The trip was organized by Glass Collaborations, with the support of Advantage West Midlands & UKTI, representing small studio artists from the West Midlands region.
The artists showcased their work as part of the themed exhibition ‘Same Difference’, an exhibition of contemporary glass by English designer-makers from Stourbridge and West Midlands, and German designer-makers from Frauenau and Bavaria. The exhibit compares different artists’ approaches to glassmaking while using the same techniques. The exhibition was hosted by the Cedar Arts Center at the Houghton Gallery on Cedar Street, Corning.
From the West Midlands, three artists – Jacqueline Cooley, Jo Newman and Helen Millard – who showcased their glassworks at the gallery, have been invited back to Corning in July 2010, to teach master classes to students from around the world.
The works of Jaqueline Cooley include ‘leaf bowl’, made of fused glass, with a diameter of 50cm and height of 10cm; ‘spring panel’ in green and turquoise fused glass measuring 40x40cm, and ‘autumn panel’ in red and turquoise fused glass; measuring 40x40cm.
Cooley said, “The Corning Museum of Glass is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of glass, representing three-and-a-half thousand years of international glass making. So to see contemporary glass creations from the West Midlands on display in such company is testament to the talent that we have in the region.”
Helen Millard, who was one of the artisans to be invited to teach in Corning, completed a degree in glass at West Surrey College of Art and Design in 1989. She worked as an apprentice at The Glass House, Covent Garden and later Islington, London, between 1990 and 1998, where she was trained by Ronnie Wilkinson, the chief glass maker for the Whitefriars factory in London. A collection of handcrafted, hand blown pieces from Helen Millard can be viewed at her online store.
The West Midlands is well established as a creative hub for glass artistry, with over 50 artists working in the region, including names such as Martin Andrews, Allister Malcolm, Sue Parry, Jonathan Harris, and Nikki Williams.
Corning, New York, has held major influence over the glass making artistry for over 150 years, due to its innovation and research and brings together artists, collectors, scholars, students, and educators from all over the world.
