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Bringing Mickey Mouse to Corning: John Moran Begins his Blown Away Winners Residency

During his time on Blown Away Season 3, John Moran proved himself as a talented glass artist with his amazing sculpting skills and his heavy attention to detail. In each episode, he created breathtaking works of art that captured viewers and glass lovers all around the globe. As the winner of Season 3, Moran secured the opportunity to come to The Corning Museum of Glass for his very own residency. Leading up to his arrival this week, I had the chance to speak with him and ask a few questions about his start in glass, Blown Away, and what his future holds.

*Blown Away*‘s Season 3 winner, John Moran. Photo courtesy of David Leyes for marblemedia.

Bryn Van Horne: I want to start this interview by talking briefly about your background and what has inspired your work over time. What inspired you to want to start blowing glass?

John Moran: I was at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and I was focusing on painting and illustration. And it was very, you know, you’re in your studio by yourself. It was really the kind of elite art people who were there talking about stuff in a way that never really resonated with me. So, I was going to drop out of school. But then I decided to take a glass class. Che Rhodes was my TA for one of the sculpture classes and he convinced me to take a glass class. I don’t know how to explain it, but it wasn’t the upper elite artist talk anymore—It was just people doing their thing and they were very genuine about it. It was community. And this way of working that I found really pulled me in and it was something that I’d never had the opportunity to do before with painting and drawing. Glass was something completely new.

Spring ’23 Studio Residents Discuss Importance of Residencies

This Spring, The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass has a full and exciting lineup of Artists-in-Residence ready to go. Cedric Mitchell began his month-long residency last week and he will be joined shortly by Tobias Møhl. Hot on their heels, Eriko Kobayashi and Lisa Zerkowitz will be visiting later in April.

Cedric Mitchell.
Photo courtesy of the artist.

We asked all four very different artists why residencies at The Studio are so important to an artist’s work and the response was unanimous. So, let’s see what they had to say.

Cedric Mitchell (California, United States) March 20 – April 21

“Residencies at The Studio offer unparalleled opportunities for artists to create freely and explore their creativity. The Studio is fully equipped with a range of facilities, tools, and resources that allow artists to experiment and push their artistic boundaries. The supportive environment, coupled with world-class resources, gives artists the freedom to create without the constraints of time or financial pressure.

Blown Away Contestants John Sharvin and Minhi England Collaborate in Corning

Join us at The Museum over Spring Break as we host stars from the hit Netflix show Blown Away, John Sharvin and Minhi England! John, from Pittsburgh, PA, came third behind season runner-up Minhi of Seattle, WA, in the popular third outing of the show streamed around the world in 2022.

Minhi England on the set of *Blown Away*.
Photo courtesy of David Leyes/Netflix © 2022

Both artists will be at the Museum for meet-and-greet opportunities in The Shops on Friday, April 7 from 1-2pm, and will be demonstrating live from the Amphitheater Hot Shop that Saturday and Sunday culminating with a brand-new collaboration between the two on Monday.

Ahead of their visit, we caught up with the pair to see what they have in store for us.

Whole Lotta Love! Guests Pick their Favorite Artwork for Valentine’s Day

This year marks the third time we have asked our visitors to vote for their favorite artwork at the Museum. From February 11 through 14, visitors left 689 hearts on 179 different artworks. That’s a whole lotta love!

So, why do we keep doing this activity around Valentine’s Day each year? For one thing, it’s fun! Visitors really enjoy it, and it’s an easy way for them to interact with the art and tell us what they care about. We’ve seen time and time again that our visitors want to share their opinions with us, whether on social media, on comment cards, or in written correspondence.

Many of our artworks received a lot of love this year!

Since the last time we offered this activity, there have been numerous changes to the artworks on view in the galleries. Some objects that were on view last year have been replaced with different ones. For example, last year’s most popular artwork was Dustin Yellin’s Cephaloproteus Riverhead (Four Hearts, Ten Brains, Blue Blood Drained through an Alembic). But it was changed out for some other works of art, so what did guests vote for instead?

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!