Coordinates: 47°14′44″N 122°26′01″W / 47.24556°N 122.43366°W / 47.24556; -122.43366

Museum of Glass
Bridge of Glass and glass blowing (cone) building
Established	2002
Location	Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Visitor figures	175,000
Director	Timothy Close
Website	www.museumofglass.org

The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a museum dedicated to the medium of glass art located in Tacoma, Washington. It is not to be confused with the various other Museums of Glass, such as the one in Corning, New York, as the museum focuses on Contemporary and Pacific Northwest glass-art.

The museum, the brainchild of Dr. Philip M. Phibbs, was designed by acclaimed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and opened in July 2002. It is located on the Thea Foss Waterway and near the University of Washington Tacoma in downtown. The museum is linked to the downtown area via Bridge of Glass. The bridge consists of thousands of glass-art masterpieces created by Dale Chihuly to make up the Venetian Wall, Seaform Pavilion and Crystal Towers.

The museum exhibits a conical building, which houses the glass blowing demonstrations. The room reaches 90 feet (27 m) and has two furnaces reaching temperatures of 2,400 °F (1,320 °C).^[1] There were also several other outdoor exhibits including the Water Forest (which was restored in summer 2009), reflecting pools and a waterfront promenade.

Mission[link]

The mission of the Museum of Glass is to provide a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions.

Visiting Artist Program[link]

Glassmaking in the Hot Shop

The Museum’s Visiting Artist Program invites internationally known artists and emerging artists from the region and around the world to work with the Museum’s resident Hot Shop Team to explore, invent and create with glass. The museum gives artists an opportunity to experiment and push the limits of their work. Offering a diverse mixture of culture, style, focus and expertise, each artist creates a sense of excitement and wonder, giving you the rare opportunity to witness professionals making art.

The Museum invites artists for week-long residencies (usually Wednesday-Sunday) and shorter residencies (usually Mondays and Tuesdays in the summer and Fridays the rest of the year).

Visiting Artists have included Preston Singletary, Lino Tagliapietra, Ginny Ruffner, Marvin Lipofsky, Dante Marioni, Anne Wilson, and Maya Lin.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Museum of Glass

• www.museumofglass.org

Leopold Blaschka working

Blaschka model of sea anemones

Leopold Blaschka (27 May 1822– 3 July 1895) and his son Rudolf Blaschka (17 June 1857–1 May 1939) were German glass artists, known for the production of biological models such as the Glass Flowers.

Early life of Leopold[link]

Leopold Blaschke was born in Český Dub, Bohemia, to a family which originated from Antoniwald in the Izera Mountains, a region known for processing glass, metals and gems.^[1] The family had also spent time in the glassblowing industry of Venice.^[2]

Leopold displayed artistic skills as a child, and was apprenticed to a goldsmith and gemcutter. He then joined the family business, which produced glass ornaments and glass eyes.^[2] He developed a technique which he termed "glass-spinning", which permitted the construction of highly precise and detailed works in glass. He also Latinised his family name to "Blaschka", and began to focus the business on the manufacture of glass eyes.^[1]

In 1853, Leopold was suffering from ill health and was prescribed a sea voyage. He travelled to the United States and back, using the time at sea to study and draw sea animals, primarily invertebrates.^[1]

Early models[link]

Blaschka model of jellyfish

Leopold's son Rudolf was born in 1857, and the family moved to Dresden to give their child better educational opportunities.^[1] Leopold began making glass models of exotic flowers which he had seen depicted in books. Prince Camille de Rohan heard about his work, and commissioned 100 models of orchids in his private collection.^[2] In 1863,^[1] the Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden commissioned Leopold to produce twelve models of sea anenomes.^[2] While these designs were based on drawings in books, Leopold was soon able to use his earlier drawings to produce highly detailed models of other species,^[1] and his reputation quickly spread.^[2]

