© Gretchen Lapp Hamlin Glassworks
Gretchen Lapp Hamlin Glassworks
About the Artist...
It seems to me that glass has always been an integral part of my life. As a child growing up in Corning, NY I made countless trips to the Museum of Glass, visited various factories and studios on a regular basis and hunted treasures in the form of bits of beautiful cullet at the factories' discard sites, of which there were several around town. I attended Frederick Carter Elementary School, named for the first artistic director of Steuben Glass. Every day I joined my classmates to line up and file past the school's collection of beautiful art glass pieces showcased in the hall that led to the cafeteria - I can still remember being dazzled by the Aurene glass glowing under the spotlights on the display shelves.
As a teenager in Corning I was able to help out with some of the new glass studios as they established themselves in town as a result of the urban renewal project in the mid-70's. After a brief career at the National Endowment for the Arts I landed at the School for American Craftsmen at RIT where I earned my MFA in Glass Art in 1991. Upon graduation I moved east to Central New York's beautiful Finger Lakes region, where I continue to work - and play - with glass.
- Gretchen Lapp Hamlin
As a teenager in Corning I was able to help out with some of the new glass studios as they established themselves in town as a result of the urban renewal project in the mid-70's. After a brief career at the National Endowment for the Arts I landed at the School for American Craftsmen at RIT where I earned my MFA in Glass Art in 1991. Upon graduation I moved east to Central New York's beautiful Finger Lakes region, where I continue to work - and play - with glass.
- Gretchen Lapp Hamlin
Making bead stock in the hot shop. Hot glass is blown, formed and stretched to make long tubes that I then cut and hand polish to make beads.