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Global Interconnections in Journal of Glass Studies, Volume 64

Journal of Glass Studies 64 has arrived at the Museum. This jewel of an issue with its emerald-green and gold cover contains the work of 39 authors from 12 countries. Its 12 articles and 11 Notes explore glass from around the globe and reveal exciting interconnections—geographical and disciplinary. The issue offers a complex portrait of a world linked by glass.

The authors investigate glass from the Bronze Age to the 20th century, looking at objects from Turkey, Poland, and Sri Lanka; Sudanese Nubia, Egypt, the Roman Empire from Cologne to the Middle East; as well as Jordan, Italy, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, India, and the United States.

2300° is BACK!

Get fired up and join us for the return of 2300°!

It’s been almost three years since the Museum last hosted a 2300° event. That was in February 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the Museum and indefinitely canceled the much-enjoyed program. 2020 was to be the 20th anniversary year of 2300° and the program had been fully revamped to be bigger and better, or, as Scott Ignaszewski, events and program manager, described it at the time: “We’ve kicked it up a notch!” Read more about the 20th-anniversary celebrations and the history of 2300° here.

CELEBRATING 25: From Small Ideas to Big Dreams, Hot Glass Demos Have Changed the Game!

This is part two of our three-part blog series celebrating 25 years of hot glass demonstrations at the Museum. In this blog, we’ll meet some of the current members of the Hot Glass Team and learn how hot glass demonstrations have expanded over the years, and in the process changed them as people as well.

Eric Meek, Sr. Manager of Hot Glass Programs, hired in March 2005
“I think the most impactful way we’ve expanded is when we take glassblowing out of the Museum and the expected environment here and share our work with new communities. For example, the work that we’ve done on the Celebrity Cruise ships and Mobile Hot Shop. It’s not just having the idea, it’s building a team of people who are capable and enthusiastic, and have the attitude to go for it. Everyone on our team is a good glassmaker, but there’s no one who relates the process better than we do. No one puts as much effort as we do into sharing information with our audiences.”

The CMoG Mobile Hot Shop set up in front of the Imagine Museum. — The Mobile Hot Shop set up in front of the Imagine Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Five Fun Facts: Little Known Gems About the Museum!

With 70+ years of history and thousands of objects, The Corning Museum of Glass is a mosaic of interesting information, including things that our visitors might not notice. Here’s a quick round-up of just some of the things you may not have known about CMoG.

1. Most of the first pieces added to the Museum’s collection came from Steuben Glass

In addition to making their own beautiful lead crystal glass, the Steuben Glass company collected objects that spanned the 3,500-year history of glassmaking. The impressive collection then became part of the Museum’s collection. 50.1.1 is the first item accessioned to the Museum collection and it is a cosmetic bottle made between 1400 to 1300 BCE. And in case you were wondering ’50’ represents the year the object joined our collection (though we now use the four-digit number for the year i.e. 2022) The first ‘1’ represents that the piece belongs to our Ancient glass collection and the second ‘1’ means that the object was the first piece added to our collection in that year.

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!