Cruising with the Hot Glass Show Glassblowers

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.

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!

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.

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.”