our secured stacks. All copies are stored in temperature and humidity controlled shelving areas for increased longevity.

Video section in the Rakow Library

Recently we received The automatic glass bottle blower: an end to an atrocity as a gift. This film, made by two high school seniors, documents child labor in the glass industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and examines how the invention of the Owens Automatic Bottle Machine led to a decline in child labor. The machine eliminated many positions that had previously been staffed by children. The film has won several awards and includes objects from the Library collection. The oldest video in the collection, from approximately 1910, is about the Owens Bottle Machine.

Another interesting work is Buster Simpson’s Pilchuck tapes 1971-1973. These tapes detail the creation of and activities at Pilchuck Glass school through Simpson’s footage of participants and instructors including Fritz Dreisbach, Dale Chihuly, Gianni Toso, Erwin Eisch, Toots Zynsky, Harvey Littleton and others. Unedited, these videos detail original studio concepts and the roots of Pilchuck.

In addition to the videos held in the Library, the Museum offers an extensive collection of videos both on our YouTube channel and our website.

This is the sixth installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series.
<< Book Collection | Documents >>

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.

The diamond saw used to cut 6" thick concrete for removal

The diameter of the saw blade looks about 30 inches.  It is very noisy.   You can see the cutline just in front of the operator’s toe. The saw is self-propelled and creeps forward very slowly.  The concrete is about 6 inches thick.  When the backhoe arrives, it will be very easy to remove the concrete which has been cut into one yard squares.  The backhoe can drive on the cut squares to get to the ones in the back first.

Glassworkers also use this same technology to cut glass, although on a smaller scale.  For example, the Museum staff sometimes uses a tile saw with a diamond blade and a water bath to cut glass color bar to be used in the Hot Glass Show.

Green = remove, red = do not remove

The electrical, gas and water services are being prepared for removal from the former North Wing office building.  Some have to remain for a while.  Most of the electrical circuits can be removed but some have to stay.  Water lines and gas lines are being prepared for removal.  The roof drains for rain water have to stay to the last.  The sprinklers will stay as long as is practical. Pipes and conduit which can safely be removed are marked green. Those which should stay are marked in red.  No one wants to cut into a live electrical line, gas line or water line.

Electrical switches marked green have been removed

The North Wing expansion is being built in accordance with the tenets of the U. S. Green Building Council.  The USGBC promotes the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.  There are many elements which lead to a successful LEED program: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations & Linkages, Awareness & Education, Innovation in Design and Regional Priority.

Brick sorted to be recycled

Materials are piled up, like with like, to be recycled.  More items are able to be recycled than you might think.

You can find more information about the Green Building Council at www.usgbc.org.

Coffee Pot by Studio Job (Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagle) 2012.3.30.

Our first challenge was to convey the size of the sculpture in a photograph. That is difficult enough with any sculpture, but when the object is something as instantly familiar as a coffeepot, we have to overcome the viewer’s assumption of a certain size. Of course, this dynamic between expectation and experience is part of what makes Smoots and Tynagel’s design work, so it is especially important to communicate the scale for that reason. Photographing the sculpture on a wooden floor rather than a neutral backdrop establishes a scale reference for the overall view. For the tighter views, keeping the object large in the frame and choosing a slightly high angle helps convey its mass and size, as well as the thickness and weight of the metalwork.

Photographing the sculpture on a wooden floor helps with scale

The second challenge was dealing with a highly polished metal surface which acts like a mirror. Aside from not wanting to mirror the camera in the image, the gold only appears correct when it is mirroring something white. We frequently deal with this this type of lighting with white cards or white tenting around an object on a photo table, but in this case we had to build eight foot high white foam core “walls”. The images below show the object without and with the white cards.

Left: without the white cards / Right: with the white cards

This image shows the studio with the “room” built around the sculpture.

Gold only appears correct when it is mirroring something white

The third challenge was making the cut glass look good. The cut glass requires contrast, but the foam core walls diffuse and soften the light. A bright Fresnel spot (visible on the right in the above image) is focused on the wall behind the glass to provide some “pop”.

For the tighter views, even more foam core was required.

A "room" is constructed around the object

When all was done, it was time for a coffee break.

Museum Photography Department Manager Nick Williams

Bill Gudenrath, Amy Schwartz, Martin Janecky, Jiri Harcuba, and April Surgent, Summer 2012. Jiri is leaving The Studio after teaching annually since 1997.

Engraving is a craft deeply rooted in tradition, and tends to follow strict rules in technique, yet Jiří saw potential for expression that many engravers had not embraced. Jiří recognizes carvings as the earliest artistic manifestation of man, something that will forever connect the past with the present, and the present with the future. Jiří harbors classic skills as an engraver, enabling him to engrave the most detailed portraiture, but much of his work features abstract designs as a result of his methodology.

Two Portraits: Václav Havel and Vladimír Kopecký, Jiří Harcuba (Czech, b. 1928), 1995

Jiří’s way of engraving glass is “based on the traditional techniques and applied to a contemporary concept.” He calls the approach zen-graving, derived from the concept of zen-drawing, a more meditative means of drawing valuing artful expression above technical skill. By zen-graving, one is similarly less concentrated on the rules of craftsmanship. Zen-graving is an approach to engraving that encourages people to experience “every day as though through the eyes of a child”, to get back the freedom a person once felt in a childlike state and use it to create.

Rocking Horse, 2007

In talks and lectures, Jiří often tells the story of an engraving made by Sophia, the daughter of Bill Gudenrath and Amy Schwartz, when she was three years old. The piece featured the powerful abstract lines of a child’s representation of a cow, and according to Jiří, “Nobody would have done it better.” This powerful approach to art unapologetically celebrates the perfection in imperfection, as well as the finished product within every unfinished project. He insists, “Beginners are always better,” and to the student who admits, “I know nothing,” Jiří will always say, “That is the best.”

Jiří and April Surgent co-taught Zen-graving at The Studio this July. April will be returning to teach next summer, continuing Jiří's legacy.

When much of the modern art world was less open to his approach, Jiří found acceptance and encouragement in America and was given an outlet to teach zen-graving at The Studio and at other U.S. glass studios. “They give you the freedom to teach in your way,” Jiří says of The Studio. The impact of this has not gone unnoticed – he broadened the field in a town with a rich technical tradition of engraving and built a following for it at a time when he saw many artists leaving the medium behind. “We used to say he was like Johnny Appleseed, spreading engraving wherever he went,” says Amy. In his long career, he has established artistic and life philosophies that have permeated his work and his teaching style, inspiring The Studio’s students and community for the past 15 years. Traveling to the United States is getting too tiring for Jiří, and he will not be returning to teach next summer. Amy speaks for the entire Studio when she says, “He will be deeply missed.”

Help us thank Jiří Harcuba for 15 years of wonderful glassmaking instruction and guidance at The Studio. Send him a note at thankyoujiri@gmail.com.

I like to think the files are full of stories.  I’m a former Girl Scout named “Elizabeth” and I couldn’t resist the stories found in one folder containing clippings dated 1947 about a gift which the Girl Scouts gave Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth as a wedding present.

Princess Elizabeth Thanks the Girl Scouts

One clipping shows an excited thirteen-year-old Girl Scout, Janice Samuels, reading a thank you note:

…the message from the Princess to the Girl Scouts of the United States was in answer to the crystal paperweight inscribed with the Girl Scout trefoil insignia that the organization had sent the heir presumptive to the British throne. The insignia is similar to the emblem of the British Girl Guide organization in which the Princess is a Chief Ranger.

Another identifies the Girl Scout paperweight as made by Steuben Glass, Inc.

Girl Scout Gift, November 3, 1947

Princess Elizabeth received two other gifts created by Steuben Glass: an engraved “Merry-Go-Round” bowl from President and Mrs. Truman and 12 engraved Audubon plates from Ambassador and Mrs. Lewis Douglas.

Steuben Merry-Go-Round Bowl

According to an account in the Pottery Gazette and Glass Trade Review, Aug. 1948, The British Glass Industry presented “a full suite of cut and engraved table ware…for 24 persons” with a design selected by the Princess. Each piece was “engraved with the Princess’s cornet.”

Pottery Gazette and Glass trade Review 8-1948, p707

These pieces of glass were among thousands of gifts Princess Elizabeth received. A newspaper article by Elizabeth Raymond in the Lawrence, Kansas Journal-World describes crowds thronging to see the Princess’ wedding gifts at The Palace of St. James in London: “There are…all the things any bride has ever dreamed of and as many more. Their common characteristic is the obvious fact that each giver tried to offer the very nicest thing imaginable…[with]…loving intent.” In addition to glassware, china and silver, there were diamonds given by …the maharajahs of India and diamond merchants of South Africa.” In contrast, she also received a Frigidaire and a dishwasher.  The author comments, “Princess Margaret gave a fitted picnic basket which struck us as one of the most useful presents anyone could have.” Six weeks after the wedding the exhibit was still drawing 3500 to 4000 people a day.

Other clippings in the folder describe a display at the Fifth Avenue showrooms of Steuben Glass Inc. where, for “25 cents a look,” you could view reproductions of the wedding gifts from President Truman and Ambassador Lewis W. Douglas. The proceeds were used to buy food for the needy in England.

Some libraries are eliminating their vertical files in the internet age. These types of files were often used by public and school libraries to collect information about current events for school children and they rapidly became outdated.

Our files are still in constant use. They provide access to a wide variety of historical ephemera by subject, ranging from information about the little-known Addison Glass Works, to scholarly articles about medieval engraved Hedwig beakers. Would you like to read about Frank Lloyd Wright and his use of Pyrex tubing to create “window-walls”? We have a folder ready for your perusal.

The Rakow Library is open to the public from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm weekdays. We are also open Sunday afternoons from 12:00-5:00 pm until September 9, 2012.

For more information, please call the reference desk: 607-438-5300 or email: rakow@cmog.org

Kimiake Higuchi and Lisbeth Biger look at glass color samples

AIDA was founded in 2003 by the late Andy Bronfman, her husband Charles, and Dale and Doug Anderson. AIDA’s mission is to foster the development of contemporary decorative artists from Israel—including artists working in glass—by connecting them to galleries, collectors, institutions, and other artists internationally. AIDA began working with The Studio to support scholarships in 2007, and sends many students to Corning every summer through this partnership.

Lisbeth, an instructor at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, is taking the Higuchi’s pâte de verre class in order to enhance her skill, and learn from masters in the technique. Over years of teaching, The Higuchis have prepared over 1,000 samples to demonstrate the uses of color and taught many tricks that Lisbeth can incorporate into her work at her advanced experience level. Of the Higuchis, Lisbeth asserts, “Nobody is better in the world.”

Lisbeth’s focus in this class was to learn about color gradients, and how to create molds with a high quality plaster. The final goal of the class is to complete a container with a lid. Because it is a time-consuming process, the pâte de verreclass is a two week session. Students made colored powders and plaster molds, fired the glass in the kiln, and broke the glass free from the molds. The final steps include coldworking the glass to remove excess created by the molds, and then grind and polish to finish the piece.

AIDA Scholarship recipient Lisbeth Biger works on her pâte de verre object in the Higuchi’s class

Inspired by the beauty in everyday objects that “we meet so often we don’t see it anymore,” Lisbeth uses gentle colors and often incorporates recycled glass to make her artwork. Though she started as a ceramicist, she says there is something magic about glass, a material that is unpredictable and has its “own life.”

The Studio stays open to students until 11 p.m., and many take advantage of the long days, enjoying extra time to work and to socialize. Lizbeth found that talking with fellow artists who work in glass to be as invaluable as the education she received in her two weeks at The Studio.

The AIDA scholarship has enabled Lisbeth to take time off from her busy life to “think glass for two weeks straight,” and concentrate on learning. Upon her return to Israel, she looks forward to using her expanded skill set to teach the next generation of Israeli glass artists.

Learn more about scholarships at The Studio.

In 1990, the Museum acquired a unique pendant from Glenn and Mary Lou Utt, collectors of Lalique perfume bottles. The glass pendant depicts two black and orange birds facing each other, beaks touching, with a baroque pearl hanging from their joined claws. The pendant is unsigned.

Pendant with Birds, René Lalique, Paris or Clairfontaine, France, about 1900─1905. (Gift by exchange of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn S. Utt Jr., 90.3.37)

According to our records, when the pendant came to the Museum in 1990, it was thought to have been made between 1900 and 1903, and it was attributed to René Lalique (French, 1860─1945), the well-known Art Nouveau jeweler and designer of Art Deco glass. The Utts acquired the pendant at a 1985 Paris auction. The specialists at the auction house were unsure of exactly how the pendant was made. They said that it was either made using built-up layers of vitreous enamel, or by using a glass pâte de verre technique.

After the Museum received the pendant, investigations took place to determine if it was in fact by Lalique, since it was not signed. Susanne K. Frantz, the curator of 20th-century glass at the time, asked jewelry experts throughout the world for their opinions. Some experts agreed that the pendant appeared to be designed by Lalique based on its symmetry and the subject of birds, both elements commonly seen in Lalique designs of the early 20th century. But some experts had doubts that the pendant was designed by Lalique because he rarely used pâte de verre, and because so few of his pendants, made between 1900 and 1903, were made solely out of glass.

Dr. Robert Brill, the Museum’s research scientist emeritus, also examined the pendant to see if he could determine how and when it was made. The back of the pendant has a thin backing of copper covered with fused dark glass, and a metal crossbar that connects the pendant to the chain. When held under ultraviolet light, no repair marks could be seen on the pendant, so Dr. Brill knew that it had never been broken. Uncertain as to exactly how the pendant was made, Dr. Brill surmised that it was pâte de verre, with some finely polished surfaces, and that it was indeed created in the early 20th century.

The research by Frantz and Brill did not prove that the pendant was by René Lalique. However, the Museum recognized that the necklace was a unique piece of Art Nouveau jewelry made out of glass, and that it was an important piece to include in the Museum’s permanent collection.

In 1994, an auction of original René Lalique design drawings took place in Paris. The auction included an ink and gouache drawing of a pendant with two birds, attributed to Lalique, and dated to sometime between 1885 and 1912. It looked just like the necklace in the Museum’s collection! Even though they are not holding a baroque pearl in the drawing, the birds on the pendant are identical. Although the design drawing is unsigned (Lalique did not sign all of his work), the style of design, the paper used, and the fact that this was part of a large collection of Lalique design drawings, provide strong evidence that the drawing was indeed made by René Lalique. Therefore, because this drawing was known to be by Lalique, the pendant in the Museum’s collection was then able to be positively attributed to the artist. This drawing was purchased and is now in the collection of the Museum’s Rakow Research Library.

