Dayton Celebrates Glass: Chihuly, Littleton, Labino and Beyond
Logistics:
When necessary, divide into groups of 10; for children, one chaperone/10 students.
Remind visitors of museum manners [due to the fragile medium, this is important for all visitors]:
Maintain 2 foot distance from objects
Walk and move carefully
Don’t touch
Speak quietly
Allow time for people to react to what they see within each section.
If needed, escort people to the Tom Chapman interpretive room to avoid too many people in one
section at a time.
Layout: The exhibition is loosely organized by processes employed to create the objects.
Theme: Dayton Celebrates Glass showcases the Dayton region’s love of studio glass, ranging from the
early pioneers of the studio movement through today’s artistic innovators. The phrase “studio glass”
identifies artists who separated glass making from industrial production to experiment with form, rather
than create traditionally functional objects, such as glassware and vases.
Stations: 20 minute (youth) tour
Objective: To convey the narrative of the studio glass movement, as taught by the pioneers to their
students, and to experience the variety of ways each generation adapted the innovations of their
predecessors.
Stations
Pioneers in Glass
Process: Blown Glass
Second Generation – Hot Glass
Fused and Cast Glass
Lampwork and Flamework
Cold Glass
Topic
-Emphasize Chihuly, as most familiar name, and
one of his Macchia, then mention his connection
to Littleton (his teacher) and Labino and their
efforts in Toledo
-Lino Tagliapietra
-Dan Dailey: expression/reaction
-Steven Powell: abstraction/connect to
Tagliapietra
-Toots Zynsky/student of Chihuly/Fused Glass
-Harue Shimomoto/student of Zynsky
-Marc Peiser/Cast Glass
-Paul Stankard/botanical/small work
-Christopher Ries/cold sculpting/botanical/large
work
1
Station 1
Pioneers in Glass
20-minute (youth) tour
Process: blown glass


Used for centuries by gathering a mass of molten glass on the end of a hollow metal pole, called
a blowpipe, and enlarging it by blowing through the pipe
The pioneers made blown glass into more expressive and colorful shapes, also liberated
movement of blowpipe to expand size and create organic forms
Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941)
Background: The exhibition starts with Chihuly, one of the most well known names in studio glass; the
acrylic paintings at beginning of show illustrate his work in another fluid medium
 Biography: Chihuly a student of one of the first pioneers, Harvey Littleton at UW-Madison,
graduated in 1967
o went to Venice, Italy to learn from its long tradition of glass-making with team effort,
and to RISD, where he also taught,
o established Pilchuck Glass School in 1971 north of Seattle, Washington (he was originally
from Tacoma, Washington)
Questions:
 Chihuly was a “pioneer” – what does that mean? How can an artist be a “pioneer”?
 Ask participants who has heard of Chihuly and what do they associate with Chihuly
glass? Lead this question to discussion of the Macchia series, such as . . .
Crimson Lake Macchia with Chrome Yellow Lip Wrap, c. 1997, blown glass
Background:
 Macchia refers to the Italian word for “spotted”; combined with colors and shapes, alludes to
natural objects, such as stones, shells
 Developed when Chihuly challenged himself to create a method that would employ many
colors, which he added during the blowing process
Prompt: Notice differences between inside and outside of the macchia
Question:
 How does light effect how you perceive the colors? More variation on outside than inside;
different patterns outside and in; colorful shadows cast
Prompt: Ask viewers to compare Macchia to work by Littleton (Ruby and Blue Double Descending Arc,
c. 1983) and Labino (Golden Vase with Encased Design, 1970) in this section. Lead viewers to recognize
that the organic form and suspended color of the Macchia illustrate Chihuly’s expansion of methods
employed by the two men credited with originating the Studio Glass movement in the 1960s, Harvey
Littleton, who was Chihuly’s teacher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Dominick Labino. In
1962, Littleton convinced the Toledo Museum of Art to host a workshop with Labino to demonstrate
glass as a medium for contemporary art.
2
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934); Dinosaur, c. 2000
Background:
 Biography: Born on the island of Murano (Venice), Italy
-In 1979, he brought the techniques of Venetian glassblowing to the Pilchuck Glass
School at Chihuly’s invitation, which had profound effects on the studio glass
movement both in the United States and around the world.
 His work noted for its complexity, elegance, and often a filigree technique known as vetro a
reticello (translation: glass with a small network).
Questions: How many textures do you recognize in the glass? How do the textures, colors and lines
effect the visual appearance?
Station 2: Second Generation—Hot Glass
Dan Dailey (American, born 1947)
20-minute (youth) tour
Righteous, 2013
Background:
 Biography: founded the glass program at the Massachusetts College of Art and worked for
Christallerie Daum and Steuben Glass
 Process: blown glass, sandblasted and acid polished which accounts for the surface effects;
observe the tonal variations in the head and shirt
Question: Dailey employs the process of blown glass to create figures, in this example, quite
naturalistically. He also aims to tell a story. What story does this tell you? Is it funny, disappointing,
contradictory . . . ?
Steven Powell (American, born 1951) Licking Purple Manic, 2001
Background:
 Biography: first studied ceramics at Centre College, then earned an MFA in ceramics at Louisiana
State University, where he also first encountered glass making. He returned to Centre College to
teach and founded a glass program
 Process: Murrini (Italian for glass rolled through a pattern – revived by Venetians in the 16th
century): blown glass rolled through pattern composed of colored glass beads – linked to
Tagliapietra’s layering of threaded glass (look back to Dinosaur) and Chihuly’s Macchia
 Artist’s aim: emotional expression through color
Questions:
 The artist wants to be gestural, in a way comparable to Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock – ask
viewers to think about how this applies (vivid color: lines and shapes created via expansion of
glass rather than individually controlled by the artist)
 Relative to this physical quality, the artist compares his pieces to the form of the human body.
Transition Question: Which object in the next section do you think is by a student of Chihuly? Why?
3
Station 3 Fused and Cast Glass
20-minute (youth) tour
Toots Zynsky (American, 1951) Ebbing Chaos, 1997
Background:
 Biography: studied at RISD (1971) when Chihuly was there, also attended Pilchuck Glass School
and studied in Venice
o her work combines qualities of sculpture, painting and decorative arts
o she thinks of the glass threads like painting – note flow of color, resembles brushstrokes
o she’s challenged by the movement and fragility of glass
 Process: Fused Glass -- fired at a very high temperature and often slumped
o she starts with glass threads arranged in a disk shape; the disk is slumped over a core,
placed in kiln, and the object’s shape adjusted by hand occasionally
Harue Shimomoto (American, contemporary) Yume, 2014
Background: Earned a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; a student of Toots
Zynsky
Question: How is her work similar and different from Zynsky’s? Is there anything about this work that
reminds you of a painting? glass threads fused into loose disks and suspended; colors and shapes also
resemble swirled brushstrokes. Note that Shimomoto changes the relationship of the glasswork to
gravity.
Mark Peiser (American, born 1938) Behind the Mountain, c. 1980s
Background: earned a Bachelor of Science in Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology; the first
Resident Glass Craftsman at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina
Process: Cast Glass – made with a mold
Prompt: Note the play of solids and voids; flat circular surface looks concave from certain angles and
colors change; colors cast in shadow
Question: How does the title relate to the object?
Interpretive Area (good space to wait if stations get backed up)
Tom Chapman
Biography: posted on exhibition signs – a Dayton artist and teacher; like many studio glass artists, he
employed both Venetian and Western techniques
4
Station 4
Lampwork and Flamework
20-minute (youth) tour
Both names identify a process with a long history, using a torch or lamp to melt glass and then blow or
shape with tools or by hand
Paul Stankard (American, born 1943) Golden Orb Cloistered Column with Blossom,
Flowers, Plants, Figures & Insects, c. 2000
Process (relevant for all objects in this case): Lampwork -- uses torches to heat glass then manipulate it
– in this example to adhere tiny, glass shapes to each other before embedding in transparent glass orb
Question: How many shapes can you identify?
Transition: Stankard exemplifies how artist’s work in miniature, in contrast the next section includes an
oversize representation of a botanical subject . . .
Station 5
Cold Glass
Process: Optic Glass starts with cold glass that is transformed by cutting, etching, and grinding, to name
a few methods
Christopher Ries (American, born 1952) Sunflower IV, c. 2012
(1100 pounds, 43” diameter)
Background:
 Biography: raised near Columbus, OH; studied ceramics at OSU – study of glazing led to interest
in glass
o MFA UW Madison; began career as glass blower, switched to sculpting cold glass in the
1970s
 Process: utilized various methods applied to cold glass, including cutting, grinding and polishing
o used gold leaf on petals – enhances light effect
o forms reflect internally, transmit abstract shapes
Question: Ask participants to describe the optical experience: as viewer moves around the object,
forms enlarge and shrink; seem both close-up and faraway; shifts in detail, color make the sculpture
visually dynamic
Conclusion
Questions: If you were to become an artist who created with glass, which process would you use?
Which artist would you call for advice?
Encourage visitors to revisit the sections before exiting to look at other examples.
5
Dayton Celebrates Glass: Chihuly, Littleton, Labino and Beyond
Logistics:
When necessary, divide into groups of 10; for children, one chaperone/10 students.
Remind visitors of museum manners [due to the fragile medium, this is important for all visitors]:
Stay 2 feet away from objects -- Walk and move carefully -- Don’t touch -- Speak quietly
Allow time for people to react to what they see within each section
If needed, escort people to the Tom Chapman interpretive room to avoid if sections back up.
Layout: The exhibition is loosely organized by processes employed to create the objects.
Theme: Dayton Celebrates Glass showcases the Dayton region’s love of studio glass, ranging from the
early pioneers of the studio movement through today’s artistic innovators. The phrase “studio glass”
identifies artists who separated glass making from industrial production to experiment with form, rather
than create traditionally functional objects, such as glassware and vases.
Stations: 40 minute (adult) tour
Objectives:
 To convey the innovative techniques and artistic expression that led to recognition of pioneers of
the studio glass movement
 To convey the narrative of the studio glass movement, as taught by the pioneers to their
students, and to experience the variety of ways each generation adapted the innovations of their
predecessors.
Stations
Pioneers in Glass
Second Generation – Hot Glass
Fused and Cast Glass
Lampwork or Flamework
Cold Glass
Topic
-Emphasize Chihuly, as most familiar name, and
one of his Macchia, then connect him to Littleton
(his teacher) and Labino and their efforts in Toledo
-Connect Chihuly’s Navajo Blanket series to work
of his student, Morris, Petroglyph
-Mention Lino Tagliapietra and the importance of
the tradition of Venetian glass-making for many of
these artists, including Chihuly
-Mary Shafer/slumping/student of Chihuly
-Martin Blank: abstract
-Peter Houk: naturalistic
-Steven Powell: murrini/motion/connect to
Tagliapietra
-Toots Zynsky: student of Chihuly/fused glass
-Shimomoto: student of Zynsky
-Marc Peiser: cast glass
-Paul Stankard: botanical/small work
Christopher Ries: cold sculpting/botanical/large
work
6
Station 1
Pioneers in Glass
40-minute (adult) tour
Process: blown glass


Used for centuries by gathering a mass of molten glass on the end of a hollow metal pole, called
a blowpipe, and enlarging it by blowing through the pipe
The pioneers made blown glass into more expressive and colorful shapes, also liberated
movement of metal pipe to expand size and create organic forms
Dale Chihuly (American, born 1941)
Background: The exhibition starts with Chihuly, one of the most well known names in studio glass; the
acrylic paintings at beginning of show illustrate his work in another fluid medium
 Biography: Chihuly a student of one of the first pioneers, Harvey Littleton at UW-Madison,
graduated in 1967
o went to Venice, Italy to learn from its long tradition of glass-making with team effort,
and to RISD, where he also taught,
o established Pilchuck Glass School in 1971 north of Seattle, Washington (he was originally
from Tacoma, Washington)
Navajo Horse Blanket Cylinder, 1976
-part of Navajo Blanket series
-process: one of Chihuly’s most important innovations – to roll hot glass onto a pattern of glass
threads – called it drawing on glass
-Narrative: nearby, William Morris’ Petroglyph Vessel, 1991 (American, born 1956) – Chihuly’s
student and studio assistant– here also “drawing” with glass and shared interest in historic
motifs; simplified figures against fields of color
Crimson Lake Macchia with Chrome Yellow Lip Wrap, c. 1997, blown glass
Background:
 Macchia refers to the Italian word for “spotted”; combined with colors and shapes, alludes to
natural objects, such as stones, shells
 Developed when Chihuly challenged himself to create a method that would employ many
colors, which he added during the blowing process
Prompt: Notice differences between inside and outside of the macchia
Question:
 How does light effect how you perceive the colors? More variation on outside than inside;
different patterns outside and in; colorful shadows cast
7
Prompt: Ask viewers to compare Macchia to work by Littleton and Labino in this section. Lead viewers
to recognize that the organic form and suspended color of the Macchia illustrate Chihuly’s expansion of
methods employed by the two men credited with originating the Studio Glass movement in the 1960s,
Harvey Littleton, who was Chihuly’s teacher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dominick
Labino.
Harvey Littleton (American, 1922-2013)
Background:
o Biography: his father directed research at Corning Glass;
-Harvey trained in ceramics at Cranbrook School of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI
-turned to glass while teaching at UW-Madison, inspired to create glass in which
expressive form was more important than function – gave him the freedom to
experiment with process
-streamlined process to make it easier to learn than industrial process
Ruby and Blue Double Descending Arc, c. 1983: interested in color, but more so in the strength
of form, the frozen movement – this matters most; simultaneously shows inside and
outside, merging and separation; stretches color through space
Dominick Labino (American, 1910-87)
Background:
o Biography: In charge of glassmaking at a milk bottle plant in Clarion, Pennsylvania, then
a plant in Ohio
-Considered himself an inventor rather than an artist and holds more than sixty patents
in the U.S. for industrial glass processes, including the heat-resistant fibers used
in space shuttles.
Golden Vase with Encased Design, 1970: abstract color pattern
Collaboration: 1962 – Littleton convinces Toledo Museum of Art to host workshop with Labino
to demonstrate glass as a medium for contemporary art. Innovation: combined Littleton’s small
furnace, inspired by his study of glass in Venice, with Labino’s low melting point fiberglass
beads.
Mary Schaffer (American, born 1947); Three by Four, 1998
Background:
 Biography: Studied painting at RISD in 1960s, and graduated with a degree in illustration; turned
to glass in 1970s, and learned from Chihuly
o Recognized worldwide as one of the founding artists of the American Studio Glass
Movement.
o Slumping: known as a pioneer of ‘slumped’ glass -- a technique in which objects are
made in a kiln by shaping glass over molds at high temperatures
8

She began mixing glass and metal tools, casting, dipping and slumping glass
from objects found in flea markets and junk yards, and innovatively extending
her materials to include light, bronze, steel, stone and glass, water and sound.
 Here a combination of mass-produced object and unique artistic creation
Question: How is “slumping” similar to Chihuly’s Macchia or the work by Littleton? To some extent,
permits molten glass to assume natural organic forms as it is heated and cooled.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934); Dinosaur, c. 2000
Background:
 Biography: Born on the island of Murano (Venice), Italy
o In 1979, he brought the techniques of Venetian glassblowing to the Pilchuck Glass
School at Chihuly’s invitation, which had profound effects on the studio glass
movement both in the United States and around the world.
 His work noted for its complexity, elegance, and often, a filigree technique known as vetro a
reticello (translation: glass with a small network).
Question: How many textures do you recognize in the glass? How do the textures, colors and lines
effect the visual appearance?
9
Station 2: Second Generation—Hot Glass
40-minute (adult) tour
Peter Houk (American, contemporary); Big Dig Tacoma #4 (2011) or #14 (2013)
Background:
 Biography: from Dayton, OH; now Director of the Glass Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
 Process: Blown glass combined with landscape imagery created with the Graal technique, an
engraving process incorporated into blown glass
Prompt: note how the images seem simultaneously familiar and mysterious
Martin Blank (American, born 1962) Amber Quiver II, 2012
Background:
 Biography: Earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design, then worked
with Chihuly
 Process: called hot sculpted glass – turns molten glass into components for sculpture
Prompt: note how light enhances the texture, swirling colors of glass and shadows, and rippling edges of
the glass – flow and motion important qualities of his work
Question: How does the title Quiver apply to what you see?
