Tag Archives: george kennard

Uniting the worlds of glass and racing: Corning Museum crafts trophy for Watkins Glen International

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This morning, the Museum announced an exciting partnership with Watkins Glen International and unveiled the trophy for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

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 Series trophy for Watkins Glen International

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 at the unveiling of the NASCAR Sprint Cup trophy

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

George & the Big Blue Bottle

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George Kennard

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

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

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

How Do You Make the World’s Largest Glass Pumpkin?

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Take 30 pounds of molten glass on the end of a blowpipe, lots of trial-and-error glassblowing sessions, and a team of highly skilled glassmakers, and see what they come up with.

Last year Museum gaffers, led by George Kennard, created the World’s Largest Glass Pumpkin (97 inches around – more than 8 feet)! The pumpkin-making process took a team of eight glassblowers more than 50 hours of work, 17 attempts, a lot of shattered glass, and a number of lopsided prototypes.

More than 70 pounds of molten glass was blown into a wooden, ribbed mold (created especially for this project), and cooled very slowly in an extra-large annealing oven. The trickiest part was inflating the heavy molten glass bubble to just the right size so it wouldn’t shatter in the mold.

The giant pumpkin will be on display at the GlassMarket through October 31.

Making it to be Broken

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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.

Recycling Clear Glass at the Hot Glass Show

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George Kennard shows us how the Hot Glass Show recycles clear glass at the end of the day.  About one-third of the demonstration pieces made at the Hot Glass Show are put back into the furnace and are re-used for the next day’s glass demonstrations.