Original design drawing of pendant with two birds, René Lalique, Paris or Clairfontaine, France, about 1885─1912. Rakow Research Library (Call number: Unit 13, Drawer 1).

But even though the artist had been identified, there remained questions as to what type of birds are depicted on it. One of my first assignments was to see if I could solve this mystery. Since the pendant came to the Museum with no documentation, and since there is no inscription on the drawing identifying the birds, I searched for clues based on the information I had: the Museum’s object file, and the physical appearance of the birds.

The catalogue for the 1985 auction (where the Utts acquired the pendant) described the birds as “a pair of Javanese fighting cockerels.” In 1988, the pendant was featured by Patricia Bayer and Mark Waller in their book, The Art of René Lalique. They described the birds as “Javanese fighting roosters.” So, I did an image search on the internet for “Javanese fighting cockerels” and “Javanese fighting roosters.” The results for these searches both showed birds with red beaks and faces, not black ones like the birds on the Museum’s pendant.

In the 1994 auction catalogue, which illustrated the Lalique drawing of the pendant, the birds were described in French as “deux (two) pigeons.” But the birds on the pendant do not look like pigeons. The pendant was also featured in the 1998 exhibition catalogue, The Jewels of Lalique, in which the birds were described as “two cocks.” This could be a generic term for male birds, but it could also mean roosters. The birds on the pendant do not look like roosters. At one point the Museum labeled the birds on the pendant as “kingfishers.” Other Lalique objects in the Museum’s collection have kingfishers depicted on them, but the pendant’s birds do not resemble kingfishers.

Exhausting all known references to the pendant, I decided to use the internet to search for images of “orange and black birds.” This search brought up images of many different types of orange and black birds, which I compared to the birds on the pendant. I looked at the shape, size and color of the bird’s beaks, where the orange feathers stopped and the black feathers started, and if the neck feathers were puffed up like the birds on the pendant.

Screen shot of image search for “orange and black birds.”

One particular bird in the search results seemed to be a match: the bishop bird. The black areas on the bishop bird’s head are the same shape as the birds on the pendant, and the orange and black feathers all seemed to be in the correct place. The bishop bird (Euplectes franciscanus) genus is a species of the weaver (Ploceidae) family, known for their intricately woven nests.  And during mating season, the male bishop bird puffs up his neck feathers, just like the birds on the pendant.

Bishop bird (Euplectes franciscanus) at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan, July 25, 2009. Photo taken by Ltshears, and posted on Wikipedia commons.

I also discovered a book published during Lalique’s lifetime that reproduced the bishop bird in color, Richard Lydekker’s The Royal Natural History published in London and New York by Frederick Warne & Company in 1893. Lydekker observed that the bishop bird, a bird native to North Africa, “is often imported into Europe as a cage-bird. The adult male in nuptial plumage has the upper-parts, throat, and vent, brilliant scarlet; the wings and tail are brown, and the forehead, cheeks, and chin black.”

Color plate of bishop birds (bottom two birds) on page 363, Richard Lydekker, The Royal Natural History (London and New York: Frederick Warne & Company, 1893)

So, perhaps Lalique saw this publication, or, maybe he saw imported, caged bishop birds in Paris. We may never know what inspired Lalique to make this pendant. This part of the story still remains a mystery, until more information is uncovered. But, even though I do not know why René Lalique chose these birds for his design, I am thrilled to be able to say that the birds on this pendant depict bishop birds.

Now, on to the next mystery. The Museum is full of them!

Charles Ackerman, Senior Project Manager at Welliver

He explained some of the safety procedures and concerns as we walked through the site.  One thing I noticed immediately is that the job site looks safe.  Everything is neat and orderly.  The floor is swept.  There are no trip hazards.  Nothing looks as though it will fall from above.  Debris is piled in separate piles, cement blocks with cement blocks; insulation with insulation for example.  Yellow tape across an area means “Proceed with Caution.”  Red Tape means “Do Not Proceed.”

It is a bit eerie to look at the empty Museum office spaces where so much activity was going on just a year ago. The spaces look smaller than they did when they were fully occupied. Here are some pictures:

Behind North Wing

North Museum Offices

Charles told me that more items are going to be recycled than you might expect. All steel, iron and copper pipes will be recycled. All wire will be recycled. All other metals get recycled including metal studs, ceiling grids, handrails, I beams and rebar. Old ceiling tiles will be ground up for insulation. Sheetrock is used in sanitary landfills. Concrete will be ground up and used again in new concrete.
Here are a few more pictures:

Danger zone

Red tape prevents anyone from walking where bricks are being thrown from above.  The bricks are sprayed with water to suppress the dust.

Yellow tape indicates Caution

Demolition in Progress

More demolition

Ben W. Heineman Sr. 

(1914 – 2012)

Ben W. Heineman Sr. passed away Sunday, August 5, 2012. He was a beloved trustee and a generous donor and friend to The Corning Museum of Glass.

Mr. Heineman was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1914. He studied law at Northwestern University and began his career practicing law in Chicago. He later became a successful businessman, rising to the positions of Chairman and CEO of Northwest Industries.  In addition, he was heavily involved in political and civic issues. He led an investigation in the 1950s against mobsters for cigarette stamp tax fraud, and, in the 1960s, he campaigned and wrote speeches for presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson.

Mr. Heineman and his wife were philanthropists and avid supporters of the arts. Natalie G. Heineman, who passed away in 2010, was the first woman president of the Chicago Child Care Society in 1966, and later the president of the Child Welfare League of America, which named a national award for outstanding service to children in her honor.

Mr. Heineman was a life trustee of the University of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which presented him with its highest award in 2006.

Red/Amber Sliced Descending Form, Harvey K. Littleton, 1984.

He became a trustee of The Corning Museum of Glass in 1993 and was a founding member of the Ennion Society, the Museum’s high-end donor group. The couple supported the acquisition of several major contemporary pieces including Gyes Arcade (1969) by Christopher Wilmarth, Big Bear (1997) by Sherry Markovitz, Imprint of an Angel II (1999) by Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, Triptych B (1993–1996) by Betty Woodman, and Hollow Torso (1997) by Clifford Rainey.

Mr. Heineman’s passion for glass sculpture began in the mid-1980s, when he was on a business trip to Washington, D.C. While walking down the street, he passed a gallery with several glass pieces in the window. He went inside and bought two of the sculptures. “The young woman behind the counter said, ‘Oh, Daddy will be so pleased,’” Heineman recalled. “She said her name was Maurine Littleton, and told me that her father was Harvey Littleton, the artist.”

Over the course of the next 30 years, the couple thoughtfully assembled one of the largest and finest private collections of contemporary studio glass in the country. In 2005, they donated this collection, valued at $9.5 million, to The Corning Museum of Glass. The gift was the largest in the Museum’s history, and ensured that the Museum would retain its place as the world’s most comprehensive repository for the documentation and preservation of contemporary studio glass.

In 2009 and 2010, the Museum displayed the full collection in a popular exhibition called Voices of Contemporary Glass: The Heineman Collection. The exhibit showcased the collection of 240 objects by 87 international artists, which nearly documents the chronology of the American Studio Glass movement. Many of the works from the Heineman Collection are presently displayed in the Museum’s contemporary glass gallery, which is named after Mr. Heineman and his family.

In her 2009 publication, Voices of Contemporary Glass: The Heineman Collection, curator of modern glass Tina Oldknow aptly and eloquently sums up both the collection and the Heinemans:

”What emerges from the Heineman Collection, seen as a whole, is a sense of abundance, a quality of selection and presentation, and a deep respect for, and commitment to, artists and their work. When describing a personality, these attributes might be translated as generosity, accomplishment, discernment, loyalty, and strength. In this, then, it appears that the collection does indeed reflect the collector, and that the Heinemans and their collection are perfectly matched.”

Ben W. Heineman Sr.’s gift to the Museum included not only the collection; he also gave the gift of friendship. Appreciation for his collection will always continue as visitors encounter his remarkable pieces in our galleries, but he will be sorely missed by his Museum family.

64.1.13 before it fell apart

The piece in question is a core-formed bead dating to 500-250 B.C. The bead is made of opaque white glass with trails and prunts of blue, yellow, turquoise, and red-brown glass, and was heavily weathered with a bubbly and pitted thick milky-white weathering crust with patches of dark enamel-like weathering over the entire bead. It has been in the collection since 1964 and had appeared stable. The bead was recently photographed and, to our surprise, an hour or so after it was photographed and safely replaced into a plastic bag, the bead was found broken into 3 larger fragments and numerous small bits.

64.1.13 broken into 3 larger fragments and numerous small bits

So what happened? Direct physical causes may have contributed but do not seem to be the main reason that the bead fell apart, which points towards the glass deterioration itself and environmental factors, especially temperature and relative humidity (RH), playing a role. Blackish dendritic staining (possibly manganese) on all the break edges indicates that there were cracks in the glass which had already gone most of the way through the width of the bead. It is likely that these structural weaknesses along with (slight?) climate changes and the stress from transport and handling caused the bead to break.

Detail showing blackish dendritic staining on break edge

Was this preventable? Maybe not, but to better understand what happened we need to determine if the bead could have experienced any changes in temperature and RH and how big those changes would need to be to affect the glass. In this case the main source of possible climate changes is the photography studio itself, specifically the lighting. We’re hoping that a repeat of the conditions, monitored with a data logger, will give us some insight into the effects lighting for photography has on the ambient temperature and humidity, especially on days when the lights are used for a long time.

I am an Explainer at The Corning Museum of Glass, working alongside 24 other high school and college students every day to teach visitors about glass.  I learned about the Explainer program after participating in various other teen programs at the Museum, including the Junior Curators and the teen volunteer program.  My involvement also exposed me to the Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library, which has abundant resources about glass.  Thus, when I had to write an extended research paper for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, I decided to write about the use of child labor in the American glass industry after finding resources and support from the librarians there.

Blower and Mold Boy, Seneca Glass Works, Morgantown, W. Va., October 1908. Lewis Hine. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

While conducting my research, I learned there is a long history of child laborers in the American glass industry.  Initially, young boys worked as apprentices alongside their male relatives to learn the family trade of glassblowing.  Therefore, although children were working, the skills they learned led to a future career.¹

However, the invention of the mechanical press around 1825 and the subsequent industrialization of the glass business brought an end to the apprenticeship system.  The mechanical press meant that less-skilled workers could be employed in glass factories.  Therefore, children were not trained to learn glassblowing, but were instead hired as cheap sources of labor in the bottle and tableware sectors.

By the mid-1800s, production teams in glasshouses were made up of 2 to 3 boys as young as 10 years old, and an older glassblower.  As Harriet Van der Vaart described in a report for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), “…The glassblower pours the molten glass into the molds; a boy sits and closes the molds; another one picks the bottle out of the molds and puts them on a long stick or handle, and puts them in front of a small furnace….called ‘the glory-hole,’ where the top or neck of the bottle is finished….the boys carry them into the annealing furnaces, where they are gradually cooled.”²

The "Carrying-in Boys," Midnight At an Indiana Glass Works, August 1908. Lewis Hine. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ncl2004000107/PP/

Although child labor and compulsory education laws were enacted during the 1830s in an attempt to end child labor in many industries, most “legislation enacted before 1880 generally contained only weak restrictions and little provisions for enforcement.”³ In addition, some glass factories were specifically exempted from child labor reform; this exemption existed most infamously in Pennsylvania until 1915.⁴

Ten Arm Owens Automatic Bottle Machine. Courtesy of Owen's Automatic Bottle Machine Co., Toledo, Ohio. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ncl2004001184/PP/

It was not until the development of fully automatic machines that child labor was eliminated from the glass industry.  Michael Owens’ automatic bottle machine was more economical than the system of glassmaking based on teams of employees, thus making it unnecessary to hire boys.  In 1913, the NCLC sent Michael Owens a letter congratulating him on “eliminating more child labor than they had through legislation.”⁵

Although children can’t work in glass factories today, they can still become involved in the glass world, and in ways that are much more rewarding.  The Corning Museum of Glass allows area youth to become involved in the glass world through its many teen programs.  I took advantage of these programs: Little Gather, the Junior Curator program, volunteering, and the Explainer program.  Moreover, I learned how to use the excellent resources at the Rakow library for my paper.   These programs have really helped me grow as a student and young adult.

As an Explainer, I meet children who come to the Museum curious about glass.  I find it fascinating to think that a hundred years ago, some of these children may have been working in a glass factory instead of learning about glass in a museum.  I love teaching children about the interesting history of glass and introducing them to all the wonderful youth programs that The Corning of Museum of Glass has to offer.

1. Fones-Wolf, Ken.  “Child Labor in the American Glass Industry.”  The World of Child Labor: an Historical and Regional Survey.  Ed. Hugh D. Hindman. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2009. 468. Print.

2. Van der Vaart, Harriet.  “Children in the Glass Works of Illinois.” American Academy of Political and Social Sciences Annals. Vol. 29. 1907. 77.  Print.

3. Whaples, Robert.  “Child labor in the United States Economic History Services.” EH.Net/ Economic History Services. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/whaples.childlabor.

4. Flannery, James L. The Glass House Boys of Pittsburgh: Law, Technology, and Child Labor.  Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, 2009.  Print.

5. Skrabec, Quentin R. “A Revolution in Bottle Making.” Glass in Northwest Ohio. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2007. 75. Print.

Hello again!

As I’m sitting in the Warsaw airport, waiting for my flight back to the States after 6 months of being on another cruise ship, I am almost overwhelmed with everything I have seen and experienced in 18 different countries and islands on 3 different continents. I have taken approximately 4,000 photos that have captured beautiful vistas and many amazing historical sites with out of this world architecture. Now that I have several contracts under my belt it is fun to return to these places that we visit over and over and go right to my favorite spots just like a local.

Beautiful Santorini cliff view

Yet again I was lucky to have fantastic glassblowers to work and explore the ports with. The audience’s response to our shows goes over the moon when the team chemistry has the right ratio of skill, quirky humor, factual knowledge, sarcastic wit, and genuine friendship.

The Dream Team of Gabe Bloodworth, Ryan Doolittle, and Everett Hirche!

For the last show of my very last cruise we had the most amazing response from the audience thus far. Several of our glass groupie fans made each of us personalized signs with our names on them, a funny illustration, and a witty slogan that was geared to each of us. For example, Everett’s sign had a chain goblet drawing and a bearded face with a caption reading “Fear the Beard!”

Our enthusiastic and amazing Super Fans/Judges

To cap it all off, at the end of each of our pieces when we receive our final applause, these same audience members held up numbers to score each of us! It was a total surprise and made us laugh a lot. Once I realized we were being scored, I added extra flair so that I could get style points.

