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Beakers, Bottles, and Bubbles: Wine science will make you glassy-eyed!

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post is by Chris Gerling and Anna Katharine Mansfield, who direct the Cornell Craft Beverage Institute at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY. In honor of our special exhibition Fire and Vine: The Story of Glass and Wine, we asked them to tell us a bit more about how glass is used to make wine.

On the face of it, ‘wine’ and ‘laboratory’ don’t have a lot in common – one’s an agricultural product steeped in history and tradition, and the other is the sterile domain of lab-coated scientists. As it turns out, the art of wine involves a lot of science, and the science of wine involves a lot of glass! Even the least scientific among us are familiar with the cartoon images of wildly-shaped glassware full of brightly-colored bubbling liquids… and, yes, the wine lab has stuff like that. But we use glass to analyze grapes and wine in all sorts of unexpected ways, starting in the vineyard.

Karol Wight: Highlights from a Decade at the Museum

To mark 10 years with The Corning Museum of Glass, President and Executive Director Karol Wight looks back at some of the most memorable moments of her tenure.

“Last year marked my tenth anniversary with the Museum,” Karol said, “and I am irrevocably changed by the experience. From the opening of our award-winning Contemporary Art + Design Galleries to shepherding this institution through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am endlessly inspired by our creative and dedicated staff, our breathtaking collections, our depth of scholarship, and our pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement.”

Frank Starr embraces Studio student and glass artist, Olga Rozin, at his home in Corning’s Northside neighborhood.

The Studio and glassmaking community lost a dear friend, Frank Starr, who passed away in October 2021. Frank opened his home and his heart to countless Studio students and artists who traveled to Corning to work and study at the Museum.

A native of Corning, Frank worked at the Museum as a Gallery Educator in the Education Department before his retirement in 2006. Frank was the inspiration for The Studio’s Fun With Glass group glassmaking program. Says Studio Director Amy Schwartz, “Frank would bring groups of school children over to The Studio from the Museum and ask if they might try things. He had such a spirit of generosity and he loved to share and exchange ideas.”

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!