Leopold began selling models of marine invertebrates to museums, aquaria, universities and other educational bodies who wanted visual aids but were unable to satisfactorily preserve such animals.^[1][2] These represented a great improvement on previous methods of presenting such creatures: drawings, pressing, photographs and papier-mâché or wax models.^[1] He gradually extended his range of work by studying marine animals from the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Mediterranean,^[1] and later constructed an aquarium at his house, in order to keep live specimens from which to model.^[2]

Contact with Harvard[link]

Part of the Harvard Glass Flowers collection

In about 1880, Rudolf began assisting his father with the models. In that year, they produced 131 models of sea slugs, jellyfish, and other animals for the Boston Society of Natural History Museum (now the Museum of Science). These models were seen by George Lincoln Goodale, who was in the process of setting up the Harvard Botanical Museum. In 1886, he travelled to meet the Blaschkas and, with some difficulty, convinced them to produce some new plant models for him.^[1] Some reports claim that Goodale saw a few glass orchids in the room where they met, surviving from the work two decades earlier.^[3] This commission required the Blaschkas to undertake considerable research into both the plant species and the manufacturing process.^[1]

The first few models the Blaschkas sent were badly damaged by U.S. Customs, but Goodale nonetheless appreciated the craftwork and showed them widely. Among the local residents who saw them were Elizabeth C. and Mary Lee Ware, who offered to pay for a long-term contract for the Blaschkas to produce models of plants for the museum.^[3] In 1887,^[4] the parties signed a contract for the Blaschkas to spend half their time producing models for Harvard. They continued to spend their remaining time making marine invertebrate models. This time, arrangements were made to send the models directly to Harvard, where museum staff could open them safely, observed by Customs staff.^[3] In 1890, the Blaschkas signed an exclusive ten-year contract with Harvard, for 8,800 marks per year, to make glass flowers.^[4] It was decided that they should be asked to model the widest possible range of plants, and some were to be shown being pollinated, or diseased in some way.^[1]

Production of the Glass Flowers[link]

The Blaschkas used a mixture of clear and coloured glass, sometimes supported with wire, to produce their models.^[4] Many pieces were painted, this work being entirely given to Rudolf.^[3] In order to represent plants which were not native to the Dresden area, the two studied the exotic plant collections at Stillnitz Castle^[4] and the Dresden Botanical Garden, and also grew some from seed sent from the United States.^[4] In 1892, Rudolf was sent on a trip to the Caribbean and the U.S. to study additional plants, making extensive drawings and notes.^[3]

Rudolf made a second trip to the U.S. in 1895. While he was overseas, Leopold died.^[3] Rudolf continued to work alone.^[5] By the early twentieth century, he found that he was unable to buy glass of suitably high quality, and so started making his own.^[4]

Rudolf continued making models for Harvard until 1938. By then aged 80, old and weary, he announced that he would retire.^[6] Neither he nor his father had taken on an apprentice, and Rudolf left no successor.^[1] For Harvard alone, Leopold and Rudolf made more than 3,000 models, 780 showing species at life-size, with others showing magnified details.^[4]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blaschka Models of Coelenterata

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Förderverein "Naturwissenschaftliche Glaskunst Blaschka-Haus e. V", URANIA Dresden
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Leopold + Rudolf Blaschka / The Glass Aquarium, Design Museum
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "The Fragile Beauty of Harvard's Glass Flowers", The Journal of Antiques and Collectables, February 2004
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Patricia A. Emison, Growing with the grain, p.184
5. ^ "The Blaschka Flower Models", Popular Science, March 1897, p.668
6. ^ "Bohemian maker's retirement completes Harvard glass-flower collection", LIFE, 28 Feb 1938, p.24

External links[link]

• National Museum of Wales
• Corning Museum
• Blaschka Marine Inverebrates at Cornell University
• Blaschka models at the Grant Museum, University College, London]
• La Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica, Firenze

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2009)

Lino Tagliapietra and Checco Ongaro

Lino Tagliapietra (born 1934 in Murano, Italy) is an Italian glass artist.