Everett reheating his glass with Africa behind him!

On our way across the Atlantic going from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean we passed through the Straight of Gibraltor right during one of our Hot Glass Shows. It was incredible to see Africa on one side of the ship and Spain on the other. Even though I was narrating the show at the time I couldn’t stop myself from taking a picture of Everett blowing glass with Africa behind him! The audience kindly understood and then many of them proceeded to do the exact same thing. It was yet another day for the epic glassblowing on the high seas record books.

My final Equinox Fish!

I’m greatly looking forward to my next contract which will be in the Southern Caribbean and sharing some sunshine and more glassy fish with you.

Until next time,

Ryan

Recent acquisitions are put out to view.

Along with the obvious glassy subjects such as glassmaking techniques, stained glass, glass artists, and glass company histories; topics range from architecture to Christmas ornaments to neon and beads. Fiction, children’s books, craft instruction and pattern books, glass dictionaries, and identification and price guides are here, too. We have unique materials that are self-published by contemporary artists. In addition to those, we also collect in subject areas that support glass research, including archaeology, ceramics, and other decorative arts, to name a few. Materials in our collection can be found in more than 50 different languages. The oldest book dating back to approximately 1150 is the Mappae Clavicula, which was hand-copied by monks and contains formulae for making colored glass.

A few rare books in the Rakow Library secured stacks

Kelly Bliss is in charge of cataloging the book collection. Nearly 50% of the book cataloging that Kelly does is original, meaning that no other library reports holding that item. Kelly’s favorite book in the Library is a William Leighton Batch book, which was donated by the family in 1993. A batch book is a glassmaker’s recipe book for different types and colors of glass. Dated October 1850, this miniature book inside a leather case was written by hand and contains 46 pages of recipes that easily fit in the palm of your hand. Additional miniature pages contain typed up recipes. Like many other items in our collection, it is one-of-a-kind.

William Leighton batch book. Bib. #44510

Though we used to microfilm rare books for preservation and circulation, they are now being digitized for increased accessibility. Some books have been put on “page turning” software and are available on our website allowing patrons to read the digitized versions. We are happy to lend any books through Interlibrary Loan provided that we hold at least two copies, and we encourage you to visit and see the collection first hand. Kelly says, “People can’t imagine what we have . . . to look at all of the different topics we have, they would be amazed.”

One aisle of the Rakow Library open stacks

This is the fifth installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series.
<< Article Index | Videos >>

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.

George and Don transfer molten gobs of glass

To transition from the old Hot Glass Show stage to the new light-filled Innovations Stage, all of the glassmakers who have worked at the Museum over the years were invited to join the procession. Led by the Finger Lakes Pipe Band and the Veterans of the Foreign War Color Guard, gaffers George Kennard and Don Pierce carried gobs of glass from the old furnaces to the furnaces in the new hot shop. The Innovations Stage is a unique presentation space, with state-of-the-art all-electric equipment. It’s more energy efficient than the natural gas powered furnaces.

Steve Gibbs

Steve Gibbs, hot glass programs manager, was the master of ceremonies, carrying a mace with elaborate filigree work and the red CMoG symbol, made especially for the event. The new theater was immediately filled to its 165-seat capacity, and after executive director Karol Wight dedicated the new hot shop, the glass demo began.

The first object to be made on the stage was what’s known as a witch’s ball. According to folklore, the witch’s ball originated in 18^th century Europe where it would be hung in windows to keep away evil spirits. As the tradition made its way to glasshouses in America, it was said that witches and other spirits wishing harm would see the glass ball and be attracted to the shiny, sparkly stringers inside. The spirits would get tangled in the strings inside the ball and not be able to escape and cause any harm.

The Rakow Research Library’s holdings cover every topic related to glass, and their files helped shed more light on the traditions surrounding witch’s balls. Raymond Barlow’s A Guide to Sandwich Glass: Witch Balls, Containers and Toys, says that the term “witch’s ball” could be a derivation of the term “watch ball,” small glass balls filled with herbs, or in some instances, mixtures of herbs, urine and sticks meant to ward off evil spirits. Multiple sources also note that witches supposedly fear round shapes, and would stay away.

There are also records of the different colors used. The earliest witch’s balls were clear, then colored frit (small bits of glass) was added, first blue and white, and then pink. Later examples, in the 1820s according to Barlow, show swirls and loops similar to decoration found on glass marbles. If red, white and blue were used, the object is known as a militia ball. These were popular during the Civil War when glassmakers who were in the army would hang them from their muskets for holiday parades. Witch’s balls of a single color were usually meant for hanging in a barn.

In the 20^th century, the witch’s ball became part of a category of glass objects made by factory glassmakers during spare time at the furnace, known as whimsies. Joyce Blake’s Glasshouse Whimsies is a good starting place to learn more about these canes, chains, eggs, paperweights and witch’s balls.

The Michigan Glass Guild Newsletter from March 1988 notes that a witch’s ball can be found in many glass schools, where it is a tradition for each class to make one for the studio. “Not only the piece brings good luck, but the collaboration of the glass workers is as positive as any Good Luck Charm can be.” (Barbara Yearce, “Witchballs.” Michigan Glass Guild Newsletter, no. 21, March 1988, p. 3.)

At the Hot Glass Show Innovations Stage opening, each glassblower added a bit of glass to the piece. The end result is an elaborate be-winged clear glass ball that is truly unique.

The witch's ball made on the new Innovations Stage

“It’s really about recognizing the collaborative spirit of glassmaking,” said Eric Meek, Hot Glass Show supervisor, “everyone has contributed their skills on the Hot Glass Show stage throughout the years, and we wanted a way to honor that and continue that tradition on the new stage.”

Hot Glass Show Glassmakers

The Innovations Stage renovation was one of the first steps in the North Wing Expansion project. Construction will soon begin on the 500-seat Hot Glass Show stage that will open with the new North Wing in 2014. The Hot Glass Show will be live on the Innovations stage throughout the day, every day, during the expansion project.

See the Hot Glass Show: http://www.cmog.org/visit/calendar

Read more: Construction wraps up on the Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage and See the Hot Glass Show in a new light-filled theater, open this summer

Bouy in the reheating furnace

Giant glass buoys inspired by eyes, flaming molds filled with found objects, and funky typography entertained an enraptured audience. Through most of the weekend, there was standing room only!

Designer Peter Buchanan-Smith tests the glass buoy for buoyancy

Peter Buchanan-Smith was determined to create a giant glass buoy that he could actually float in the water. The buoy resembles an eye, and the rope that tethers it to the bottom represents an optic nerve. Our gaffers experimented with shape, color, size, and technique. As with all great experiments sometimes it takes a few attempts to get the right piece. Everyone held their breath, and stared in amazement as glassmaker Chris Rochelle cracked off a successful buoy Sunday afternoon.

Designer Inna Alesina with her erector set prototype

Inna Alesina prepared a special plaster mold filled with found objects from her childhood and life in the Ukraine. As the glass gob was dropped into the mold, the flames engulfed the wooden pieces, and left a fossilized imprint behind. Alesina was also interested in creating the joints of an erector set, with the hope of using paper tubing to combine several into a large-scale piece.

Hot glass blown into the found objects mold

Designer Paul Sahre created a font that found national recognition. Many of you might remember the fun bubbly letters of Dr. Scholl’s “Gellin’” inserts. This funky font was the inspiration for Sahre’s Tower of Oh-Oh, a precarious stack of “o” and “h” letters in a color I can only describe as Kryptonite green.

Designer Paul Sahre and the "O" from his Tower of Oh-Oh

Gaffer Adam Holtzinger with the letter "H"

Read more about the designer’s concepts and see photos from past Governors Island GlassLab design sessions at http://www.cmog.org/glasslab/designers.

Don’t miss GlassLab on Governors Island for the final design sessions this weekend with Abbott Miller, David Weeks, and Georgie Stout!

The scholarship she received this summer allowed her to take Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz’s class, A Step-by-Step Approach, a class which revisited basic shapes and designs. The purpose of this class was for students to touch up the fundamental skills that may have been lost along the way as they have progressed further into their glassmaking. In the week-long class, students focused on the size of their gathers, working with thinner pieces of glass, and using heat and gravity to their advantage to make basic forms such as cylinders, cones, and bowls. “This is bringing me back to all my basic skills, and it’s teaching me how to relieve all my bad habits and really watch the glass a little closer,” says Lauren, who found this class beneficial after working with glass for about four years.

Drawn to functional forms more than abstract designs, and inspired by makers such as Boyd and The Studio’s own resident artist Bill Gudenrath, Lauren gets motivation from her surroundings at The Studio. The skill of these masters is “what you strive for,” and Lauren listed skill building among her main goals for taking the class. “I hope I have a better understanding of how to make these basic forms. I hope I can utilize it in my own time whenever I want to start my own work. I can always reference back to Boyd’s class and always have my notes with me.”

Boyd Sugiki working with Lauren Hunt at The Studio

Access to the Museum is one of the greatest benefits of taking a class at The Studio. The Museum houses the largest comprehensive glass collection in the world, giving students the opportunity to go through the history of glassmaking. “You can get inspired all over again and take it back into The Studio with you,” says Lauren. Another benefit to taking Studio classes is that students have the opportunity to watch the other classes in session during the week, providing a glimpse of other techniques and designs.

The assistance of the Celebrity Cruises Glassmaking Scholarship has allowed Lauren to allocate her personal resources for the tools necessary for the class, and has also allowed her the means to be able to take another class later in the summer at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. “The Studio has given me a lot of opportunities,” from giving her the means to continue her glass education outside of college to the chance to build relationships with artists and experts in glass.

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

Construction on the new Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage is making good progress. The stage is sufficiently completed to accept the new melting equipment. The equipment was built in Seattle, WA by Spiral Arts and shipped to Corning. The owner of Spiral Arts, Fred Metz, came to Corning to make some final adjustments and troubleshoot the installation.

Fred Metz

The furnace was delivered to the Museum at night.

Working in the Museum while it remains open complicates the construction process for the contractors. Having construction on-site complicates operations for the Museum. The Museum has restricted some construction processes to after-hours. For example, most construction deliveries are scheduled outside Museum hours. Any paint which produces odors is applied after hours. Also restricted are noise making and dust producing operations. As a result, there are people working on the new Hot Glass Show Innovations Stage twenty-four hours a day. Some people are working five 8-hour days a week. Some are working four 10-hour days a week. Some are working four 12-hour days a week. A few are working five 12-hour days a week.

The new equipment installed. From left to right across the back of the stage: the furnace (with Fred inside), the iron warmer and color box, the annealer and the gloryhole. All of the equipment is electric.

There are a lot of signs that the project is coming to the end. The scaffolding which was erected to work on the ceiling has been dismantled and the ceiling is nearly complete. There is a painter doing touch up which you can see in the foreground of the picture of the equipment. The cooling equipment has been installed under the stage. The walls are finished. You can see the new paneling behind the exhaust vents.

The furnace was turned on last night and it is performing very well. The initial temperature rise is slow to get the moisture out safely (perhaps as slowly as 15° F/hour). Any initial firing of a glass furnace produces odors. The first trial of the ventilation system removed all of the initial firing odors. It will soon be time to add the glass to the furnace.

The electricians are making a few last minute adjustments.

The carpet is being installed and all of the brackets for the seating are installed.

Join us in celebrating the opening of the Hot Glass Show Innovation Stage Thursday, July 26 at 10am. Drop by (no reservations necessary) and watch as a procession of glassmakers make their way through the Museum (with much fanfare!) and transfer molten glass to the new furnaces using a hot glass torch.

In 1984, my employer, a regional bank, transferred me to Corning.  To introduce me to the community, the bank arranged a day-long series of  events, including a guided tour at the Museum.  I had not been in the Museum since 1952!  The docent absolutely fascinated me—she had so much knowledge and was so charismatic.  At the time I thought I might enjoy giving tours but soon forgot about it.  Flash forward to March 2001.  I had been retired three months, had gotten all the long-neglected chores done, and was looking out at my front yard that was covered in about two feet of snow.  All but one of the neighbors were either working or vacationing.  At that moment I remembered my 1984 Museum tour and had my “aha” moment.  I then called the Museum to offer my services.

Docent Tom Hart discusses his favorite object, George Woodall's Moorish Bathers

I started giving tours in January 2002, about three weeks after completing the docent training program.

When I first expressed interest in becoming a docent (we were then called “guides”) I had a vague notion that sand had something to do with glassmaking.  Little did I know how much I had to learn! I quickly became fascinated with the history of glass and how the material has affected and enhanced civilizations from ancient Mesopotamia to modern optical fiber and the Space Shuttle windows.  At the end of docent training I had the opportunity to blow a Christmas ornament—mine weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is a really gross color of green (‘my bad’), but it is truly “one of a kind.”

I have no recollection of my first tour except that I was nervous and really relieved to get it over with.  The second tour was a church group of mixed ages—they sent me a thank you note, so I had the sense that I must have done something right. The third tour was kindergarteners—the last time I had dealt with this age group they were my classmates and Harry Truman was President!  The docent program manager was a bit nervous about how this tour would go, so she joined me about 30 minutes into the tour.  The kids were grinning and were really animated.  I said, “I guess it’s working!”

Smallpox Virus and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Luke Jerram (British, b. 1974), 2010.

As a retired person living in rural Upstate New York, I cannot believe the rich experiences that “docenting” has given me.  I have escorted high school students from Finland, business executives from Korea, a Japanese professor from the Tsunami-ravaged area of Japan, and a family from Israel.  Most recently I hosted a group of virologists who were meeting at nearby Cornell University. Yikes, what was I going to do with these folks?  I took them to the 2010 Rakow Commission, Smallpox Virus and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), and they were able to identify the glass models of the viruses blown-up one million times larger without reading the label.  Wow! All of this sounds exotic and it really is, but most of the tours involve our neighbors and their children.  The regional schools see the Museum as a wonderful field trip.

I became so interested in the nature of glass that, in the early years, I took a ten-week glassblowing class at The Studio.  I will never be a good glassblower—I did produce some really unique paperweights, cream and sugars that are grossly different in size, and some really heavy drinking glasses—but I learned about how glassmaking feels.

I am really hooked!

Interested in becoming a Docent?  Docents (volunteer guides) provide valuable service to the Museum and to the wider community by volunteering their time to give tours to adults, families and school groups. They engage, educate and inspire visitors from around the world as they share their knowledge of 35 centuries of glass art, history and science.

The application deadline for the 2012-2013 New Docent Training class is September 10, 2012. For information, please contact Kala Karden at 607.438.5286 or volunteers@cmog.org.

