Most people don’t give much thought to glass. What is there to think about? It makes windows and cups. Bottles and lightbulbs. And, most would agree, household items aren’t that exciting. So how did glass end up getting its own museum? Well, maybe it’s not as dull as we think.
On the edge of the state of New York stands the city of Corning. And within that city, the Corning Museum of Glass. The Art Honor Society has visited this marvel in the past and plans to take its first trip back since COVID-19.
“We really enjoy going back because it’s not only a tour of the museum, but you also get to do workshops and work with the glass yourself,” adviser Kathryn Curry said. “It’s a lot of hands-on learning as well as learning about the history behind everything.”
The museum does have incredible history in it. Thirty five centuries of it to be exact. Pieces from ancient Egypt all the way back to mid-twentieth century America lie within its walls.
“‘Continuous Mile’ stands out to me,” adviser Eric Hoover said. “It’s a glass bead rope. It was made by a lady (Liza Lou) who worked with people in a village to make these glass beads. They assembled around four million of them.”
And not only the works inside of it, but also the building itself is a piece of art.
“The interior is all white on white,” Hoover said. “White floors, white walls. There’s lots of natural light that comes in so the whole place just radiates from the glass. There’s also stuff hanging from the ceilings in the exact position where the light will hit it, which is something else we’re looking forward to seeing.”
This year’s trip to Corning is especially exciting for the group, as they haven’t been in three years, and the museum, like many others, swaps residencies every so often.
“I’ve been there with my family before, so I’m pretty excited to go and see how it’s changed,” Art Honor Society member Elle Dalby said. “I was pretty young, so I don’t remember it all that much. But I do remember we made these little pendants out of glass. We melted the glass together, put on a string, and let it cool.”
While at the museum, the club will also be participating in a glass art workshop.
“We’ve done different things,” Curry said. “This time, we’re making glass flowers so each student will work individually with an artist. We’ve used glass ovens and we’ve done glass fusing in the past and we’ve made suncatchers twice.”
The club has been fundraising all school year for this trip and is set to leave at 6 a.m. on April 18.
“It’s a really cool experience,” Hoover said. “It’s something for students who don’t have a chance to go to museums. So that’s their first experience going to a museum, and they’re going to go back again. We hope it might spark some interest in future endeavors for them.”
