CORNING, N.Y. (WENY) -- Two thousand, one hundred and twenty degrees is how glass blowing begins. So, this must mean, The Corning Glass Festival is back for the 2023 season, and artists are designing glass at temperatures hotter than Lava. 

“We have Glassfest going on. We've been doing this for, on and off for 10 years,” said Tom Ryder, glass demonstrator, and technician. “We're back, the Corning Museum of Glass, is back at Glass Fest. We are pretty excited to be here.”  

The glass museum team is not an ordinary crew of artists. Glass blowers come from a strong educational background at a college or University. There are under 100 schools in the United States teaching glass blowing. This talent does not come overnight, it takes 6 to 8 years to reach intermediate capabilities. What are the steps to successfully design an artistic glass-blown piece?  

“[First] I gathered some glass out of the oven,” said Katie Hauvvs, glass blower at the Corning Glass Museum. “I rolled some color onto it. That color was melted in.”  

The art form has to be done in a team. Blowing glass is a talent that takes many hands, eyes, ears, and tools to be done safely and successfully.  

“[Next,] I stretched it until it had some length. I flattened the bottom of that and then I inflated the bottom,” added Hauvvs. 

Lastly, with a pair of tweezers, Katie will stretch the glass and place the handle precisely onto the glass.  

Corning Glass Festival is being held across downtown Corning through Sunday, May 28th. Admission is free, and there is plenty of shopping, demonstrations, and warm weather to enjoy.