All About Glass

All About Glass

This is your resource for exploring various topics in glass: delve deeper with this collection of articles, multimedia, and virtual books all about glass. Content is frequently added to the area, so check back for new items. If you have a topic you'd like to see covered, send us your suggestion. If you have a specific question, Ask a Glass Question at our Rakow Research Library.

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Wes Fleming & Mike "Fig" Mangiafico Live Streamed Studio Demonstration
Video

Watch two master glass entomologists, Wesley Fleming and Michael "Fig" Mangiafico, teach students in their class how to create their own flameworked insects. Get an insider’s view into the process during this live stream from their class Glass Entomology on June 12, 2019. See the final

Miles Parker Live Streamed Studio Demonstration
Video

Marble maker and flameworker Miles Parker shares how to create whole worlds in tiny glass spheres using a variety of techniques. Get an insider’s view during this February 13 live stream from his class Borosilicate Marbles. See the final work starting at 32:41. When not teaching at The Studio,

David Sandidge Guest Artist Demonstration
Video

Watch as flameworker David Sandidge brings his fanciful glass figures to life during this demonstraton on January 11, 2019. See the final work starting at 1:56:20. The Guest Artist Series features world-class visiting artists at work in the Amphitheater Hot Shop. These special, extended

2011 GlassFest FlameOff: Recap with Paul Stankard
Video

GlassFest Flameoff 2011 Recap: World-renowned glass artist Paul Stankard and World Glass store owner Josh Powers (Corning, N.Y.), reflect on their journey to  create the 2011 GlassFest FlameOff. The FlameOff showcases several artists from around the world that demonstrate their talents using a

Flameworked Beads
Video

Flameworking (sometimes called "lampworking") is the process of directing a flame onto a piece of glass in order to create form or decoration. Beads were likely among the first glass objects to be made by flameworking.

Flameworking Glass Sculptures
Video

Learn about flameworking with Corning Museum of Glass experts. Flameworking is the technique of taking glass rods or tubes and heating them in a concentrated flame until they become soft.

Flameworked Vessels
Video

Beginning in the 1800s, glassworkers used flameworking to make vessels considerably larger than previously possible. Bigger and more sophisticated torches allowed the increase in scale, while retaining the flameworker's ability to create minute details.

Flameworked Sculpture
Video

Artists have proven that glass as a medium for sculpture is virtually without limits. Among hot-working processes, flameworking allows the greatest detail and the smallest scale. Surprisingly though, it can also be used to create sculpture large enough to fill rooms.

Blaschka Case
Video

Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes this display, telling 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. The father began the business of

Blaschka Case (Technique- Museum App)
Video

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes flameworking (or lampworking), the technique used by the Blaschkas 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

Plum Woven Heaven
Video

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

Studio Demonstrations: Jim Byrnes
Video

Watch Jim Byrnes demonstrate for his Studio course, Beginning Flameworking. Students will be guided through sequential exercises designed to target specific skills. As students become familiar with a few skills, they will begin to combine them. The goal of the class is to equip students with an

"Glass in Motion" 2011 GlassFest Highlight Montage
Video

Glass in Motion is a video highlight montage of the 2011 GlassFest in Corning, N.Y.

The Wedding at Cana mechanical glass theater in Motion
Video

This extraordinary lampworked scene is a rare survivor of animated scenes made in the mid-18th century, which were created for public amusement. The scene depicted is believed to be of the Wedding at Cana. The heads and limbs of each figure are lampworked in glass, and are moved by levers and pulls

The Story of Rudolf and Leopold Blaschka
Video

The Botanical Wonders exhibition celebrated the singular triumph of glassmakers Leopold Blaschka (1822-1895) and his son Rudolf (1857-1939) and offered close-ups of the people and the craft process behind the glass flowers. Video narrated by David Whitehouse.

Jason Howard Live-streamed Studio Demonstration
Video

Watch as Jason Howard demonstrated for his flameworking class, "If You Can Understand It, You Can Do It," at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. See the final object starting at 54:53. R. Jason Howard is a glass artist who specializes in borosilicate flameworking. He lives in

The Glass Flowers
Article

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 alcohol.

Master Class 5: Flameworking with Cesare Toffolo
Video

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

Glass Masters at Work: Vittorio Costantini
Video

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

Gianni Toso- Chess Set
Video

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

Studio Demonstrations: Gianni Toso
Video

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

Studio Demonstrations: Kristina Logan
Video

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

Studio Demonstrations: Karina Guévin & Cédric Ginart
Video

Watch Karina Guévin & Cédric Ginart demonstrate for their Studio course, Flameworking Cocktail, in which the focus was on providing beginners with a solid foundation in basic technical skills. Students were introduced to various techniques using both soft (soda lime) and hard (borosilicate)

Studio Demonstrations: Emilio Santini
Video

Watch Emilio Santini demonstrate various sculpting and glassblowing techniques using borosilicate and soda lime glass for his 2012 Studio course, Sculptural Flameworking.

Studio Demonstrations: Tim Drier
Video

Watch Tim Drier demonstrate for his class, Introduction to Flameworking, in which students will embark on an evolution through glassmaking, beginning with marbles (single cell), through fungus, aquatics, and small land mammals, ending with the human form.

Studio Demonstrations: Loren Stump
Video

Watch Loren Stump demonstrate for his Studio course, Flameworking Using Ultimate Details, advanced murrine techniques including color blending, design analysis, shaded components, and assembling and pulling cane to produce Franchini-style shaded faces. Students examined methods for creating human

Artist-in-Residence: Marta Ramírez
Video

In her May 2012 Residency at The Studio, Marta Ramírez interpreted the works of Shinichi Maruyama, a Japanese artist and photographer who has developed an artistic body of work called Water Sculptures.

Studio Demonstrations: Suellen Fowler
Video

Watch Suellen Fowler demonstrate for her class, Flamework Glass Sculpting: Solid and Blown Forms, a variety of techniques for creating sculptures in colored borosilicate glass. During the class, Fowler demonstrated cane decoration and patterns, the use of commercial and hand mixed color, and

Eric Meek and Eric Goldschmidt at 2300°: Finger Lakes Finest (January 2013)
Video

At 2300°: Finger Lakes Finest in January 2013, glassblower Eric Meek and flameworker Eric Goldschmidt collaborated to make an amphora with flameworked figures and grapes. See what they had to say about the experience.

2300º: Finger Lakes Finest (January 2013)
Video

The Corning Museum of Glass presents its popular 2300° series of art happenings each year, featuring live music, hot glassmaking, and great food and drink. This video gives you an inside look at the festivities at 2300°: Finger Lakes Finest (January 17, 2013), including music by The Blind Spots,

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