Today lampworkers %%melt%% borosilicate glass in brilliant colors using modern torches that burn oxygen and propane. But how did glassworkers %%melt%% glass at the flame 300 years ago? As a glass librarian and a glass artist, I'm fascinated by the ingenuity and inventiveness of

Before the development of high-speed moving image media, or fiberglass, naturalists and educators faced a quandary: it was often impossible to demonstrate exactly what an invertebrate looked like without a live specimen, because the spine collapses and color leaches out of one preserved in

Who would have thought that a trip up a goat path would lead to the Museum’s acquisition of a 19th-century lampworking table that was part of the 2007 Botanical Wonders exhibition?

Watch as Kristina Logan demonstrates beadmaking during her Beadmaking: Expanding Your Skills class at The Studio. Logan's week-long course focuses on a broad spectrum of techniques: surface decorations, dots galore, clear casing, working large beads, and troubleshooting common mistakes and difficulties. Kristina Logan is recognized internationally for her precisely patterned and delicate glass beads. She travels throughout the world teaching workshops and lecturing on glass beads and jewelry.

Listen as curator Tina Oldknow, describes the object Woven Heaven, Tangled Earth by artist Susan Plum. For Susan Plum, glass is a metaphor for light. She works with it as a way, she says, to "concretize the invisible." Plum prefers borosilicate glass for its high silica content and its strength. Using three-millimeter Pyrex rods, she weaves her pieces using a small torch. This sculpture was inspired by Plum's research into ancient Mesoamerican cosmology.

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes flameworking (or lampworking), the technique used by the Blaschka's to create the objects in this case at the Museum. The display tells the story of two remarkable lampworkers, Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolf, who created in glass thousands of models of invertebrates, animals without backbones, as well as flowers and plants.

Gianni Toso: Glassmaking as a Language, a live flameworking demonstration at The Studio on July 20, 2011.

Glass Maestro, Gianni Toso shares what inspires and influences his work, specifically about his piece "Chess Set."

In this video, Cesare Toffolo makes both a simple footed bowl and an intricate historical goblet. He hosts a brief tour of flameworked objects in the collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, and he shares his philosophy of teaching, learning, and creating. Cesare Toffolo is considered to be the world's finest technical flameworker. Master Class Series, Vol. V: Flameworking With Cesare Toffolo (30 minute DVD presented by The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass)

Vittorio Costantini is a Venetian glass master known for his precisely rendered small flameworked sculptures. He is inspired by nature, and he works with a range of subjects, including multi-colored insects, butterflies, birds, fish, and flowers. Costantini's pieces are celebrated for their accuracy of form and truth to detail. The film, by Academy and Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Robin Lehman, was made at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass.