Hello everyone! After a little weekend trip to Corning, New York to visit the Corning Museum of Glass, I think it’s only fair that I take time out of the busy blog schedule to gush about my favorite pieces at the museum!
You probably don’t know this, but I’m a huge fan of Blown Away, a glass blowing competition on Netflix. Since Blown Away and the Corning Museum of Glass are partners (with the winner of the competition receiving a residency), they exhibit glassware from the show, and I was absolutely delighted to learn they had some of the works I loved from season 4 on display… thus the inspiration for the trip!
One such piece comes from Season 4 episode 1, and it was created by Seattle based artist Morgan Peterson, a full-time team member for Dale Chihuly, titled Best Friends. This work depicts a bathtub and an unplugged toaster with smiling faces covered in bubbles, representing the relationship between Peterson and her best friend, quoted as being “Two lovely things on their own, but when they are together, there’s guaranteed chaos.” Best Friends is an unconventional piece, but it really appeals to those with dark humor, and I am extremely pleased that I got to see it up close and personally.
From the same season and episode, a favorite of both mine and my mother was a piece titled A Dress Dancing Among Broken Glass by Canadian based artist Hayden MacRae. It depicts two abstract polychromatic glass figures standing amongst shards of glass. The figures and shards are meant to represent dancing on broken dreams which serves as a reminder to us all to keep pushing forward.
Amongst the Blown Away works on display, there were famous names like Galle, Lalique, and Tiffany, but one piece in particular really caught my eye. Hanging from the ceiling was an impressive display of sausage links and various meats all cast in glass, aptly named Meat Chandelier. This work by Debra Czeresko is not only amusing to look at but is also a commentary on the glass blowing industry in general. Poking fun at the “Macho” male glassblowers with an obsession for Venetian glass, Czeresko turned a Venetian chandelier into what she describes as a “Meat fest” – and a meat fest it is!
Besides the exhibits, it was fun to watch demonstrations and look at the more industrial side of glass as well; overall it was a very enjoyable experience. If you are willing to make the 6.5-hour drive from Rhode Island to Corning and love art glass, I do believe it is well worth it!