Unfortunately, we can’t say that the third weekend of GlassLab on Governors Island went off without a hitch! Designers Keetra Dean Dixon and JK Keller came to GlassLab with a new idea for a common trailer ball hitch. The concept was to take something strong and industrial and make it out of glass, a material often perceived to be fragile.

The first section of the hitch was made on Saturday, and the two came prepared with a wooden mold shaped with the ball to make the second half of the hitch on Sunday.

Keetra Dean Dixon and JK Keller make a glass trailer ball hitch at GlassLab

Chris and Dominic Leong returned for a second GlassLab design session, adding color to their design concepts. In their first GlassLab design session, Chris and Dominic explored geometric shapes in glass vessels.

Chris and Dominic Leong with geometric glass shapes

Leon Ransmeier continued his series of glass pitchers.

Leon Ransmeier continued his series of glass pitchers at GlassLab on Governors Island

Designer Jon Otis’ concept was a fusion of wood and glass. The glassblowers pushed hot glass into wooden blocks made by Jon, resulting in unique interactions.

Glass is blown into a wooden mold for Jon Otis' design concept

Hot glass and combustible materials do not often mix well together, and Jon was open to the variety of forms that could result from the fusing of burning wood and molten glass. Judy Smilow’s design concept incorporated copper wire frames wrapped around hot glass, in the form of bowls. Read more about the designer’s concepts and see photos from past Governors Island GlassLab design sessions at http://www.cmog.org/glasslab/designers.

See the full GlassLab on Governors Island schedule for upcoming designer sessions with Peter Buchanan-Smith, Inna Alesina, Paul Sahre, Abbott Miller, David Weeks, and Georgie Stout.

This summer the Conservation Lab is filled with fragments, even more than there usually are. All these fragments of Islamic lustre and stained glass don’t belong to one object. Most of them were once part of the extensive fragment collection of Ray Smith and came into the Museum’s collection in two batches in 1951 and 1968.

Islamic lustre and stained glass fragments in the conservation lab

Although fragments aren’t as visually pleasing as whole or nearly whole objects, they still provide a lot of information about glassmaking techniques. It is also a lot easier to take a sample for analysis from a fragment than from a complete object.

Individual fragments in baggies waiting to be sorted

In order to really study fragments like these, we need to be able to keep track of them just like any other object. Unfortunately, the Museum’s record keeping wasn’t always as comprehensive as it is now and many of these fragments were never formally accessioned. As you can imagine, accessioning and cataloguing hundreds of fragments is a big job. We’re trying to reduce that number by looking for joining fragments. This might sound like looking for a needle in a haystack, and in some ways it is, but laying out all the fragments in one place and arranging them according to colors and patterns makes it a little easier.

More fragments

We have found several joins already!

fragments waiting to be joined

After we get done with all the lustre and stained fragments, we get to start the whole process again with our enameled Islamic fragments.

Enameled Islamic fragments waiting for the next round of join finding

Designer Helen Lee works on her design for a vessel with typographical character form with gaffer Chris Rochelle

Designer and glassblower Helen Lee’s design session was a blend of glass and typography. Using the shape of parentheses and brackets as a starting point, Helen and the GlassLab team formed glass vessels that if cut in half, would show the form of the 2D characters.

Helen Lee sketches her design

Helen’s unique ideas for approaching the material included creating vessels with cursive script forms. On Saturday, the glassmakers created a clear glass vessel with cursive forms spelling out the word “man.” Two additional vessels in Sunday’s follow up session, “pen” and “ship,” completing the three-part “penmanship” series in glass.

James Victore with one of his drunken vessels

James Victore returned to GlassLab to continue working on his design for drunken vessels. James’ design concept pushed what he considered to be a “perfect” vessel. Playing with form, including a vase that he noted could resemble a sitting gopher, James took the opportunity to experiment and “seek the organic, imperfect, and dangerous in glass.”

Leon Ransmeier watches the gaffers blow hot glass into a plaster mold for his pitcher design

Leon Ransmeier came to GlassLab prepared and ready to make a series of nine glass pitchers using a plaster mold. For this series, he wanted to investigate the various ways of interacting with a common object, attaching the handle a different way on each clear glass pitcher.

Eric Meek, Adam Holtzinger and Chris Rochelle attach a handle to designer Leon Ransmeier's pitcher design

After some trial and error, the glassmakers abandoned the mold in favor of shaping the hot glass by hand. Leon took it all in stride and was amazed at the process. “It’s about experimentation, not production,” he said.

Mike Perry continued to explore color in glass on Sunday, designing a vessel with two halves of bright green and yellow.

Designer Mike Perry snaps a photo of his colorful vessel design

See the full GlassLab on Governors Island schedule for upcoming designer sessions with Peter Buchanan-Smith, Inna Alesina, Paul Sahre, Abbott Miller, David Weeks, and Georgie Stout.

In this class, students learned how to create color in glass with metal oxides and were able to see the effects on the color if the oxide content was changed, even in small amounts. Color inspires much of Cory’s work, and this class gave her the unique opportunity to create the colors she wanted to work with. With this new skill, she says, “so many doors are opening.” Throughout the week-long class, each student made two colors and plaster-based molds, and melted their colored glass into a billet, or a brick of cast glass, which was then cut and polished to finalize the piece.

Cory and instructor Heike Brachlow discuss color at The Studio.

Cory found herself “so impressed with everything” at The Studio, from the top-notch facilities, to the professionalism of the staff, to the lifetime connections she was able to make with the Museum, the Rakow Research Library, photographers, and other artists. By networking with the community at The Studio, she has made supportive contacts that she can call at any time in the future with questions or ideas.

Primarily, she says the greatest benefit to her week at The Studio is, “I’m here, and I’m learning,” and she could not be more grateful for the opportunity afforded to her through the Celebrity scholarship to expand her knowledge of glass. “The experience has been totally life changing and inspirational.”

Michael Costa, Cory Dunnington and Jennifer Betz in Heike Brachlow’s Shaping Color class at The Studio.

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

Crowds watch GlassLab at Governors Island

The first weekend featured mostly graphic and exhibit designers who are represented in the Cooper-Hewitt’s exhibition, Graphic Design: Now in Production, which is showing on Governors Island all summer. It really is a rich experience to see the designers’ work in the show and then see how they are challenging (and being challenged by) the material of glass at GlassLab.

Peter Buchanan-Smith worked in a private design session on Friday for the media and some invited guests. His design concept was a buoy made of glass. You can read more about his design session on the NY Times T Magazine blog.

Glass Buoy designed by Peter Buchanan-Smith

Designer Eric Ku was inspired by the idea of glass bubbles, designing a whimsical piece which looks like a bubble blown on a child’s bubble wand. It looks as if it could float away on a beautiful summer’s day.

Eric Ku holds up his glass bubble

James Victore says he is “a student of chance” and admitted to being challenged by the idea that he could not make the work himself (like many designers he likes working with his hands to explore a material). However, he embraced the opportunity and played with the way glass can capture movement and flowing shapes. His “Drunken Vessels” barely stand up… the way someone who drinks wine from them may feel.

Glassmakers Chris Rochelle and Adam Holtzinger prepare to anneal James Victore's Drunken Vessel

Mike Perry designed a hollow lobed-vessel and explored both shape and color. The second piece was a vibrant, impactful taxi-cab yellow, with four symmetrical lobes, topped by an asymmetrical, slightly curved top.

Designer Mike Perry observes Eric Meek and Adam Holtzinger working on his design

Mike and James will be back this weekend, and we’re excited to see what they want to explore next.

The designers who worked on the Cooper-Hewitt’s Graphic Design show, Chris and Dominic Leong, and often design spaces for exhibits and other installations, played with the idea of project geometric figures in glass.

Chris and Dominic Leong explored geometric shapes in a glass vessel

Finally, the weekend ended on a fun note with illustrate and graphic designer Q Cassetti (designer of the GlassLab logo and many Corning Museum graphics), who played with the idea of ice cream cones and cupcakes in glass. On a hot day, on any island that is shaped like an ice cream cone, it seemed a fitting way to wrap up the weekend.

An ice cream cone made in hot glass seemed an appropriate way to end the weekend

Sally Prasch at the torch during her guest flameworking demo

Last week, the city of Corning, NY hosted the International Scientific Glassblowers Exposition. This annual event is a gathering, produced by The American Scientific Glassblowers Society, dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and techniques in the realm of scientific glassblowing. For many years, glassworkers have used lamps and torches to create scientific laboratory-ware to be used in experimentation and research. This approach to glassmaking has been an important catalyst to the advancement of all facets of glassmaking, and this annual conference is a great opportunity for scientific workers to share information.

Here at the Museum, we saw this timing and location of the International Scientific Glassblowing Exposition as an opportunity to share more of this facet of glass-making with our guests. We invited internationally renowned artist, scientific glassblower, and conference co-chair Sally Prasch to demonstrate for our guests.

Sally first began to learn scientific flameworking in 1970 when she took advantage of the opportunity to apprentice with Lloyd Moore. As the scientific glassblower at The University of Nebraska, Mr. Moore took Sally under his wing at the tender age of 13. Since that early start in glassmaking, Sally continued to study artistic glassblowing with several world-renowned artists. She also pursued her formal art education, completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in glass and ceramics at The University of Kansas in 1980. In 1985, Sally completed her Certificate in Scientific Glass Technology from Salem Community College in New Jersey.  Since 1986, she has continued to work as both a scientific glassblower and glass artist.

Guest demonstrator Sally Prasch

Sally has a well-earned reputation as an outstanding scientific glassblower, artist, and educator. She has taught hundreds of appreciative students over the past few decades and continues to share her expertise with and passion for glass. She demonstrated some of her expertise for our guests at the museum Wednesday, June 27. Sally created a beautiful glass daffodil in our demonstration booth. This piece combined her skills as both a scientific glassworker and glass artist. The daffodil involves the technical challenges of intricate attachments of both hollow and solid borosilicate with the natural beauty of a delicate plant form. Our guests were thrilled to gain such insight into the world of creating scientific laboratory-ware, and Sally’s ability to translate those technical challenges into such an aesthetically pleasing floral piece.

Glass daffodil by Sally Prasch

We appreciate Sally’s generosity in sharing her skills and talents with our staff and guests, and we look forward to the opportunity to bring in additional guest demonstrators in the future.

Innovations Center Programs Supervisor Eric Goldschmidt and International Scientific Glassblowing Exposition conference co-chair Sally Prasch

• Journals and magazines with sole focus on glass (Glass Art, Glass Club Bulletin, Glashaus, etc.)
• Archaeology journals covering all time periods and geographic locations (Medieval Archaeology, Slovenská Archelógia, Journal of Roman Archaeology, etc.)
• Newsletters, bulletins, annual reports, acquisitions, and catalogs of museums, collectors’, or historical societies (La Revue des Musées de France, NewsJournal of the Early American Pattern Glass Society, Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association Inc., etc.)
• Publications focusing on one type of glass, such as historical stained glass, beads, bottles, paperweights, marbles, etc. (Stained Glass, Glass Bead, Bottles and Extras, etc.)
• Journals and magazines focusing on one geographic area or culture (Arts of Asia, American Indian Art Magazine, African Arts, etc.)
• Journals, magazines, and newspapers covering the antiques and collectibles field (Antiques and the Arts Weekly, Antique Collecting, The Magazine Antiques, etc.)
• Journals and magazines covering the arts (fine, decorative, and applied), art history, crafts, design, and interior decoration (Form Function Finland, Design Matters, Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, etc.)
• Journals and magazines with focus on contemporary architecture, interior design, and lighting (L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, Domus, Metropolis, etc.)
• Journals and other publications covering the fields of glass science, technology, conservation, and industry (Glass Technology, Rivista della Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro, Glass International, etc.)

While the Rakow Research Library theoretically collects materials in all languages, those most commonly occurring in the library’s approximately 850 current periodical subscriptions are: English, French, German, Italian, Czech, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Hungarian, Danish, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Greek.

In addition, articles can also be found in the so-called Vertical Files (VF), located in steel cabinets along the wall of the stacks area. This resource typically contains offprints of book chapters and photocopies of articles from older issues of newspapers and magazines. Article Index holdings can be searched online at http://www.cmog.org/research/library/catalogs.

Finally, below is a small puzzle based on the more creative/poetic periodical titles in the collection of the Rakow Research Library. Try to match the phrases below with the actual periodical titles at the bottom of the page. Every phrase should have at least one match, and some titles do not have matching phrases. We’ll post the answers next week.

– used to deal in more lucrative merchandise

– no one knows for sure, but everyone claims to have it

– the best efforts of a slacking college student

– not a Spice Girls band member

– my 1998 e-vectra desktop computer

– two crows playing poker

– arsonist’s favorite magazine

– the troubles of arctic scuba divers

– he’s out on bail again

– when you run out of nouns and adjectives

The Beadazzled Beadstringer, Crown Jewels of the Wire, The Cutting Edge, Expanded Vision, Goofus Glass Gazette, Home Lighting & Accessories, The Locktender, Milk Dealer, Miniature News, Occasional Papers, Out’n About, The Plain Truth, Pole Top Discoveries, The Rocky Mountain Druggist, Salty Comments, Things, Tiny Times, Whispering Wind, Wooden Nutmeg.

This is the fourth installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series.
<< Trade Catalogs | Exhibition Catalogs, Price Guides, and Batch Books >>

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

Axel von Saldern

(1923–2012)

Axel von Saldern, one of the founding staff of The Corning Museum of Glass, a prominent glass scholar and an active Corning Museum Fellow, passed away June 2, 2012. His influence on The Corning Museum of Glass and the world of glass is long-lasting.

“His liberal but firm attitude and his comments made him a natural authority, not only in his main field of study, the history of glass, but also in the fine and decorative arts, the museum world, his broader family, and far beyond.” says Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosick, the Museum’s former curator of European glass and now head of the Glasmuseum Hentrich, Museum Kunstpalast, in Dusseldorf.

Von Saldern, who was born in Potsdam on July 28, 1923, began his employment at the Corning Museum as a cataloguer on January 2, 1954. Glass was a completely new subject to Axel when he arrived in Corning. The Museum was then housed in a tiny portion of the space that it occupies today, and both the staff and the collection were small. But it was a growing institution, and it quickly began to be recognized internationally, not least among archaeologists.

Corning allowed for pioneering research and prominent acquisitions, and Axel made ample use of both. One of his first activities at the Museum seems to have been assisting with the organization of the exhibition The Story of American Pressed Glass of the Lacy Period, 1825–1850 (1954). In 1956, Axel traveled to Cologne with the backing of a considerable budget for the acquisition of glass at the Lempertz auction house. Because of his interest in ancient glass, he was assigned to be the Museum’s contact person for the collector Ray Winfield Smith, and he eventually chose a significant part of Smith’s holdings to be added to the Corning collection.