Training[link]

Tagliapietra was born on the island of Murano in 1934. Murano, an island whose history of glass dates back to 1291, provided Tagliapietra an ideal educational environment to develop his techniques and glass artistry. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed by the glass maestro Archimede Seguso.^[1] Nine years later, at the age of 21, he earned the rank of maestro.

Career[link]

For the next 25 years Tagliapietra worked in association with a number of Murano's top glass factories, including Vetreria Galliano Ferro, Venini & C., La Murrina, Effetre International and EOS Design nel Vetro.^[2] His influence on the American art glass studio movement is primarily attributed to his colleague Dale Chihuly. In 1968 Chihuly visited Murano and learned from Tagliapietra, as well as other glass maestri, including Pino Signoretto.

In 1979 Tagliapietra travelled to the United States to teach at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington. This event marked the beginning of knowledge sharing amongst the American Glass Artists and the Italian maestros, who in the past had guarded their techniques as valuable trade secrets.

The 1980s marked Lino's entry into the studio artist world after over a decade of traveling, teaching and working with studio artists worldwide.

Awards[link]

• 1998
  • The Libensky Award, Chateau Ste Michelle Vineyard and Winery and Pilchuck Glass School

• 1997
  • Urkunde Goldmedaille, Germany
  • The Glass Art Society Lifetime Achievement Award

• 1996
  • Urban Glass Award for Preservation of Glassworking Techniques
  • The 11th Rakow Commission, The Corning Museum of Glass

References[link]

1. ^ Carl I. Gable, Murano Magic: Complete Guide to Venetian Glass, its History and Artists (Schiffer, 2004), p. 220. ISBN 0-7643-1946-9.
2. ^ Ibid.

External links[link]

• Lino Tagliapietra's Home Page
• Schantz Gallery
• Sculpture Objects & Functional Art (SOFA) images, artist interview
• Process photographs, 2007
• Process photographs, 2006

Mark Matthews
File:MarkMatthews.jpg Mark Matthews during his tenure as a Buffalo Soldier (date unknown)
Born	(1894-08-07)August 7, 1894 Greenville, Alabama
Died	September 6, 2005(2005-09-06) (aged &10000000000000111000000111 years, &1000000000000003000000030 days) Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1910 – 1947/9
Rank	1st Sergeant
Unit	10th Cavalry
Battles/wars	Pancho Villa Expedition World War II Battle of Saipan

Mark Matthews (August 7, 1894 – September 6, 2005) was an American veteran of the Second World War and a Buffalo Soldier. Born in Alabama and growing up in Ohio, Matthews joined the 10th Cavalry Regiment when he was only 15 years old, after having been recruited at a Lexington, Kentucky racetrack and having documents forged so that he appeared to meet the minimum age of 17. While stationed in Arizona, he joined General John J. Pershing's Mexico expedition to hunt down Mexican bandit Pancho Villa. He was later transferred to Virginia, where he took care of President Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor's horses and was a member of the Buffalo Soldiers' drum and bugle corps. In his late 40s, he served in combat operations in the South Pacific during World War II and achieved the rank of First Sergeant. He was noted as an excellent marksman and horse showman.

Leaving the United States Army a few years before it was integrated, Matthews then took a job as a security guard in Maryland, rising to the rank of chief of the guards and then retiring in 1970. After the war, he told stories of military experiences and grew to represent a symbol of the Buffalo Soldiers. He met with Bill Clinton and Colin Powell in his later years, and dedicated a barracks in Virginia in honor of the Buffalo Soldiers. Having experienced excellent health for most of his life, Matthews died of pneumonia at the age of 111 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. At the time of his death, he was recognized as the oldest living Buffalo Soldier as well as the oldest man, and the second-oldest person, in the District of Columbia.

