Corning Museum Glassblower Megan Mathie Named Honorary Godmother of Celebrity Cruises’ New Ship

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Corning Museum of Glass

Celebrity Cruises has announced that they will honor four employees – including Museum gaffer/narrator, Megan Mathie, as Godmothers of their newest ship, Celebrity Reflection.

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.

Equinox Gaffers head to The Glass Furnace in Istanbul, Turkey

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Dan Alexander

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An evil eye bead from The Glass Furnace.

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

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

Hot Glass and Africa?

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Ryan Doolittle

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

Local glassblower Dane Jack receives Celebrity Cruise Scholarship

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Lindsay Woodruff

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.

Girlie glass on the high seas

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Ryan Doolittle

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

Cruising with the Hot Glass Show Glassblowers

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Mandy Kritzeck

Carole and her sister Georgia took a cruise earlier this year on board the Celebrity Solstice, where her nephew Zac is a glassblower in the Hot Glass Show live glassblowing demonstrations. The two attended every show, and were inspired to share the following limericks.

Visiting the Corning Museum of Glass glassblowers on the celebrity solstice

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.”

George & the Big Blue Bottle

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Yvette Sterbenk

George Kennard

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

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

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

Making it to be Broken

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Yvette Sterbenk

Did you know the Museum provides live glassblowing demonstrations not only in Corning, NY, but also on Celebrity Cruises? Two Celebrity Cruise ships feature a Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Show in a permanent hotshop located on the top deck of the ships.

Both ships were christened with a bottle handmade (in Celebrity Cruises’ signature blue color) by a Corning Museum of Glass gaffer and filled with local Finger Lakes sparkling wine. On April 23, 2010, a third ship- Celebrity Eclipse – will launch out of Southampton, England, and will feature the Hot Glass Show.

We filmed the gaffers (George Kennard, Don Pierce, Lynn Labarr and John Cowden) making the bottle that will be smashed against Celebrity Eclipse to celebrate its naming. The 3.0 liter bottle is filled with 2002 Finger Lakes Sparkling Wine from Glenora Wine Cellars.

It took the glassmakers two days to make six bottles, two of which were filled and sent to Celebrity Eclipse. And, yes, that is a pile of newspaper soaked in water they are using at the end to shape the 2300°F bottle. It’s common practice for glassmakers to use soaked newspaper (local or national – makes no difference!) to shape glass.

Corning Museum of Glass

Behind the Glass

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