Lori, Marie (neighbor friend), and I took a one-day introductory class in glass blowing at Corning Museum of Glass recently.  It was a blast.  We each created several pieces designed to introduce us to the fundamentals.  I can confidently say that none will be classified as art or serve any useful functional purpose.  There were no severe burns and our instructor, Ross, was a patient and skilled (and entertaining) instructor. The best thing we developed in class was an increased appreciation for the gaffers (master glass blowers) who make it look so easy to create spectacular pieces.

Lori uses jacks, Paul blows, and Ross (our instructor) turns and cheerleads.

Lori and I made “snowmen”, bubbles, and cups in our introductory class on glass blowing.

We were a couple days early for peak Fall colors last weekend and we were a couple days late for peak colors today.  Peak colors at the Arboretum were estimated to be approximately 2.337 days ago.

Goldfish in the pond, probably discarded there by a student.

Asters

Ginko which, 5 days before was a solid green.

Teasel

Lori enjoys the red-maple ambience.

White birches.

Lori along the Fall trail.

Lori surrounded by yellow.

We attempt to be contemporary with a “selfie”.

This piece, made from soda lime glass in a Corning Museum of Glass studio is my first-ever attempt at hot glass forming. (Substantial assistance was provided by a very experienced glass blowing instructor.)

I am very fortunate to be selected to train to become a Corning Museum of Glass “Glass Guide” (formerly called a docent).  I’ll be trained over the next several months to learn the basics of the art, history, and technology of glass; become more familiar with CMoG’s glass works and resources spanning 3500 years; and learn how to help the Museum’s guests have an enjoyable and rewarding experience at the Museum.

I was motivated to pursue this as a retirement activity to do something worthwhile for the community, challenge my brain with continuous new learning experiences, and “rub elbows” with some superbly talented Museum staff and a rich variety of guests.

Basically this is about my health.  Lori and I have the fundamentals of diet and exercise covered but I need something to keep the noggin healthy.  Research has shown that challenging the mind is crucial to it’s continued function and combating many of the effects of aging. Similarly, maintaining quality social interactions has great benefits for emotional and mental health.

I couldn’t think of a much more effective way to keep mentally active than working at a world-class museum with the world’s largest collection of glass objects, the world’s most comprehensive library of all materials related to glass, and an extraordinary staff devoted to research, teaching, and sharing the fascinating story of this one substance.

My first day of class I even got to make my first piece of glass art in one of the glass studios.  How cool is that?

These are some of the 100 gobolets submitted by glass blowers for consideration of the Glass 1959 exhibition at Corning Museum of Glass.

These are some of the slides of glass works submitted for consideration for “New Glass: A Worldwide Survey (1979)” at the Corning Museum of Glass.

The first 200-inch borosilicate glass mirror made by Corning Glass Works in 1934 failed during pouring but was used to test annealing procedures before the 2nd, successful, blank was poured. The first blank is now an iconic part of the Corning Museum of Glass.

A beautiful pedestrian bridge crosses the Chemung River between the vicinity of the Corning Museum of Glass and the downtown section of Corning.