Celebrating The Studio: Daniel Clayman

May 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass, one of the foremost teaching schools for glass in the world. To celebrate, we are featuring 20 artists in the 20 weeks leading up to the birthday. These artists have studied, taught, and created at The Studio. Each Saturday, we’ll share words and work from the artists who have formed a connection with our Studio and our staff.

Our first featured artist is Daniel Clayman.

Dan has been working with glass for more than 25 years. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1986 with a B.F.A. in glass. Dan maintains a studio in Providence, RI, and has completed numerous private and public commissions. He is a frequent visiting artist and speaker, and his work has been shown and collected throughout the United States and abroad, including Circular Object One on view here at the Corning Museum in the Contemporary Art+Design Wing.

What has your involvement been with The Studio over the years?  My involvement with The Studio started in 1997 teaching a class in kiln casting. As I acquire more knowledge from pursuing new visual thoughts, I enjoy coming back to The Studio periodically to teach. Most recently, I taught a two-day Master Class that was populated mostly with experienced studio artists. It was a great thrill to pass my brand of information on to such a skilled group!

What do you like about working at The Studio?  There are so many reasons I like teaching at The Studio. In no particular order of importance they are:

1. The staff always makes things run smoothly. Materials are always there, equipment always functional and spur of the moment needs are handled graciously.
2. The facility is quite amazing.
3. Access to the Museum and Library are a huge positive element. I am able to take students to the Museum on a moment’s notice to show an illustration of a point I had just made in a class lecture.
4. I like being in Corning, the quintessential small town of America.

As The Studio celebrates its 20th birthday, what would you say about its impact in the glass community?  The Studio has become one of the leading workshop format schools. As each of the schools evolve over time, they bring up the quality of what is being offered at all of the schools. Its residency programs allow for great experimentation and I have found the interface with other faculty invaluable. Also, Amy Schwartz, Bill Gudenrath, and Harry Seaman have been enormously supportive of me both as an artist and an educator.

Thanks Dan!

Learn more about classes, special programs, artist residencies, and instructors at The Studio.