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New York artist Mark Reigelman has delved back into his childhood to recreate the living room he grew up in. The main difference though is that each piece of furniture in the new version is covered in broken glass. At first glance it looks as though each piece could be taken out of the gallery and utilised. While fun and thought provoking, we’re not sure it would be that comfortable! The exhibition is on at New York’s Heller Gallery where you can order items from the collection.

British glass artist Luke Jerram has been appointed as the 2011 Fellow at the National Museum of Glass in Washington, DC. The Museum is holding an exhibition of Jerram’s glass sculptures titled Glass Microbiology.

Designed in consultation with scientists from the University of Bristol (UK), the sculptures magnify common viruses to around a million times their normal size. The result is a thought-provoking collection of work that is beautiful, yet forces us to confront the impact of these tiny organisms which can have such traumatic consequences for humanity.

The exhibition runs until 16 October 2011. For more information, including a video of a sculpture in production, take a look at the Glass Microbiology website.

Ever wondered what to do with your old incandescent lightbulbs when they wear out? ReadyMade have come up with this clever design for a simple bud vase that will brighten any corner of your house.

You will need an hour, a metre of 2-3 mm diameter aluminium welding rod, and one incandescent lightbulb. (Don’t use fluorescent bulbs as they contain mercury which can be harmful to your health!) Make sure you have small needle-nose pliers, leather work gloves, safety glasses, an Allen key and a small hammer before you start.

The full instructions with images can be found at ReadyMade. We would love to see your creations on our Facebook page.

As part of its Inspired Creations competition, Elizabeth Anne Design has unveiled the ultimate wedding theme for the bride who does not have a lot to spend on decoration. Many of the pieces in the design are sourced from thrift shops. The beautiful glasses on the table and the mirrors reflect and accentuate the shimmering light from the candles. Crystal-encrusted tea light holders on the table add yet another dimension to the setting.

The Friends of Glass website has a number of inspiring table setting designs for you to try. You can also upload your own. We would love to see them.

Be quick – renown Belgian beer-maker Duvel will release three new glasses in its limited-edition Duvel Collection today. Designers include the Belgian performer and musician Daan Stuyven; painter and sculpture Arne Quinze; and graphic designer Stefan Glerum from Amsterdam.

We’re not allowed to show you the new glasses yet but you can find a preview at the Duvel Collection website. The image in this post shows the previous three glasses in the Collection which were designed by Parra, Eley Kishimoto and Denis Meyers. All three are now collector items!

Our pick of the new collection is Stefan Glerum’s design inspired by Italian Futurism of the early 20^th Century. With a pair of them you could really be looking at life through rose-coloured glasses! Which one is your favourite? Tell us on our Facebook page.

Last week I had the chance to visit the Musee Ariana in Geneva, home to Switzerland’s largest collection of glass and ceramics. The glass collection is particularly stunning with examples from the 13^th Century to the current day.

The earliest piece of glass work in the collection comes from Venice and dates from the late 1200s. That’s around the time the city’s glass makers first moved their operations to the island of Murano to keep their manufacturing secrets hidden from the prying eyes of the competition.

I wonder how many of our modern packaging materials will be part of museum collections in 800 years?

Summer came early to the picturesque English market town of Wetherby near York as temperatures soared into the mid 20s. And as the town’s popular hardware store Touchwood enjoyed a booming trade from eager spring cleaners, their customers were treated to a new feature, the Summer Glass Tree. The elegant candle holders, vases, ornaments and storage jars have really captured the imagination of the whole town as people look for the perfect garden decoration. Like Christmas all over again remarked one gentleman. The owners of Touchwood are great fans of glass, and they are confident that the brisk business they gained on the back of their special Christmas Tree last winter will be repeated with the glass tree over the next few months. Look out for more summer photos featuring glass!

Donna from Touchwood shows off some of the elegant glass objects on the Summer Tree

Via: Grolsch SwingTop

Even the ancient Romans recycled glass, according to a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Researchers believed that towards the end of the empire, Romans recycled glass. And lots of it.

However, it was more to do with the fact that glass was scarce in the northern parts of the Roman Empire, rather than a deep and pressing concern for the environment.

Says Harriet Foster, from the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service:

‘We think [that] the Romans were increasingly relying on recycling to produce the vessels they wanted, possibly because less glass was coming into that part of the Empire by that time.’

Romans were highly proficient at making glass, spending well over 600 years making, colouring and de-colouring glass items.

Via: PlanetEarth

An Australian glassblower and animator have teamed up to make a ‘glassmation’ feature, called Dr Mermaid and the Above Marine.

The film was created using stop-motion techniques, although entirely with glass. Due for release on the festival circuit from July (which is why we can’t seem to find any video previews for it yet), the film follows the story of a marine biologist who can communicate with fish.

Making the 6-minute film took a painstaking year to make.

Glassblower Mark Elliot (52) makes the glass figurines and then heats them to make the characters adjustable so that tiny ‘movements’ can be made.

Animator Jack McGrath (25) then moves the glass figure to a green-screen backdrop after each-movement and takes a photo. They would need to do this 12 times every second.

It’s sure to be a visual feast! We’ll keep you posted with a video link when it becomes available.