My visit to the Corning Museum of Glass

CMOG 17th century glass beadwork

Chiseled crusted optical quality glass (glass artist is Dejonghe)

Kids too can design and create their own glass masterpieces

Piece in the Corning paperweight collection

Take a close look at the bunny’s fur…

In the Heineman family gallery of contemporary glass

Earlier this month I visited Pittsburgh for the Ceramics and Glass Industry Foundation (CGIF) board meeting and for Deltech’s participation in the expo at the Materials Science & Technology Conference (MS&T). From there I made

the five hour drive to Painted Post New York, home of the renowned Corning

Detail from a wall size panel

Mixed media funk

Chihuly glass sculpture in the entryway

Museum of Glass (CMOG). A beautiful day with temperatures in the low seventies. On the drive I was treated to the crimson, gold, and orange colors we all associate with fall in that part of the United States. That made up for dealing with heavy traffic, especially between Pittsburgh and Erie, Pennsylvania.

The museum is amazing.  There are glass blowing demonstrations (including making glass eyes !). You can do some glass blowing yourself (I passed on that).  On display are glasses made this year and thousands of years ago. There are  other scientific demonstrations (think fiberoptics and optical glass for telescopes). And finally there is a gift shop that has beautiful pieces, too. (I didn’t get out of there without using my credit card.)  Photography is welcomed provided you don’t use flash. And I took pictures;  lots of them. Most of the pictures here are from the drive and my one day visit to the museum.

Right now there is a Tiffany glass exhibition featuring many finished pieces including one of the columns that graced the entry to the renowned showroom,  information on how the mosaics were conceived and executed, and

From the Tiffany exhibit at the Corning Museum of Glass

demonstrations of how the mosaic glasses were made. The exhibit opened in May and is closing in very early January, 2018. I was just plain lucky to be there for this unique opportunity.

Although I didn’t have time for additional touring, Painted Post is in the Finger Lakes region of New York, home to many wineries.

If you have a scientific or aesthetic interest in glass – or both – you might want to check out these earlier blogs and some of the links they provide. One is about a PBS history of glass. The other is a story about a Dale Chihuly glass installation at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

By the way, you can see some Chihuly works at the Corning Museum of Glass, too including a huge and stunning piece in the main entry area.

On the way back to Pittsburgh I took a  short detour to Alfred University, home of the famed New York State College of Ceramics. It is also hom

Alfred Ceramic Art Museum

e to the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum. It was a Saturday, so the museum was not at all crowded and I got to view the items on display without distractions. In addition  I got to see a preview of some upcoming exhibits. Pictures from this venue are included here as well.  Look for Venus on a Half Shell, my favorite.

I had no idea Alfred was so close to Corning until advised b

Venus on a Half Shell at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum

y my colleague (CGIF board) and friend Dr. David Pye. Professor Pye will be honored for his many contributions to glass science, art, and teaching at the 2018 meeting of the Glass and Optical Materials Division of the American Ceramic Society. More on that in a future post.

At the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum