Like most pioneers of the American Studio Glass movement, Fritz Dreisbach was first drawn to the possibilities of blowing molten glass. It was the 60s. He and such early designer-artists as Dale Chihuly and Marvin Lipofsky were happily blowing organic, eccentric, free-form objects purposefully shunning both the traditions of European glassblowers and the glass industry’s focus on function. “It was all brand new. We didn’t know where it was going… The spirit of the times was one of experimentation and freedom, and glass seemed like the perfect medium,” recalls Dreisbach.

It was a spring day in Venice shortly before the end of World War II. The air was filled with a sense of imminent freedom and new possibilities. A young Lino Tagliapietra was playing with a paper ball on the island of Murano, Venice’s glassmaking center since medieval times. He glanced

Rarely does a visitor catch sight of Thérèse Lahaie’s Silver Gray Nocturne Triptych ( 2005.4.204 ) in the Museum’s Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family Contemporary Glass Gallery and not walk over or lean in to get a closer look. Something in, or behind, the panels of glass is rising and falling

The ever-evolving work of American artist Richard Craig Meitner, distinguished by its wit and poetry, reflects a variety of influences and ideas, ranging from Japanese textiles, Italian painting, and German Expressionist graphics, to science and the natural world. A new survey of his work,

Artist Tom Patti was drawn to glass in the 1960s, while designing houses of inflatable plastic for the developing world. “I wanted to work with materials that I could open up and look at,” he says. Sheet glass, readily available and affordable, attracted him as a means to expand his

April Surgent rethinks engraving and cameo techniques, reaching back to antiquity to create works that look painterly, photographic, and contemporary. Her images come to light through precise cutting and the grinding away of fused glass layers, usually milky white on the top with darker

Like Dutch still-life painters of the 16th and 17th centuries, American artist Beth Lipman sees images of food as a metaphor for desire, consumption, decadence and consequence.

Dante Marioni burst onto the international glass scene at age 19 with a signature style that has been described as the purest of classical forms executed in glass by an American glassblower. His amphoras, vases, and ewers are derived from Greek and Etruscan prototypes, yet they are

Astronaut Cady Coleman spent six months on the international Space Station in 2011. Hear her talk about her career and the exciting world of space. Make connections with curriculum -- social studies, humanities, science, music, and more. (Recommended for grades K-4.)

Artist Josh Simpson and his wife, Cady Coleman, a renowned astronaut, provide a joint lecture. Simpson creates wondrously detailed imaginary "planets" and "worlds" in glass. Coleman spent six months on the International Space Station in 2011. They will discuss their unique experiences and share stories with the audience.