Ancient glass from the Ray Winfield Smith collection

Axel started to travel to the Near East in 1967, and he studied and published the glass finds from Gordion and Sardis. He also helped to found the Journal of Glass Studies, which he co-edited, and he contributed an extensive paper on Gordion to the initial volume of that publication in 1959. Cut glass of the Achaemenian, Sasanian, and Islamic periods became his core specialty. But the Corning Museum’s collecting activities encompassed the entire field of glass art, and so did Axel’s studies. His most prominent accomplishment for Corning was his formidable book on German enameled glass, which, as a survey of this subject, remains unsurpassed.

Following a position at the Brooklyn Museum of Art from 1961 to 1966, he returned to Germany, where he assumed the positions of curator of sculpture and decorative arts and vice director at the Kunstmuseum (today, the Museum Kunstpalast) in Düsseldorf where, under Axel’s curatorship, glass became an independent department of the museum.

In 1971, von Saldern was appointed director of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg. There were 17 exhibitions in 1973 alone, and von Saldern’s major shows—including Tutankhamen (1981), the Bugattis (1983), gold and silver from the Kremlin (1986), and Lalique (1988)—are among the most ambitious and successful that the museum has ever presented.

In 1988, von Saldern retired, and soon thereafter he and his wife Maria relocated to Starnberg, near Munich. One year before his retirement, he had become president of the Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (AIHV), and he had served for decades as head of Section V of the German Society for Glass Technology.

Says von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk, “It was only after his retirement that von Saldern found time to complete his magnum opus, an outstanding and far too little known book on ancient glass.This massive volume of 708 pages contains 64 plates, about 1,500 footnotes, and everything that von Saldern knew about glass from early Mesopotamia to the fall of the Roman Empire. Following Anton Kisa’s Das Glas im Altertume (Leipzig: Verlag von Karl W. Hiersemann, 1908) and Donald B. Harden’s “Ancient Glass” (published in The Archaeological Journal in 1969, 1970, and 1972), this was the third attempt to summarize the entire knowledge of ancient glass in one volume.”

Following the publication of his final book, von Saldern gradually retired from research and art history. But he remained incredibly alert, informed, and open-minded until the very last minute of his life. He died, suddenly and unexpectedly, in his garden in Starnberg, on June 2, 2012—but not before he had confirmed his place in the pantheon of the most eminent scholars of the history of glass.

The work on our new 150-seat Hot Glass Show theatre, slated to open in July, is almost complete. We’ll be very happy to remove the plastic covering on the outside wall to showcase the full beauty of that space to the outside world. When the theatre is complete, visitors will be able to see hot glassmaking both inside the theatre and through the many open walls that will look into the theater.

Rendering of the new 150-seat Hot Glass Show Theater

The completion of this slightly larger new Hot Glass Show space will allow us to provide our popular Hot Glass Show glassblowing demonstrations without any interruption to our visitors during construction.  We’ll then tear down the old Hot Glass Show stage and begin the renovation of the former Steuben factory building into an additional (and amazing) 500-seat Hot Glass Show and hotshop space.

On the north side of the building, the fences went up last week to restrict access to the construction area. On Wednesday morning, a crane came in to change out air handling units. All buildings, and especially Museums, need good air handling.

Part of the old building on the north side will be demolished to make room for the new North Wing contemporary glass gallery. On that building stands a unit which our operations staff lovingly refer to as Penthouse 4 and which contains two working air handlers that will no longer exist once the building is demolished. The crane was here to remove some old air handlers, and replace them with a new, larger air handler.

Loading in the new air handler

GlassLab passes the Statue of Liberty

Blow glass on an island? No problem.

The Museum’s portable glassmaking units can go almost anywhere. Last week, our Hot Glass Roadshow unit took an early morning trip on a barge from Staten Island to Governors Island, a 172-acre island in the heart of New York Harbor.

Every weekend in July, the Museum’s portable stage will host GlassLab design sessions, featuring designers from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum’s exhibition Graphic Design: Now in Production.

So, just how do you transport a 28-foot-long, 35,000-lb. fully equipped glassmaking studio and stage to an island off the shores of Manhattan and Brooklyn?

The GlassLab container ready to launch

Our Hot Glass Roadshow, which was built in 2001, can be easily pulled by an 18-wheeled tractor trailer (yes, that’s our very own tractor trailer with the CMoG logo on it pulling the hotshop behind it). Our local trucking company, Dimon and Bacorn, drove the Roadshow from Corning, NY, to Millers Launch on Staten Island, where it was carefully driven onto a barge and secured.

The mobile GlassLab glassblowing hot shop is pushed by the tugboat Susan Miller

Pushed by the tugboat Susan Miller, it made its way past the Staten Island ferries, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and downtown Manhattan, to the dock of beautiful Governors Island.

The GlassLab mobile hot shop making its way to Governors Island off Manhattan

From there, it was driven to the plaza of Pershing Hall on Governors Island, and our crew went to work to unpack, hook up gas and electric and finally to fire up the furnaces. The furnaces take 36-48 hours to come up to 2100° – hot enough to begin blowing glass!

This is the first time anyone has blown glass on Governors Island, and certainly our first experience loading the Roadshow and its truck on a barge and sailing through New York Harbor. This is the first of two islands we’ll be working on this summer. If you can’t make it to Governors Island, you can also find us on Nantucket Island in August.

It also is a reminder of how glassmaking came to Corning, NY. In 1868, Brooklyn Flint Glass loaded up a barge with glassmaking equipment, sailed up the Hudson River and through the canal system to relocate the company to Corning, NY, which was a developing young town. The company changed its name to Corning Flint Works, and thus began the legacy that makes the Crystal City what it is today.

It’s likely that the barge sailed past this very spot on its way to Corning (although it would not have passed the Statue of Liberty, which was not in place until 1886).

Nearly 150 years later, direct descendants of that Corning glassmaking tradition are bringing glassmaking back through New York Harbor.

A view from the boat as GlassLab makes its way to Governors Island

Gayla Lee working at The Studio

After taking several classes, Gayla began to ask, “What can I do to be here more?”  Now she can be found in Corning half a dozen times a year or so to work as a teaching assistant for artists such as Mark Ditzler, Josh Simpson, and Yoko Yagi, as well as to teach classes in fusing techniques.

Gayla has had the opportunity to share her knowledge with others and to learn through working with other artists. She notes, however, that “it can be difficult for working artists to have access to professional development” due to time and financial restraints. Recently, she was awarded the Celebrity scholarship to take Davide Salvadore’s class, Creating and Using Murrine – her first glassblowing class in six years.

Gayla Lee and Davide Salvadore

In this class, students pulled cane to form simple components, which were then fused together to form a pattern, repulled, and cut into murrine. Rather than entering the class with a specific goal or concept in mind, Gayla was intrigued by learning nontraditional methods of making murrine and watching a true master put these pieces to use.  Gayla’s work often features geometric patterns and tessellations, and learning from Salvadore, she has been able to gather ideas and expand her skills in the week-long class.

“[Studio classes] are very conducive to creativity,” she explains, “everything you need, Corning provides,” from tools and glass to access to affordable food and lodging. “Everything you need to know is probably already here,” she says, referring to the wealth of information and inspiration at the Museum and the Rakow Research Library.

Though Gayla resides in Annapolis, Maryland, her close relationship with The Studio provides her with a comfortable creative outlet away from home. “I do a lot of my work up here,” she says, adding enthusiastically, “I’ve never been to a nicer glass studio.”

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

Designer Josh Owen

I was delighted to have been invited to participate in GlassLab this summer. Almost exactly one year ago, I visited The Corning Museum of Glass for the first time since my childhood. During this recent visit I was fascinated by the array of historical and contemporary archives that are so beautifully communicated on site. And I was immediately moved by the hot glass activities which are integrated into the life of the Museum. Having recently joined the faculty of design at the Rochester Institute of Technology, a short drive north of Corning, I was also intrigued by this new and exciting neighbor. A partnership between Corning and RIT seemed almost inevitable given RIT’s proximity, powerful teaching of design history, practice and technology, and CMoG’s vision for exploring design innovation with their unparalleled knowledge of the glass medium. So once I had met with the management at CMoG the Metaproject 02 became an exercise of shared goals. To make a very long story short, I spent 2010/11 learning and working through design and glass issues with a team of incredibly knowledgeable professors of glass, students of glass and of industrial design and the players at CMoG to push the envelope of possibilities for glass. When CMoG asked me to take off my professorial cap and put on my designer’s cap for GlassLab I felt as if I had a year of boot camp already under my belt.

After two days of work sessions together with master craftsmen at The Corning Museum of Glass as a part of the GlassLab project, Tina Oldknow, curator of modern glass, chose to accession three items from the sessions into the Museum’s GlassLab prototype collection. The items consist of three functional vessels that address specific domestic conditions in the bed and bath. The first item accommodates a more sustainable approach to distributing toilet paper, the second is a shallow bowl which manages bedside technology use and the third merges toothbrush holder with a drinking cup to create efficiencies in often cramped spaces.

Image courtesy Josh Owen LLC by Elizabeth Lamark

The Toilet Paper Jar 
makes use of a major advance in toilet paper where the rolls become tube-free. This modification is the first important change in the state of this product in nearly 100 years and considering that some 17 billion toilet paper tubes are produced annually in the USA, the implications are quite dramatic. I made the observation that with these new rolls, the toilet paper can be retrieved from the inside outward by pulling from the top rather than the way in which traditional TP tubes are used in the spindle arrangement, pulling off sheets from the side. The prototype I designed is simply a container for this new behavior which allows the item to sit on the floor, protected by the cup and saucer-like arrangement from any moisture. The ring detail near the top enables the user to easily lift the cover off to add a new roll.

Image courtesy Josh Owen LLC by Elizabeth Lamark

The Bowl With a Slot
considers the problem of the charging cable. All cell phones have one of these to contend with and a problem that we all face is fishing the fallen cord from the floor or from behind a bookcase etc. This design allows the power-cord to stay located in the bowl which can easily accommodate any sort of phone which – in today’s world – is often kept at the bedside and used not just for communication but as an alarm clock etc. This design also promotes a culture of charging while sleeping which eliminates the problem of losing a charge during waking hours.

Image courtesy Josh Owen LLC by Elizabeth Lamark

The Tooth Brush Holder Cup 
recognizes the fact that in many bathrooms, usable space around the sink is at a premium. Also, allowing the toothbrush bristles to dry is a constant chore seeking a good, hygienic solution. By employing a notch which is scaled to accept most simple toothbrushes, one can position the bristles over the sink to drip dry and keep two useful tools in one location.

I chose to prototype all three of these ideas in clear glass so that they offered an almost invisible, functional aid in performing their tasks. The transparency has no aesthetic purpose for me — it simply creates the most deliberate way of testing the functionality of the ideas. This leaves these products with nothing but their function to prove and allows them to act as perfect prototypes with all aspects visible.

The immediacy of the hot glass medium allows for remarkable live modification to design models. The notion of ‘rapid prototyping’ may be more pronounced in this approach than any other existing technology which is ironic given the significantly mature age of the technology involved. The bottom line with the plasticity of the hot glass is that when you have talented craftspersons executing your ideas, they have the ability to turn on a dime to modify plans as they materialize. As a designer, one has the great benefit of seeing a vision take form before one’s eyes. The inevitabilities of human-scaled relationships in products change when we see objects directly in front of us. As one who obsesses over what many would consider tiny details and nuances, I found myself modifying scale, edge-conditions and radius treatments as I watched the glass take shape. Any good design is a harmonious execution of the idea and what the material does well naturally. I have not experienced a more immediate proof of this concept in any other medium. As I have said to my friends at the Corning Museum – I’m a convert.

Created by Museum glassmaker Eric Meek, the trophy both references the raceway and captures the nature of the Finger Lakes region.

“When you look at the side of the trophy, it almost looks like a waterfall,” says Meek, “That’s an important part of our region, going into the Finger Lakes there are many beautiful glens, gorges and waterfalls.”

Viewed from the top, you can see the trophy’s core which was hand sculpted to the outline of the racetrack. The blue is a match to the color of the racetrack’s guardrails.

2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup trophy

“The Corning Museum of Glass has provided Watkins Glen International a truly unique and beautiful trophy for our NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in August,” Watkins Glen International President Michael Printup said. “This one-of-a-kind work of art captures the essence of our partnership, uniting the world of art and speed. I cannot wait to see it held high in Gatorade Victory Lane by 2012 Sprint Cup Series race winner for the world to see!”

Eric Meek, Michael Printup, George Kennard, and Ryan Mosher

Watch the making of the trophy in this behind the scenes video on the process of creating this one-of-a kind glass trophy.

Bottle with the Seal of Richard Wistar. Wistarburgh Glassworks, about 1745-1755. (86.4.196)

With the most comprehensive collection of glass in the world, The Corning Museum of Glass is a recognized leader in the field of glass and glass studies. Of the Museum’s permanent collection of more than 45,000 objects, 18,700 form the American glass collection.

The American collection represents the history of glass production in the American colonies and the United States from the 18th century to present. The objects range from rare pieces hand-blown in the earliest factories, to mass-produced canning jars and bottles made in the second half of the 19th century, to art glass and cut glass pieces made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and pieces made by contemporary glass artists in 2011.

Six piece place setting, Libbey Glass Company, 1903-1904 (69.4.33)

Collection highlights include the wares of great American glass manufacturers, such as the New England Glass Company of East Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Libbey Glass Company in Toledo, Ohio.

The curatorial assistant will work with the Curatorial Department and the Registrar’s Department in researching and cataloguing the American glass collection, and will assist the curator of American glass in the preparation of a collection survey of American glass prior to 1900.

This research will be added to the American glass collection database and will be immediately available world-wide online at cmog.org, in an updated collections browser launched in early 2012. Online collections records contain in-depth information including provenance, Art & Architecture Thesaurus standard terms, and related objects, as well as related multimedia, publications and exhibition information.

Desk set, Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, ca. 1830 (68.4.532)

The Museum is seeking applicants with training in American decorative arts for this temporary, one-year position. For details, visit http://www.cmog.org/employment.

The Museum received the grant through the Luce Foundation’s American Art program. The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to bring important ideas to the center of American life, strengthen international understanding, and foster innovation and leadership in academic, policy, religious and art communities.

19th century Silber and Fleming trade catalog. Bib. #89888

A trade catalog is issued by a manufacturer, distributor, wholesales, or retailer with the intention of promoting business. Trade catalogs are invaluable resources for identifying manufacturer’s styles, patterns, dates of production, and original prices. They also provide background on economical and social circumstances for the times in which they were published.