Steven Powell (American, born 1951) Licking Purple Manic, 2001
Background:
 Biography: first studied ceramics at Centre College, then earned an MFA in ceramics at Louisiana
State University, where he also first encountered glass making. He returned to Centre College to
teach and founded a glass program
 Process: Murrini (Italian for glass rolled through a pattern – revived by Venetians in the 16th
century): blown glass rolled through pattern composed of colored glass beads – linked to
Tagliapietra’s layering of threaded glass (look back to Dinosaur) and Chihuly’s Macchia
 Artist’s aim: emotional expression through color
Questions:
 The artist wants to be gestural, in a way comparable to Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock – ask
viewers to think about how this applies (vivid color: lines and shapes created via expansion of
glass rather than individually controlled by the artist)
 Relative to the gestural quality, the artist compares his pieces to the form of the human body
Transition Question: Which object in the next section do you think is by a student of Chihuly? Why?
10
Station 3 Fused and Cast Glass
40-minute (adult) tour
Toots Zynsky (American, 1951) Ebbing Chaos, 1997
Background:
 Biography: studied at RISD (1971) when Chihuly was there, also attended Pilchuck Glass School
and studied in Venice
o her work combines qualities of sculpture, painting and decorative arts
o she thinks of the glass threads like painting – note flow of color, resembles brushstrokes
o she’s challenged by the movement and fragility of glass
 Process: Fused Glass -- fired at a very high temperature and often slumped
o she starts with glass threads arranged in a disk shape; the disk is slumped over a core,
placed in kiln, and the object’s shape adjusted by hand occasionally
Harue Shimomoto (American, contemporary) Yume, 2014
Background: Earned a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; a student of Toots
Zynsky
Question: How is her work similar and different from Zynsky’s? Is there anything about this work that
reminds you of a painting? glass threads fused into loose disks and suspended; colors and shapes also
resemble swirled brushstrokes. Note that Shimomoto changes the relationship of the glasswork to
gravity.
Mark Peiser (American, born 1938) Behind the Mountain, c. 1980s
Background: earned a Bachelor of Science in Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology; the first
Resident Glass Craftsman at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina
 Process: Cast Glass – made with a mold
Prompt: Note the geometric shapes; play of solids and voids; flat circular surface looks concave from
certain angles and colors change; colorful shadows cast
Question: How does the title relate to the object?
Interpretive Area (good space to wait if stations get backed up)
Tom Chapman
Biography: posted on exhibition signs – a Dayton artist and teacher; like many studio glass artists, he
employed both Venetian and Western techniques
11
Station 4
Lampwork and Flamework
40-minute (adult) tour
Both names identify a process with a long history, using a torch or lamp to melt glass and then blow or
shape with tools or by hand
Paul Stankard (American, born 1943) Golden Orb Cloistered Column with Blossom,
Flowers, Plants, Figures & Insects, c. 2000
Process (relevant for all objects in this case): Lampwork -- uses torches to heat glass then manipulate it
– in this example to adhere tiny, glass shapes to each other before embedding in transparent glass orb
Question: How many shapes can you identify?
Transition: Stankard exemplifies how artist’s work in miniature, in contrast the next section includes an
oversize representation of a botanical subject . . .
Station 5
Cold Glass
Process: Optic Glass starts with cold glass that is transformed by cutting, etching, and grinding, to name
a few methods
Christopher Ries (American, born 1952) Sunflower IV, c. 2012
(1100 pounds, 43” diameter)
Background:
 Biography: raised near Columbus, OH; studied ceramics at OSU – study of glazing led to interest
in glass;
o MFA UW Madison; began career as glass blower, switched to sculpting cold glass in the
1970s
 Process: utilized various methods applied to cold glass, including cutting, grinding and polishing
o used gold leaf on petals – enhances light effect
o forms reflect internally, transmit abstract shapes
Question: Ask participants to describe the optical experience: as viewer moves around the object,
forms enlarge and shrink; seem both close-up and faraway; shifts in detail, color make the sculpture
visually dynamic
Conclusion
Questions: Which artist or process was most interesting? Seemed most difficult or most innovative?
Encourage visitors to revisit the sections before exiting to look at other examples.
12