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Glass Kwanzaa Display Gets a Refresh

Kwanzaa (pronounced kwahn-zuh) is a vibrant cultural holiday observed from December 26-January 1 that celebrates the African American community. The holiday serves as a time to gather as a family unit and cultural community to affirm communal values and African heritage.

*Kwanzaa Setting* on display at The Corning Museum of Glass.

The name Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili (Kiswahili) phrase mutaunda ya kwanza, meaning first fruits. Created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966, Kwanzaa combines aspects of several African harvest celebrations and focuses on the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) in the Swahili language. Each principle is commemorated in the daily lighting of a candle known as the mishumma saba (seven candles) along with a communal discussion about what the day’s principle means in the African American community.

Stepping Back in Time: A Virtual Reality Recreation of a Famed Glass Drawing Room

Tucked in the back corner of In Sparkling Company: Glass and the Costs of Social Life in Britain During the 1700s, the Museum’s current special exhibition, is a wall of mirrored glass panels on loan from the V&A Museum in London, England. The panels are huge, standing floor to ceiling, and at certain angles, they catch the light just so and sparkle behind their deep red color.

Imagine what it would be like to walk into a room where these panels covered all four walls. Now imagine what that room would look like in the evening with candlelight making the sparkles dance on all surfaces.

These panels are from the famed Glass Drawing Room of Northumberland House, once located in central London. They were designed for Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, by celebrated architect Robert Adam in 1770, and the room was completed five years later. In subsequent years, the room was altered and finally dismantled in 1874, before the house was demolished to make ways for new roads and a more modern London. No one has entered this room for 200 years.

That is, until now.

Things to Do When You’re a Student at The Studio… Besides Going to Class (2022 Edition)

The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass hosts more than 1,000 students in its glassmaking classes every year. We welcome students from all over the country and the world to our classes. Here are a few things students can look forward to doing during their time in Corning.

Students taking a flameworking class at The Studio.

1. GO ON A TOUR OF THE MUSEUM’S HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Join The Studio’s Resident Adviser, William (Bill) Gudenrath, for a private tour of the Museum’s historical collections and discover 3,500 years of glass with an insightful glass master.

The Corning Museum of Glass is excited to announce the publication of Volume 63 of the Journal of Glass Studies (JGS). First produced in 1959, JGS is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes original research on topics related to the history of glass, from its beginnings to the mid-20th century. It appears in print annually every fall, with articles released to JStor a few months later.

At 412 pages, JGS 63 (2021) is among the largest volumes of the Journal ever produced, with 16 articles, 8 notes, and 5 necrologies. It is as international as ever, with 40 contributors based in 20 countries: China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Norway, Qatar, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Table of Contents with article abstracts can be found online.

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!