Trade catalogs are primarily used for identification purposes by an audience of collectors, researchers, curators, and members of the public wanting to identify glass objects. For ease of access, we have categorized trade catalogs into the following subject areas: bottles and druggists’ glassware, cut glass, flat glass (including stained and architectural), laboratory ware (including industrial and optical), lighting glassware and lamps, tableware, tools (glass blowing and working tools), glass art, paperweights, and glass jewelry, among others.

1923 McKee Glass Company trade catalog. Bib. #28854

19th century F. and C. Osler trade catalog. Bib #92821

The Rakow Library is committed to acquiring and preserving these materials and pursues expansion of the collection. Sheila Tshudy, in charge of trade catalogs, contacts firms, works with rare and second hand book dealers, and searches eBay to find new additions. The ever-growing collection is also supplemented by gifts from generous donors.

Though our trade catalogs do not circulate, they are all available for use in the Library and we do loan microform copies, if available, through Interlibrary Loan. A large part of this collection was microfilmed and we have over 1,000 microform catalogs which were filmed with permission while on loan to us from other institutions and private individuals. The earliest dated catalog is a price list from 1722, from the firm Manufacture Royale des Glaces de France (Saint-Gobain) entitled Tarif du prix de glaces de la Manufacture royale.

Digitization of select trade catalogs from the collection allows us to provide access to these unique resources via our website. The digital collection is continually growing, and currently more than 200 trade catalogs are available digitally to be viewed in their entirety. We encourage you to visit The Rakow Research Library and consult these valuable resources.

This is the third 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

Weeks was joined by Marie McKee, president of the Museum, Jim Flaws, Chairman of the Museum and Chief Financial Officer of Corning Incorporated, and Karol Wight, executive director of the Museum, in giving remarks on the expansion project and exciting changes in store here at the Museum.

Wendell Weeks joined in officially launching the Museum’s expansion.

Designs for the new building were on view, including renderings of the new 100,000 square foot contemporary gallery, with 150-foot long window overlooking a new football field-sized campus green. Architect Thomas Phifer’s design for the space introduces a daylighting system for the expansion that will make the Museum the first anywhere to have a large-scale installation of contemporary glass using natural light.

Rendering of the new contemporary gallery featuring daylighting in the North Wing expansion.

The 11am ceremony took place at the Museum, in an adjacent parking lot that will be converted to green space as designed by landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand Associates. In 2014, those standing in this space will have a view of the contemporary gallery, and just to the right, into the new glassmaking venue with capacity for 500 people. Jim Flaws talked about the need for added space in his remarks. “Drive past the parking lot full of busses and cars on a summer afternoon and you can see for yourself just how popular the Museum is. It’s the most-visited museum in Upstate New York, and ranks among the top 50 visited museums in the country.”

Cross Section of the North Wing Expansion.

More than 200 people were in attendance to celebrate the groundbreaking of this major project. Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, Senator Tom O’Mara, and Mayor Richard Negri joined Karol Wight, Wendell Weeks, Jim Flaws, and Marie McKee in turning the soil.

Palmesano, O’Mara, Wight, Weeks, Flaws, McKee and Negri turn the soil at The Corning Museum of Glass North Wing expansion groundbreaking.

The Museum will remain open during the entirety of the expansion project, which is scheduled for completion in 2014. For more information visit www.cmog.org/expansion.

Junior Scientists learning about the properties of glass

The small group of students from local Corning middle and high schools are in grades 7 through 9. The program began in March, and is wrapping up on June 12. Through hands-on experiments and behind the scenes tours of the Museum and Corning Inc. labs, the students are learning about science through the process and properties of glass.

Seventh-grader Pearl describes why she wanted to become a Junior Scientist:

Pearl making a Prince Rupert's drop

As a visitor to The Corning Museum of Glass, I have been amazed by the glass artwork. When I was younger, I always thought glass was super fragile since I broke glass dishes often. Now I know that this isn’t always true, and that it can be very strong. For example, fiber optics are super thin glass that can bend without snapping. I think this is outstanding and proves my old belief, that glass is nothing but an easy-to-break decoration, wrong. There are many different types of glass and they are used for different things. To illustrate, glass is found in everyday objects such as tables, windows, cell phones, and jars. Not only is glass pretty, but it is useful.

Students in the program are learning all about glass and what it can do by investigating the material through experiments and research. The focus of their research this year is stress and tension in glass. In their weekly after-school meetings, the Junior Scientists have toured the Innovations Center at the Museum, watched a special glass breaking demonstration, and gathered information for their research at the Rakow Library.

In an experiment that quickly became a favorite experience for many of the students, the group had a hands-on workshop at The Studio where they made – and more importantly, destroyed – their own Prince Rupert drops.

Each Junior Scientist was tasked with designing, creating, and carrying out their own experiment over the course of the program. To assist in their research, the students met and worked with scientists from Corning’s Sullivan Park on the concepts for their experiments. The Junior Scientists will present their findings at a finale event on June 12.

Hot Glass Show at The Corning Museum of Glass

The new theater will be located just above the Museum Admissions Lobby, in what used to be the Museum’s orientation film theater. The space was originally designed by architects Smith-Miller + Hawkinson, who revisited their 1999 design to transform the theater into a new venue suited for glass demonstrations. Watch this clip of architect Laurie Hawkinson talking about the use of glass in architecture.

Renovations began in January, right after the removal of Brian Clarke’s The Glass Wall. The theater will open this summer to ensure that construction on the North Wing will not affect the schedule of our popular live glassblowing demonstrations. In fact, one day you’ll see the Hot Glass Show in its current space, and, if you came back the next day, you’d be able to see it in this new space.

The Hot Glass Show is so popular that we’re adding more space. An additional 50 seats are being added to this new theatre, and stadium-style seating ensures that there won’t be a bad view in the house. You’ll be able to sit right up front and feel the heat from the new all-electric furnaces, or sit further back, relax, and enjoy the show and the view of Corning through floor-to-ceiling windows.

The renovation in progress.

A major part of the renovation project is the removal of the eastern interior wall. Once completed, the theater will almost resemble our outdoor Courtyard stage. The open sides will allow you to see out to Center Way (the road in front of the Museum) from inside the theater, or watch the show as you wander by on the way to the Glass Galleries. You’ll also be able to see a live video stream of the Hot Glass Show in the Admissions Lobby.

Rendering of the new Hot Glass Show theater looking toward the stage.

The theater is scheduled to open early July. Come see a show then, now, or later – the Hot Glass Show happens all day, every day and now open until 8pm. See a full schedule of the Hot Glass Show: http://www.cmog.org/visit/calendar.

Dr. Robert Brill excavating beneath the Beth She'arim slab, Israel, c. 1966. Photograph by Paul Perrot. (Rakow item 128612)

In 1956, an enormous slab of a concrete-like substance was discovered by an excavation crew preparing to build a museum in Beth She’arim, Israel.   Seven years later, in 1963, The Corning Museum of Glass and the University of Missouri sent a team of experts to Israel to study ancient glass and discovered the 6.5 x 11 x 1.5-foot slab at Beth She’arim was actually made of glass.  At the time, the slab was the third-largest piece of man-made glass known to exist in the world.  (See The Mystery Slab of Beth She’arim for more information and a video about the slab.)

Almost 50 years after the Museum and the University of Missouri sent their joint team to Israel, the Museum’s Research Scientist Emeritus, Dr. Robert Brill, had some of the slides from his personal archive digitized for the Rakow Research Library’s collection.  These slides of Dr. Brill’s work at Beth She’arim offer a glimpse of the hard work that goes on behind any discovery.

The glass of the Beth She’arim slab weighs almost 9 tons.   When discovered, it lay atop limestone blocks that formed the floor of the tank in which this glass was melted.  As part of the process of researching the slab and its environment, Dr. Brill had to crawl into a space underneath the tank floor – with over 9 tons of material overhead –to obtain a sample of the limestone blocks.  When talking about the picture, Rakow item 128612 (above), Dr. Brill explained that this crawlspace was in an area of the site called “millipede alley,” so named because of all the insects swarming around.   Luckily, he remembered, the millipedes did not bite.

Polished core section of Beth She'arim slab, 7th-9th century, Israel. Section is approximately 11cm in height. Photograph by Robert Brill, c. 1966. (Rakow Item 127879)

While the scientists working with the Beth She’arim slab may have had to contend with millipedes to collect their samples, these samples were critical in providing much of what we know today about the slab.

The slab was found to be glass with a beautiful raspberry color. Dr. Brill recounted, “The intention had probably been to make glass that could be broken up and shipped elsewhere to be formed into artifacts.”  In other words, the makers of this raspberry glass were not going to be making vessels, jewelry, or other objects themselves.  They were making the raw materials that would be sent to other glassworkers to turn into objects.

Unfortunately, said Dr. Brill, chemical analyses of the raspberry glass showed that it contained too much calcium.  This caused crystals to form during the annealing process, turning the glass opaque.  This is probably why the slab was abandoned, said Dr. Brill.

The crystals that formed due to too much calcium ruined the glass for the ancient workers creating the batch, but another slide from Dr. Brill’s collection, Rakow item 127941, shows that even mistakes can be beautiful:  below is an image of the raspberry glass crystals under a microscope.

Photomicrograph of crystals formed by devitrification of the glass of the Beth She'arim slab. Photograph by Robert Brill. (Rakow item 127941)

The team of researchers at Beth She’arim performed the hard work of archaeology and running chemical analyses in order to discover the truth about the Beth She’arim slab and why it was abandoned.  To read the fruits of their labor and their final reports, the Rakow Research Library holds copies of two articles, “A Huge Slab of Glass in the Ancient Necropolis of Beth She’arim” and “A Great Glass Slab from Ancient Galilee,” along with many other resources.

Glass bomb prototype with the broken fuse before treatment.

Glass bomb prototype during treatment. The bomb had to be positioned in such a way that the fuse would stay where it needed to be because the adhesive we use takes a long time to set.

If you visit the Museum, look for the bomb in the Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab exhibition, now on view through January 6, 2013.

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.

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.
<< Glass Research at The Rakow Research Library | Trade Catalogs >>

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

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.

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.

Update: see the finished piece on our Facebook wall.

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.

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 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

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.

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 (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 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 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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

This is the first installment of the Rakow Research Library’s Introduction to the Collection Series. Read the next post: Prints & Drawings >>

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

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 (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.”

CMoG object 2002.1.67. Ancient Egyptian faience cup from 1550-1292 BC, unassociated with Tutankhamun.

Tut’s tomb was discovered with the help of a blue faience cup. Faience is a ‘chemical cousin’ and historical predecessor of glass, made by mixing silica (sand), potash, and alkali with a binding agent, shaping it as desired, and firing it in a kiln so that the surface vitrifies (becomes glassy). The end product looks similar to glazed ceramics. An American businessman, Theodore Davis, found a blue faience cup with Tutankhamun’s name on it, along with some other items, in a pit in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt, in 1907. Archaeologists had not yet found Tutankhamun’s tomb, although they had searched for it. Davis dismissed the find’s significance, but Egyptologist Howard Carter believed the cup was a sign that Tut’s tomb might be in the Valley of the Kings, too. He was right.

After years of searching, Carter finally discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. (To learn more about Carter’s excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb, visit the Griffiths Institute website.) The discovery of Tut’s tomb created a lot of excitement in the 1920s, but the artifacts from the tomb didn’t leave Egypt until almost 50 years later. Starting in London in 1972, the exhibition, Treasures of Tutankhamun, opened at the U.S. National Gallery of Art in 1976 before traveling to other museums across the country. It was one of the first “blockbuster” exhibitions in the United States.

The Corning Museum of Glass’s Research Scientist Emeritus, Dr. Robert Brill, was invited by a colleague at the National Gallery to examine the artifacts for glass. The Rakow Research Library is lucky enough to have access to some of the slides Dr. Brill created while examining the treasure, as well as his personal notebooks.

Rakow item 127939. Cheetah ornamentation for a piece of furniture from Tutankhamun’s tomb, made of gold leaf over wood. The eyes are glass inlay. Photograph by Robert Brill.

One of Dr. Brill’s first impressions of the treasure was how prevalent glass was – appearing as inlays, molded objects, and beads. In a notebook, for example, Dr. Brill notes that the distinctive stripes on the nemes headdress on Tut’s golden funeral mask were created with blue glass inlay, not paint or lapis lazuli. Similarly, glass was inlaid in the false beard. Glass was used along with gold and precious gems in the scarab pectoral ornament found on the mummy’s chest. One of several headrests – which ancient Egyptians used instead of pillows – found in the tomb was made of blue glass. According to Dr. Brill, the extent to which glass can be found in the Pharaoh’s treasures testifies to its popularity and use in ancient Egyptian society, at least among the upper class. It also indicates that glass working was already an established craft in Egypt, even though the techniques of core forming and glass blowing had not been developed yet.

Dr. Brill's 1976 notebook on the Tutankhamun treasures, describing the glass components of the funeral mask. Photograph by the Rakow Research Library.

Gold will always be a spectacular feature in the treasures of Tutankhamun. From faience to the pharaoh’s funeral mask, glass also has a noteworthy place in this famous story. (It is a coincidence but nonetheless fitting, then, that Harry Burton’s photographs capturing the excavation of Tut’s tomb were recorded not on film negatives but on glass plate ones.) The resources made available through Research Scientist Emeritus Dr. Brill are no less a spectacular feature of the Rakow Research Library’s holdings. To see more library materials on scientific research, visit http://www.cmog.org/research/scientific.

As a Corning native and the younger brother of a glassblower, Dane Jack was exposed to glass from a young age. He has worked diligently for many years to develop his glassmaking skills.

Training on the Hot Glass Show stage under master glassblowers, Dane learned through repetition and gained muscle memory to make objects for demonstrations. “I wanted to learn the foundation of manipulating the material,” he says. By taking classes at The Studio, assisting other artists in the hot shop, and renting the Studio facilities to practice on his own, Dane quickly gained proficiency in the basics.

Over time, his work has become “technique-based rather than conceptual,” and, these days, he focuses on mastering advanced techniques. This dedication and perseverance has paid off, as he now travels for part of the year with the Hot Glass Show aboard Celebrity Cruises, demonstrating glassblowing in exciting places such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

Inspired by the colors at sea and the architecture of the cities where the ship docked, Dane experiments on stage. “The opportunity to make whatever you want in a glassblowing job is priceless,” he recognizes, and, because the Hot Glass Shows at sea can last a couple of hours, the team has the freedom to create more elaborate pieces.