Early life[link]

Matthews was born on August 7, 1894, in Greenville, Alabama, and grew up in Mansfield, Ohio. His horse riding career began early, when he would deliver newspapers on the back of a pony. When he was only 15 years old, he met members of the 10th Cavalry, the original Buffalo Soldier unit, while tending to horses on a racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky. Although there is disagreement as to the origins of the name "Buffalo Soldiers," it referred to several segregated units within the United States army. Although the legal age of recruitment was 17 at the time, documents were forged and Matthews signed up to join the army in Columbus, Ohio.^[1]

Military career[link]

After his training, Matthews was first stationed in Fort Huachuca in Arizona. At the time, the army was still using Native Americans as guides in the western United States. During his tenure in the state, he was regarded as an excellent marksman. Next, he joined General John J. Pershing's campaign into Mexico in 1916 to hunt for Pancho Villa. Although Matthews admitted to never having met Villa, he would claim that "I knew where he was at."^[1] When the United States turned its attention to World War I, Europe had no use for American cavalry, therefore Matthews and the 10th Regiment remained in the United States for the duration of the conflict.^[2]

In 1931, he was transferred to Fort Myer in Virginia.^[1] While stationed there, Matthews and some of his troops were escorts for King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth when they came to visit President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. He earned acclaim for his horse shows, which helped sell war bonds during World War II and he tended to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's personal horses.^[3] He also played on the polo team while stationed in the state.^[1]

He was also a member of the Buffalo Soldiers' drum and bugle corps, and performed at funerals in Arlington National Cemetery, where he himself would later be buried. Since the Army would not allow colored soldiers to be seen at white funerals at this time, he was forced to hide in the woods while playing "Taps".^[4] A decade later, he fought in World War II and saw combat action at the Battle of Saipan in the South Pacific.^[1] During the conflict, he rose to the rank of First Sergeant.^[5] He had originally been sent to train with the Tuskegee Airmen, but was deemed to be too old at the time.^[4]

Later life[link]

Although there were conflicting reports on whether he retired from the Army in 1947,^[6] 1949^[1] or 1950,^[3] he left the army only shortly before the Buffalo Soldiers were disbanded as part of President Harry S. Truman's initiative to integrate the Army. His next job was at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda where he worked as a security guard. By the time he retired for a second time, in 1970, he had become the chief of the guards at the institution. He spent much of his spare time fishing, reading the Bible, and recounting tales of his extensive military experiences, which made him a popular and respected figure within the community. His wife of 57 years, Genevieve Hill Matthews, died in 1986 and one of his daughters, Shirley Ann, died two years later.^[1]

In his old age, he became a symbol for the Buffalo Soldiers. In 1994, he met with President Bill Clinton at the White House.^[5] In 1997, at the age of 103, Matthews was present at Arlington National Cemetery for a service honoring the Buffalo Soldiers, where he unveiled a plaque that dedicated his former barracks in honor of the soldiers.^[7] For his 108th birthday in 2002, he met with then-United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, where Powell was presented with a portrait of Matthews.^[8] He was a member of his local church, a Prince Hall Masonic Temple and the Washington chapter of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Association until his death.^[1]

Although partially blind from glaucoma by the age of 109 and completely blind from cataracts by 111, he nevertheless retained his memory and good health until his final days; his medical history showed no signs of high blood pressure, heart or kidney trouble or diabetes. He was able to walk without a cane or walker, preferring not to use one, and was able to feed himself, including Cheerios for breakfast, his favorite vanilla ice cream with his other meals and a daily can of Ensure for energy. While he enjoyed recounting tales from his military experience, he never complained about the segregated nature of his unit, preferring instead to focus on his own exploits on the job.^[3][6]

Matthews died at the age of 111 of pneumonia in Washington, D.C. At the time of his death, he was recognized as the oldest living former Buffalo Soldier, the oldest man in Washington and the second oldest person in Washington overall behind then oldest American Corinne Dixon Taylor. He was survived by three of his four daughters, his son, nine grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren.^[1] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in September 2005 and Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams spoke at his funeral, which was also attended by councilman and future mayor Adrian Fenty.^[4]

See also[link]

United States Army portal

• Longevity
• Supercentenarian

References[link]