Zooming in on the Library Conservation Lab: Marginal illustrations and on-the-fly edits from the Whitefriars Collection
This post comes from Ilaria Camerini and Erin Fitterer, Rakow Library interns during the summer of 2018 working on the conservation of Library collections, including the Whitefriars stained glass cartoon collection. Read more about this project and the collection in previous posts.
Ilaria and Erin examine silver gelatin photographs.
This is the fourth year of the annual Whitefriars conservation project, a collaborative effort between West Lake Conservators and the Rakow Research Library. We — Ilaria Camerini and Erin Fitterer — are the lucky paper conservation interns for the summer, and we are excited to contribute to this project.
The Whitefriars stained glass cartoon collection consists of 1,800 rolls of cartoons, or preparatory drawings, for stained glass windows. Because of the way they were originally stored, each roll holds an unknown number of paper artworks. There are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 cartoons, working drawings, and photographs overall. Read more →
Bon voyage! Celebrating a decade at sea
There are many unforgettable sights in the world.
Looking up at glaciers in Alaska and the icy fjords of the Inside Passage, while the bow of your cruise ship gently ripples the calm, crystal-blue water all around you, is certainly one of them. The seaward approach to the fortified old-town of Dubrovnik on the sun-scorched Dalmatian coastline of Croatia is another. But watching molten glass take on a strange new form while the silhouette of New Zealand’s Southern Alps mountain range grows on the horizon, might be, hands down, the best sight of all.
Many of the gaffers at The Corning Museum of Glass have had the opportunity to experience these places and marvel at the beauty and diversity this planet has to offer, as they venture out from port with the Museum’s Blow Glass at Sea program with Celebrity Cruises.
For the past 10 years, the Museum has successfully partnered with the Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, and Celebrity Eclipse to bring hot glass demonstrations and the wonder of glass innovation to people and places the world over. Read more →
Kung Fu at The Corning Museum of Glass
Here at The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG), it is common for Chinese visitors, after watching a Hot Glass Demonstration narrated in Mandarin, to give the “thumbs-up,” meaning “true Kung Fu” or “excellent Kung Fu.” One may wonder what the martial arts have to do with the art of glassmaking. In the Chinese-English dictionary [1], Kung Fu is defined as supreme skill from hard work.
功夫-gōng fu- skill; art; kung fu; labor; effort
It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any endeavor. A person who demonstrates extraordinary skill can be said to have Kung Fu. For instance: a poet, artist, athlete, translator, or even a glassmaker can possess Kung Fu.
With more Chinese thumb-ups than our eyes can count, one wonders what kind of Kung Fu these Chinese tourists perceive that moves them to spread the good word about the Museum. Based on conversations with Chinese visitors, there are three things about a visit to CMoG that embody the Chinese perception of Kung Fu. Read more →