At the end of each cruise, three to six pieces of glass art are sold at an auction, with proceeds benefiting a scholarship fund for Studio glassmaking classes.

Dane himself was a recent recipient of a Celebrity Scholarship. Receiving a scholarship for the Winter 2012 session allowed Dane to take Dan Mirer’s Glassblowing, Design, Production class, which emphasized mold making for faster and more efficient production work. The class spent much of the week-long session in the coldworking shop shaping molds, a process which intrigues Dane as he hopes to incorporate mold blowing techniques to create a production line in the future.

Making a mold at The Studio

The community at The Studio has always been a supportive one.  There’s always some one around who can collaborate, bringing a quick bit of glass while he’s working on a piece or offering advice when he’s stuck on a process. Dane has rented time at The Studio to work on his own art, has taken classes, and has even worked in The Studio’s Make Your Own Glass area.

Dane’s story is not unique. The Studio and the Museum work hard to support and develop glass artists, by employing talented artists like Dane, providing scholarships, offering classes and providing a community that encourages exploration of glass.

Learn more about the Celebrity Cruise Scholarship fund, and others.

But lately, I’ve been intrigued by a newer collection of stories—our growing body of oral histories recorded with local factory workers, corporate executives, scientists and engineers.  All of the interviewees worked with glass…whether designing glass products, cutting, blowing or finishing glass objects, building and repairing the equipment used to make the glass, planning glass product lines, or tending the furnaces used to generate the molten glass.

Many of these interviewees worked at Corning Glass Works (CGW) and Steuben.  The recordings are filled with insights and descriptions which illuminate places that have vanished, people who have passed away, and events that now exist only in memory.

Photograph of Main Plant, courtesy of Corning, Inc. Archives

What was the “cave” of Corning’s Main Plant like in the early 1960s, for example?  There are some in the community who remember that dark, dank place, but most of us have never seen the inside of the factories that once dominated the downtown Corning cityscape.   Those factories were demolished in the 1980s to make way for the new Corporate Headquarters for Corning, Inc, but some people, like engineer Jerry Kersting, well-remember that unique place.

Jerry Kersting, retired engineer for Corning, Inc., interviewed May 2010.

Crusader bowl engraved by Max Erlacher

Or think of Steuben, established in 1903 in Corning and responsible for over a hundred years worth of quality, hand-made glass.  Now Steuben, like so many other glass factories, has closed its doors.  Who made the glass that has been given to everyone, from heads of state to newly wedded couples? Roland “Max” Erlacher, long-time engraver for Steuben, relates the behind-the-scenes details of engraving the Crusader’s Bowl, which was later selected by Nancy Reagan as a gift for Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.  It is not a well-known story, I would imagine, since the original design by Zevi Blum had to be reworked when the bowl cracked during the engraving process.

Max Erlacher, former master engraver for Steuben, interviewed May 2010.

Or what about the economic conditions and employment practices of earlier times?  Dan Keyes, a Corning Glass Works employee and a Steuben gaffer, describes in his interview how he began his career as a glassmaker.  The practice then was to wait outside the factory, in case extra hands were needed that day.  If you “worked out” then you might be lucky enough to get a permanent position at the factory.

Dan Keyes, former gaffer for Steuben, interviewed October 2010.

And if you were talented enough, as were Keyes and interviewee Harry Phillips, you could work your way up, from a carry-in boy to the highest position in a glass shop, that of gaffer.

Harry Phillips, former gaffer for Steuben, interviewed May 2011.

The Houghton family was well-known to the employees in the Corning Glass Works factories.  In his interview, Gordy Casterline describes how the “old-timers” in the factories would often go to the Houghtons with personal or family problems.

Gordon Casterline, retired from Corning, Inc.

And generations of families worked in the glass factories of Corning.  Bill Anderson, a former Corning Glass Works employee, talked about his uncle and father, who came to Corning from Norway in 1914 to blow glass.  Back in his father’s hometown, Anderson says boys as young as 8 years old worked in the local glass factories, a practice well-documented in the United States as well.

Bill Anderson, former Corning Glass Works employee, interviewed May 2011.

During World War II, women began to work in more significant numbers for Corning Glass Works and other manufacturing companies.  And of course, even after the war ended, many women continued to work outside the home. Yet, workplaces often had a different set of rules in place for women employees.  In her interview, Elizabeth Barenthaler, a Corning Glass Center staff member, humorously describes the dress code for women, prior to the 1970s as somewhat restrictive!

We weren’t allowed to wear pants.  And then I finally found out that we could wear nice pantsuits.  But it was in the 50’s I think or early 60’s because I can remember shaking my head, after the flood, after we got in E-Bldg, seeing somebody in jeans, sitting on the floor sorting something and I’m thinking, “Girl, if you only knew”.

Not many of us today take the time to record our stories or write letters to family and friends describing the important events of our lives.  These oral histories offer us a way to preserve those voices and take a snapshot of a vanishing time, before the opportunity slips away.

The Library is interested in conducting oral history interviews during Corning’s GlassFest (May 24-27, 2012). If you would like to share your story with us, please contact us at rakow@cmog.org.

The CMOG Celebrity Solstice lady glassblowers. Laurie Kain, Ryan Doolittle, and Helen Tegeler.

A fond hello to everyone as I have happily returned to my ship home away from home on the Celebrity Solstice! After several trips on the ship it has become a seamless transition getting used to living and blowing glass on a floating city that takes you to beautiful locales around the world.

Helen pulling a winning ticket during one of our spontaneous raffles with her flower vase in the foreground.

In the past my glassblowing team of three has always consisted of one or two boys and me. I know that when there is a team of all males they often get asked if females blow glass at all. For the very first time I find myself paired with two other female glassblowers and it has been absolute girl power dynamite. By sheer coincidence my first cruise began a couple days before Valentine’s Day and we embraced it with an explosion of girlie glass the likes of which I’ve never seen or experienced before. We created hearts with arrows, a cupcake goblet, flower vases, and to top it off a unicorn/pegasus sitting on a pink cotton candy cloud with a rainbow behind it.

Helen putting the finishing touches on her Unicorn of Unity

Let me take you back and explain the creative inspiration for this gallantly gaudy unicorn piece that brings back fond memories of my delightfully tacky trapper-keepers from long ago. Every cruise we have an entertainment meeting with our Cruise Director, musicians, production cast, singers, AV operators, and activities staff. On the Celebrity Equinox the Hot Glass Show team made a very special piece of glass sculpture called the “Starfeesh” that would be handed off each cruise to a new person to recognize their exemplary performance or random act of kindness. The Starfeesh winner then gets to enjoy the glass sculpture for a cruise until they award it to the next deserving individual. Our wonderful Cruise Director, Stuart, thought it would be amazing to start this somewhat cheesy but beloved tradition on the Solstice, but with a new glass sculpture that he titled the Unicorn of Unity. This reminds me of our Captain who tells the passengers that our 1300 crewmembers come from 70 different countries and through all of our cultural differences manage to unite and work together in harmony. He then recommends that the UN should come and see how it’s done.

Laurie and her cupcake goblet

My team leader, the wonderful Helen Tegeler who I dub the glass sculptor extraordinaire, took this idea and ran a glass circle around it. During the last Hot Glass Show of the cruise we crafted this hilarious piece and the audience was coaxed into sharing our contagious giggles and high spirits. Of course us girls simply had to come up to our stage on a formal night and have an impromptu photo shoot with our beloved Unicorn of Unity before gifting it to our fellow entertainers. We promised everyone that to counteract the extreme girlie glass fest we would make a manly monster truck next cruise.

Decked out glassy ladies showcasing our Unicorn

Until next time,

Ryan

Jim Hess and his sister Sharon Aumick at February’s 2300°: Mardi Gras Snow Day

There’s a good chance that if you’re at 2300° tonight, you’ll see Jim Hess and Sharon Aumick. In fact, the brother and sister have not missed a 2300° event for the past ten years. They enjoy getting together; he drives down from Buffalo, and she’s in Addison, so it’s a nice chance to catch up. They bring other family when they can make it, and Sharon gets to meet up with fellow retired teachers. But what keeps them coming back year after year, they say, is the Hot Glass Show. Sharon says, “We love it! We like seeing the different artists.” From Anne Gant’s pyrographies to Paul Stankard’s paperweights, they’ve seen a mix of glassmaking techniques at demonstrations by both local gaffers and visiting glass artists.

This month, we’re sure they’ll be at the Hot Glass Show watching Philadelphia-based artist Christopher Lydon make organically inspired sculptural and vessel forms with intense color contrasts.

2300°: Blues is tonight, Thursday March 15 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Visit http://www.cmog.org/event/2300-blues for more information.

See you there, Jim and Sharon!

Rob Casetti and Chris Morelli explain how the renovation is helping improve the flow of the space.

We’re joined by Chris Morelli, a project engineer on the construction management team. He’s one of the last of the crew here on a late Friday afternoon, and it’s a good thing that things have cleared out a little. He explains that the Café construction site has been a buzz of activity since the project began, with over 40 people onsite working this week. I can’t imagine how that many people fit to work in this back space, but it makes it clear why the renovation is necessary, not only for visitors dining at the Museum, but also to improve overall circulation and space management in the kitchen, storage and catering areas.

Rob looks over the Café renovation site plans

With the renovation, the flow of the kitchen transitioned from a long rectangle to a larger square. There is a new giant walk-in freezer, added storage, a new dishwashing station and added kitchen workspace. Construction included building a small addition to the side of the existing Museum for a tray return station, and relocating pipes under the kitchen floor to open up space. This renovation is only the first of many changes happening within the Museum as the North Wing expansion is underway.

Installing wiring for the digital menus in the new GlassMarket Café.

As we walk into the main dining area of the café, I’m reminded why I love to have lunch here. The floor to ceiling windows are always stunning. Rob points out where there will be a glass canopy over the servery stations. He notes that the translucent glass will look like it’s always been there, fitting into the existing architectural design. However, the glass also serves an important function in ventilation and improving the air quality of the Museum. This helps make sure that the smell of pizza doesn’t end up wafting into the galleries.

I can see the new brick pizza oven, but it’s still wrapped up in plastic. Once it’s installed, it will be one of five new menu stations. When you walk into the Café, you’ll be able to grab a tray and choose from a variety of options. New digital menus will provide daily meal options, pricing, and display vegetarian/dairy free/allergy information. The stations include international cuisine, Italian, pizza, soups & salads, and sandwiches. Grab n’ go and kids’ options will be available at each of the stations.

The dining area of the GlassMarket Café (reopening April 1)

It is no small feat to make this all happen in a few short months, and crews have the added difficulty of working within a museum, a place typically not used to the sounds and smells of drilling and welding. Most of the work happens at night to prevent disruptions when the Museum is open during the day. Chris said that a project like this would usually take five to six months; but when the Café reopens on April 1, it will have been completed in just three.

Plan for the menu stations in the new GlassMarket Café

Carole and Georgia with the glassblowing team

There is a glassblower named Zac
Who joined with another, Dane Jack.
With Laurie Kain on the team,
They earned great esteem
Blowing glass art all the way out and back.

One glass artist is named Zac Gorell,
Who demonstrates and explains it so well.
His “Dream Pitcher” came true
From a dream he did view;
Creativity, night and day, one can tell.

Another glass artist is Dane Jack,
Raised in Corning and now going back;
Cruises done for a while;
He’ll demonstrate his great style
At the Museum–now, how cool is that!

Zac with a dragon stem goblet

Laurie Kain comes from Washington State;
Her Sunset Series of gold did create.
The shapes were pure molten;
When cooled, she would hold them
And viewers exclaimed, “Beyond great!”

Sparkling dragons, seahorses and swan-o’s
Support goblets more beautiful than Murano’s;
Laurie’s Lego Man was so cute,
Dane’s hatching turtle, to boot,
And Zac’s fish on its fins balanced just so.

They gather glass, blow it and wacky wrap it;
They explain how they form it and adapt it,
Then on charity’s behest
They auction the best,
Raising thousands, having fun while they’re at it.

Georgia on board the Celebrity Solstice

To anneal this glass tale edition,
Send Dane, Laurie and Zac on their mission:
Give it up for the three
Who create art at sea,
And continue the CMoG tradition.

You can see for yourself on a cruise ship,
Celebrity Solstice, Equinox and the Eclipse;
Or on land it’s a snap:
Find New York on a map
And visit Corning Museum of Glass.

– Carole P. Smith

Carole added, “The Solstice is a beautiful ship.  The crew and staff were friendly and helpful; the entertainment was spectacular, especially the show on the first night.  Food was everywhere and delicious and available at any hour of day or night. We went to every one of the glass shows and Dane gave Georgia the title “President of the Glass Blower Groupies“.  People recognized her in different places on the ship and even one time during a shore excursion.”

Georgia agreed that the live glassblowing demonstrations were the highlight of the cruise. “We went to every show, and stayed for the whole show, we just had to keep watching!” She also added, “I didn’t know anything about CMoG before. I was fascinated to learn that the Corning Museum’s research developed the all-electric furnace and glory hole, when other companies who were approached didn’t think it could be done.  I loved the CMoG shop and the way it was set up with bios of each artist, to actually touch the tools, and the glassblown work displayed was incredible.”

Beth Lipman creates a pineapple out of hot glass at the Norton Museum of Art.

For the opening of her exhibition, Beth Lipman: A Still Life Installation, at The Norton Museum of Art, contemporary glass artist Beth Lipman joined The Corning Museum of Glass team on the Hot Glass Roadshow stage for a special glassblowing event. Lipman worked with the team to make one of the objects included in her large blown glass sculpture One and Others, commissioned by The Norton Museum. A somber piece, the group of blown glass objects jumbled together refers to still life paintings in the museum’s collection. Gazing balls, pineapples, glasses, a rabbit and more all sit atop a black coffin, made to the measurements of the artist herself.

Beth Lipman and the Hot Glass Roadshow team discuss what they will make

Traditionally, the pineapple is a sign of hospitality and welcome. It seemed fitting then that Lipman chose to make a glass version at the opening event. However, another story of the fruit’s significance surfaced during our visit to the museum.

Creating the stem of the pineapple

Woodlawn Cemetery sits directly across the street from The Norton, located on South Olive Avenue in West Palm Beach, FL. Supposedly, as we were told, there are still graves that were never relocated from under the museum. One of these secret graves is reported to be Richard Hone, the owner of a pineapple plantation in West Palm Beach who was murdered in 1902.

Beth Lipman works the hot glass to the shape of a pineapple

Was the pineapple then a symbol of hospitality or homage to the murdered pineapple grower? As Lipman’s work addresses themes of material culture, life and death – it could be both.

