Behind the Glass

Home

CELEBRATING 25: Glassblowers Share Their Favorite Memories

As the UN-designated International Year of Glass comes to a close, so too does the Museum’s celebration of 25 years of Hot Glass Demonstrations. 2022 has shaped up to be a busy, energetic, and fun year and that won’t change as we head into 2023. As Eric Meek, senior manager of Hot Glass Programs says: “Glassmaking is part of what makes the Museum an attraction for families that might not have museum visits on their radar. We can expand on that—there’s a lot more we can do!”

The Hot Glass Team has been putting smiles on faces for 25 years.

This is the final entry of our celebratory three-part blog series. In this blog, members of the Hot Glass Team look back at some of their favorite memories and experiences working for The Corning Museum of Glass over the past 25 years.

Eric Meek, Sr. Manager of Hot Glass Programs, hired in March 2005
“The thing that makes me smile most is the opportunity that we’ve given so many glassmakers—a meaningful stepping stone where they can become much better glassmakers, but on top of that, they’re more comfortable in front of people, more professional because of their association with the Museum. I’m proud of it because I know the role I played in fostering so many people to create their own path in this field they’re passionate about.”

Open Access: Announcing the Inaugural Volume of Proceedings of the Annual Seminar on Glass

Almost every fall for 60 years, The Corning Museum of Glass has hosted its Annual Seminar on Glass. The single exception was in 2020, because of COVID-19. But come 2021, the Annual Seminar on Glass—based on the year’s special exhibition, In Sparkling Company: Glass and the Costs of Social Life in Britain during the 1700s—was back, this 59th time as the Museum’s first-ever online seminar, going fully virtual due to the continuing pandemic. (You can find the recordings of presentations and discussions on the Museum’s YouTube channel.)

The 59th seminar is also the source of another Museum first: the inaugural volume of a new Museum publications series, Annual Seminar on Glass Proceedings. Until now, there was no easily accessible, consistent yearly record of seminar outside the institutional archives and lecture videos in the Rakow Research Library. The Publications and Curatorial departments wanted to create a record of seminar events and discussions readily available for consultation. And we wanted something that could reach a global audience, combining the Museum’s vision of transforming the world’s understanding of the art, history, and science of glass and its pursuit of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“Almost everything will look three times as delicious served on glass. You’ll think of the magic table in the fairy tale when you see the miraculous change the swift dazzle of glass makes in your own table.”
The Little Book About Glassware, 1925

Many catalogs, such as this 1944 Fostoria guide to buying and using glassware, focused on the “glisten or sparkle” of glass that cannot be easily captured by other materials. Detail from cover of CMGL 89294

It is late autumn in Corning, NY, now. The leaves have fallen, the air is growing chillier, the days are shorter, and Thanksgiving is this week! We are leaving behind the season of picnics, barbeques, and family reunions. Families and friends will gather indoors for buffets, small informal parties, and sit-down meals. Why not take some entertaining tips from the days of dainty foods and color-coordinated meals? Using some tips from the 1920s and 30s, hosts of any gender can plan a party as stylish as one designed by a 1920s “modern housewife.”

New Glass Review 43: An Outside Perspective on the Best of Contemporary Glass

Get excited and check the mail, because New Glass Review returns this month for its 43rd issue.

An annual exhibition-in-print, New Glass Review features 100 of the most timely, innovative projects in glass produced during the year. Artworks include sculptures, vessels, installations, and other works in glass by emerging and established artists.

A flagship publication of The Corning Museum of Glass since 1980, New Glass Review is a cyclical reintroduction into the world of contemporary glass and the artists who inhabit it; artists who continually push the boundaries of the material and the limits of their expression.

Following an open call for submissions that receives hundreds of entries every year from countries across the world, New Glass Review is curated by the Museum’s curator of postwar and contemporary glass and a changing panel of guest curators. While the search for the Museum’s next contemporary curator was underway this past summer, Samantha De Tillio was invited to lead the selection process. De Tillo was joined by Davin K. Ebanks, Kim Harty, and Kimberly Thomas.

Amy Schwartz & William Gudenrath Honored with 2023 James Renwick Alliance for Craft Award

The Studio’s Amy Schwartz and William (Bill) Gudenrath were honored on Saturday, May 6 in Washington DC with the James Renwick Alliance for Craft (JRA) Distinguished Craft Educator Award for excellence and innovation in education. The biennial award was celebrated at the JRA Spring Craft Weekend with a Symposium, Gala, and Awards Brunch. Recognized for their influence on future artists and significant contributions to American education in the craft field, Amy and Bill’s selection as honorees was the first time in the ceremony’s 20-year history that both makers and educators were honored at the same time.

William (Bill) Gudenrath and Amy Schwartz with their award at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, May 6, 2023. Photo courtesy of the James Renwick Alliance.

Amy and Bill are the latest on a long list of distinguished honorees—the JRA Award has recognized some of the most influential craft artists in American history. This year, the other nominees included ceramic artist, social activist, and spoken word poet Roberto Lugo (the youngest artist to ever receive the Master of the Medium award); furniture maker Kristina Madsen; and curator, quilter, author, art historian, and aerospace engineer Carolyn Mazloomi.

CMoG Named One of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World”

Capping a truly momentous year for glass, The Corning Museum of Glass has achieved a new distinction: being named one of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World.”

The announcement was made during the closing festivities of the United Nations International Year of Glass (IYOG) 2022. The year officially concluded with a Conference and Ceremony at the University of Tokyo, Japan, on December 8-9, which was attended by our very own President and Executive Director Karol Wight. This event was followed by an official debriefing held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on December 14.

Lino Tagliapietra in the Museum’s Amphitheater Hot Shop, May 13, 2022.

Lino Tagliapietra may be retiring, but not before one final visit to The Corning Museum of Glass. Last weekend was a monumental one for Lino, the glassblowers and staff at the Museum, and all the guests who filled the Amphitheater Hot Shop to see the Maestro at work during what will be his final performance in Corning.

To celebrate Lino’s enduring legacy, we asked those lucky enough to know and work with him, to describe the impact he has made on the glass world. To no surprise, the response was fervent and unanimous: Lino’s impact is, and will always be, extraordinary!