Finishing touches

The Hot Glass Roadshow is providing daily glassmaking demonstrations at The Norton Museum of Art, in West Palm Beach, FL through March 25.

For more information and photos of the Roadshow setting up in West Palm Beach: http://www.cmog.org/event/norton-museum-art

See Beth Lipman at The Studio: http://www.cmog.org/video/artist-residence-beth-lipman-april-2011

We’ve launched a redesigned website at www.cmog.org. The site offers new content, increased access to the Museum’s collection and new user-friendly features. The front page serves as a starting point to explore 35 centuries of glass art: the site now features thousands of videos, articles, images and resources on glass and glassmaking.

“The Corning Museum of Glass is the authority on glass, and we wanted to make as many of our resources available online as we could,” says Karol Wight, executive director. “We’ve made new digitized materials from our Library available, are sharing every single video we’ve ever produced and are publishing articles that address glass from many angles. Visitors to our site can easily access information about glass at any level that interests them.”

The redesigned site provides a new integrated search function that allows visitors to access more than 200,000 records from both the Museum’s comprehensive collection of art and historical glass and the Rakow Research Library’s collection of archival and reference materials on the history of glass and glassmaking.

More than 30 years of images from the Museum’s prestigious annual journal, New Glass Review, are now available to view online for the first time. An All About Glass section features more than 350 videos, 100 articles, and 225 recently digitized books from the Rakow Research Library, as well as glass term definitions and podcasts.

Some of the highlights you’ll want to check out:

• An enhanced way to browse the collection. Search both the glass collection and the collection of the Rakow Research Library at the same time. Search by object, artist/maker, color, and more. In each record you’ll find information about related multimedia, publications and exhibitions.
• A new collection set feature. Save glass collections objects, articles, events, and media across the site into your own collection set. This is an excellent tool for research and sharing. Create public sets to share, or keep them private in your own account.
• An All About Glass section that includes more than 350 videos, 100 articles, and 225 digitized books from the Rakow Research Library, as well as glass term definitions and podcasts.
• More than 30 years of images from our annual journal, New Glass Review. Filter by artist, juror’s picks, technique, and more.
• An improved calendar that helps you plan your visit. See the demonstration schedule for the day you’re visiting, as well as any exhibitions on view and special events taking place. Visit our mobile site to plan your visit on the go.
• Online registration for glassmaking classes at The Studio. Sign up and pay online in just a few convenient steps. It’s easy to find one that fits your needs: you can sort by level of experience, teacher, technique, and length of class.

The Museum partnered with IMA Lab, the media and technology group at the Indianapolis Museum of Art for the website redesign project. IMALab designed and developed the site, working on new solutions to bring the Museum’s various collections to the web.

We hope you’ll explore and let us know what you think. Simply use the feedback button you’ll find in the bottom right-hand corner on the website.

Gian and Christine

She said yes! Christine Sullivan thought that she was spending Valentine’s Day just visiting The Corning Museum of Glass with Gian Mastroianni, but she had no idea that they would be leaving engaged to be married.

Said Gian, “The ring took forever to plan, but the proposal only took about a week.” With the help of Rene Miller, guest services supervisor here at the Museum, they planned the perfect spot for the proposal. “We talked and she sent pictures of different areas in the Museum, but we finally decided on the Tiffany window.”

Visiting from the Buffalo, NY area, this was the couple’s first time to the Museum. They started off the day touring the galleries and watching the Flameworking Demo. Then, with Christine unaware of Gian’s plans, they went to see the live Hot Glass Show.  With the help of the Hot Glass Show team, Christine was selected as the winner of a drawing for a piece of glass and instructed to go to the Modern Glass Gallery to claim her prize.

When Christine unwrapped her “prize,” a pink handkerchief glass vase, just like the one they had seen made at the Hot Glass Show, the ring was hidden inside.

Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple!

The chess pieces are made in the form of Jewish and Roman Catholic religious figures. A Jewish rabbi and a Roman Catholic bishop (kings) join a group of holy men and women holding Judeo-Christian symbols of faith, including crosses, Torahs, menorahs, and single candles. Each chess piece has the appropriate costume, hairstyle, and accessory of its rank. Learn more about this object.

The artist does not dictate where the pieces should be placed on the chess board, so the team chose to set it up to show the Fool’s Mate, also known as the Two-Move Checkmate. This is the quickest possible checkmate in chess. See how it works.

     There is light.  It exudes from the lamp; shadows and reflections are cast upon the wall.  My eyes follow a blinking line, a cursor.  We have to name everything.  In making all things definitive what is left to define?

     The cursor blinks, my eyes glance through a material, my reflection is faint upon a screen.  A transdimensional occurrence is evident, the threshold between me and the blinking is proof.  The screen is flat and still except for the cursor and the words that follow.  My hands rummage at the bottom, scurrying to portray this as a cohesive thought.

     Making is about transference, from my eyes, to my brain and then executed through my hands.  I am a glassmaker so it’s not just about my eyes and brain and hands but those who collaborate with me, those I work for or with.

     Glass is a communicative endeavor, a struggle.   It’s not something you get in a year or five or ten.  It is about being an ambassador and a translator for a material.  The process of conveying and informing others through the making of glass things is at the forefront of a practice.  Action as statement, object as question.  What are these transferences?

     Material integrity: it’s not about what one can make but what one can expose.

     I reach for a glass.  It doesn’t matter if it is half full or half empty, I made it. Beer is fresher in the glass, the pouring from keg, pitcher, can or bottle releases the flavor. The frothy head floats, the bubbles too.  A liquid suspended in a liquid.

     I, you, we live in a Glass Age.  A reflective world where mirrors are not always present but a lens might be.  We have a necessity to communication, the interface is the material – think about the internet, think of your phone, think outside and through the window, be aware of the light that is on and above you.

CMOG-

For the 2300° at the Corning Museum of Glass I wanted to produce pieces that utilized the space.  Corning has a unique feature with the fused silica window in the glory hole, or reheating chamber.  The video camera that peers in through the window allows a view into this usually secluded space.  Thus rendering the happenings of the glory hole’s 2300 degree environment to the public through the use of overhead projection. By melting and cooking batch, the raw state of glass, and then making a small vessel out of it I am able to freeze and exhibit the process that yields the clear material that we are accustomed to.  Next I folded an airplane out of sheet glass, this shows the transferences of one material to another, paper to glass.  It is also reminiscent for me of learning to fold paper airplanes from my father on the air base he worked on when I was a kid.  Next I slumped a goblet that I made to show the slumping process.  This was witnessed by the audience through the use of the glory hole camera.  The cups contorting and flattening out was rendered observable.  Lastly, I made a cone and dipped fresh molten glass on it in order to show the materials rigid and organic capacity.

I greatly appreciated the help and support I received during this demonstration.  The most important thing I hope people can take home from this or any glass demonstration is that glass is a collaborative medium and a material that is essential to our everyday lives.

See more photos of DH at 2300°: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwRGzLT

One such gem is this slide (bib no. 127878). At first glance, it may not look like much – four green glass circles.  These aren’t just any pieces of glass, however.  These are four green glass beads excavated from San Salvador Island, the Bahamas, from the site of Christopher Columbus’s first landfall in the New World.

Christopher Columbus’s journal entry from October 12, 1492, records that land was (finally) spotted on the horizon at sunrise.  This land is now believed to be San Salvador Island.  Columbus’s ships sailed around the island later that day, and Columbus noted that local inhabitants rode out in boats to greet them.  The European sailors traded small trinkets with them, he wrote, including small glass beads, shoe buckles, snippets of coins, and bits of broken crockery.  While these items had little value to the Europeans, to the native inhabitants of the Bahamas, who lacked glassmaking technology and metallurgy, such things would have been remarkable.

Almost 500 years later, in the 1970s, an excavation was underway at San Salvador Island.  At the place traditionally held to be Columbus’s landing site, archaeologists uncovered small glass beads, including the ones shown in Dr. Brill’s slide; coinage that was later dated to 1472; and shoebuckles.  The lead in the glass beads was shown to have come from Spain.

Although four green glass circles don’t seem impressive at first glance, these beads actually have incredible historical significance – they were likely among the first items ever traded between residents of the New World and the Old.  And they’re also a reminder to never judge an image (or a slide!) by your first impression.

Removing the glass panes one by one

In three days our team of three preparators, one collections and exhibitions manager, two conservators, and two outside contractors removed all 245 panes of glass, and all of the hanging hardware and steel support structures. Most of the work was carried out by our outstanding preparators who had to climb on ladders and scaffolding to reach and release all of the glass components.

Each large section of the window is made up of 35 smaller sections held in place with hardware and various set-screws. To dismantle, one person supports the adjacent glass panes, and the other loosens the set-screws. Once released, each panel is then handed down to another person and placed into specially constructed slotted crates. What makes it particularly difficult, is all of this is done some 30+ feet above the floor level!

Stephen hands off a glass pane

Most of the panes were in excellent condition, although they were extremely dirty. There were about a dozen panes with loose cames which will need to be reattached. One pane had an old break in it. It had been repaired previously, but needed a little clean up in the lab.

The glass panes are packed for safe transportation

One thing we hadn’t thought about in our extensive planning was that the panes would be slightly loose in the slotted crates. We realized it quickly and improvised with small squares of volara (closed-cell polyethylene foam) and acid-free board tucked around the panes to prevent them from rattling while they were moved. We also found that some of the panes were slightly wider than others. Luckily the difference was not a big enough to be a problem.

Now that the panes are safely in our offsite storage facility, the next step is to clean them and repair the loose caming.

See more photos of taking down The Glass Wall: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjy8cdZ4

Watts and his customer requested various items for the set, often with measurements, including:

Sherry glass #267

Tapered sherry glass #249

In one letter, Watts wrote: “Our client should also have a sherry glass as well as the other items ordered. She has not admitted it yet, but it might be well for you to send us a drawing of what you would suggest for this use in the pattern, for we think with a little proper salesmanship we might get that item added to the order.”

There is an additional design for a tapered sherry glass.

On May 22, Howard Watts wrote that the “tall champs” will best serve the customer’s purpose. However, there were three other designs for champagne glasses, including a hollow stem champagne, a low bowl champagne, and a conical champagne.

Center Bowl #312

To meet the request for a center bowl, Steuben sent a drawing in June 1934 with an asking price of $175. Watts responded: “The price of the bowl was not such a shock to us but it was obvious that the price for the making of it would make the price absolutely prohibitive.” Perhaps a drawing for a second bowl was sent; we only know that the customer did order a bowl on July 2, 1934. We have only the one drawing of a bowl – and don’t know if it is the center bowl or a requested oval flower bowl.

Compote #253

On July 2, 1934, the customer ordered a pair of compotes; she preferred that they be oval, rather than round.

Candelabra # 231

In May, Howard Watts wrote that the customer was interested in a pair of candelabra. “She wants nothing in the ordinary conventional style, but would like an arrangement whereby it would have a much more unusual arrangement. Her idea is to have each branch of the candelabra different in height so that she will not have a set mass of light at one level.” When Steuben sent a drawing in June, Howard Watts replied: “we are sorry we cannot develop the same enthusiasm as we did for the stemware, for the obvious reasons that the price was such that we were afraid the customer might have a stroke, although she is a sport about paying large prices; also, the candelabra was much more massive than we had suggested and too large for the table and the size of the room.” Watts sent Steuben a drawing and photograph of an imported candelabrum with three arms/lights, at different heights, and a cased-glass receptacle. In a letter of July 2, 1934, Watts ordered a pair of candelabra – but we don’t know the design.

On October 31, 1934, Bob Leavy, manager at Steuben, sent an interoffice memo to Carder. Watts had written to Steuben, asking that Carder send a letter to his firm about the special blue cased stemware set stating that Carder had designed it entirely himself  (“designed to order”) and that the design “is an exclusive thing for the customer alone.” Watts says that going as far as possible along those lines would make the customer feel even greater pride in the beauty of the set, and happier in their purchase, and that it would be of lasting help to his firm.

We have a copy of the letter that Carder wrote to Watts, incorporating Watts’ requests, which concludes with “I feel that she has some of the best work I have done in this line.”

If you are interested in exploring the various facets of Carder, the Rakow Research Library is a great place to begin your research. We can provide bibliographies, and offer interlibrary loans of some of the books, periodical articles, and often microfiche of Steuben catalogs.

Color watercolors of blue cut to clear cut glass tableware done by Frederick Carder for the Milwaukee firm George Watts & Son (Rakow Research Library, Carder Steuben Archives). 

By Gail Bardhan, Reference and Research Librarian

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

Brian Clarke's The Glass Wall

A new year brings new challenges. One of our challenges this year is to deinstall the very large Brian Clarke window, The Glass Wall. It is currently located just inside the Museum’s western façade along the ramp to the upper entrance of the magic of glass theatre. It is made up of seven large panels each with 35 individual panes with metal supports suspended from steel cables with specially made hardware. The window is 6.3 m (20 ½ ft) tall and 22.4 m (73 ½ ft) long and hangs at the second story level. This is going to be a BIG project!

Brian Clarke's The Glass Wall with the GlassMarket Cafe below.

This spring we are renovating the GlassMarket Café, which sits in the space directly below the window. While the renovations occur (the Café reopens in April) the location is unsafe for the window. Deinstalling the window will also allow us to clean it and repair the loose cames (the aluminum strips around each glass pane) found on some of the panes.  The size and location of the window make any kind of treatment in situ almost impossible. The window badly needs to be cleaned since neither it nor the interior of the building’s windows have been cleaned since it was installed in 2000.

A loose came on the bottom of a pane.

As you can imagine, deinstalling such a huge object is not a process that is undertaken lightly. Dismantling the window requires a lot of planning and preparation. Over the last few months we’ve been having meetings with everyone involved to do just that. This includes the Museum’s conservators, preparators, registrars, and operations managers, as well as an outside contractor who will provide scaffolding and remove the hardware for hanging the window.

The Glass Wall. At the top of the ramp there is about a 2 foot gap between the window and the ramp.

We also had to think about how to store the 245 panes of glass while the window is off display. We had special crates made with slots for the panes which will make transporting and housing the glass safe and compact. The window will be dismantled and taken to our warehouse where we will set up a special area to clean the glass and do any necessary repairs.

Specially made crates with slots to hold individual panes.

The Glass Wall. At the bottom of the ramp there is only a very small gap between the window and the ramp.

After the scaffolding has been put up, the window will be carefully removed, pane by pane, by our preparators. Any loose cames they come across will be temporarily secured with tape. Once all the glass has been safely packed and taken away, the support system can be taken down by our operations team and the outside contractors.

The whole process starts this week!

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

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!

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 19^th 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 20^th 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

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?