Title

Heart of Glass - Blenko Glass

Blenko Glass is a West Virginia treasure that spans generations. Nothing symbolizes the state of West Virginia better or more beautifully than Blenko Glass. We will discuss current and former craftsmen and designers and how important it is that Blenko and West Virginia glass be appreciated and valued by the younger generation.

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Husted and Baugh?

This was article  sent to us by
Blog follower Dr Maggie
Hillery, we know you adore Wayne Husted as do we - saw this post and thought it would be appropriate for blog readers.
Happy to help.
Maggie
Baugh ’53 decanter selected for Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum collection 4/23/15 A Blenko Glass Co. decanter and stopper, whose concept, design, and execution are attributed to Betty Baugh, AU Class of 1953, was selected for a Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum collection this past winter. The Cooper-Hewitt, which was renovated and reopened in December 2014, is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. Housed in the former residence of Andrew Carnegie, the museum has undergone a transformative renovation over the past three years to restore its historic splendor and create 60 percent more gallery space in which to present 210,000-piece collection and showcase major design exhibitions. The museum opened to the public on Dec. 12, 2014 with 10 inaugural exhibitions and new visitor experiences featuring breakthrough technologies. The Cooper-Hewitt website notes: “The Blenko Glass Company represents the combination of technological advances in glassmaking with original designs noted for their focus on color, a key element of the glassware’s impact….The company earned national recognition, especially for the creation of a strong ruby red glass that could be double fired. Red, a notoriously fugitive color in glass, was generally unstable could not be fired a second time. Blenko’s glass could be double fired without loss of color, which enabled enamel decorators to paint on it. William Blenko, the company’s founder, patented the formula in 1924, ensuring its popularity with enamellers. “The subsequent decision to launch a glass tableware line meant this color entered a field previously reserved for ceramics….. Although the work of the company’s first designers achieved much critical acclaim, the designers were largely uncredited until Blenko hired company’s first design director, Winslow Anderson, in 1947. The role of design director was progressive for its time, as it was unusual to have a full time in-house position providing overall design direction to a firm’s output. Subsequent design directors, Wayne Husted, Joel Philip Myers, and John Nickerson, were all involved in the Studio Glass movement, as innovators or practitioners …. “The technical achievements of this decanter design, developed under Husted’s design direction, are ones of color and form. The tangerine-to-yellow effect results from the part of the heat-reactive glass going back into the fire to create the tangerine color while the part kept away from the fire remains yellow. “The form comes from the glass being blown between two pieces of ornate crown molding, creating a flat form shaped by the negative of the molding. The tangerine and double color pieces became some of Blenko’s best sellers produced during Husted’s time, even though he may have preferred his designs with uniform color. This decanter’s striking colors, combined with its undulating narrow form and irregular surface, shows a sense of the budding Studio Glass movement. “According to Husted, his ex-wife, Betty Baugh, was responsible for the concept, design, and execution of the decanter. Baugh, who trained as an industrial designer, produced glass designs for companies such as Anchor Hocking and Libbey. This is her only design for Blenko …. “ The decanter and stopper are dated 1956 and listed at the Cooper-Hewitt as Design # 566, glass - See more at: http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?ID=11325#sthash.87Zu4cVp.dpuf
Google search found the following about Betty Baugh.
Betty Baugh Design is an industrial design consultancy based in San Francisco, CA credited with developing award-winning product designs in glassware, metal, ceramics, housewares, foodservice, decorative accessories home products and architectural interiors. Headed by Betty Baugh FIDSA, she brings new design methodology in form development, tooling molds/patterns and prototypes to her work for clients including Nambe L.L.C., Gibson Overseas, Inc. Rogaska Slatina Glass, Focus Electrics, Libbey Glass, Anchor Hocking Glass, Lancaster Glass, Colony Glass, Owens Corning Fiberglass, Black & Decker, Progressive International, Villeroy & Boch, William Sonoma and Microsoft. Her glass architectural applications include concepts for USG Interiors and installations in the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank and Comerica Bank in San Jose, CA.

Betty received her degrees from the NY State College of Industrial Design at Alfred University and Stephens College. She has served as an Industrial Design Instructor at California College of the Arts, (CCA), San Francisco Academy of Arts and guest Industrial Design lecturer at San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Pasadena Art Center, Arizona State University and the University of Kansas. As a guest lecturer, she conducted a Housewares Workshop at LG Electronics in Seoul, Korea was a guest speaker at the International Design Forum at Dongguan in the Guangdong Province, China, and the ICSID design Forum, in Santiago, Chile.


Betty Baugh’s leadership role as an independent design consultant has included all aspects of product design while also serving as a leader in the design community. Betty was recognized internationally by being elected President of the Industrial Designers Society of America. She also represented the IDSA membership as a delegate to the ICSID (International council of Societies of Industrial Design) conferences in Seoul, Korea, Sidney, Australia, and Toronto, Canada.

Her work has received awards from the Toledo Museum, The Tacoma Washington Museum, was nominated for a product design award at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, The Northwest Industrial Design Invitational and has been
Decanter at Afred University

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU DR MAGGIE

ARE YOU THE SAME DR MAGGIE WHO BOUGHT GLASS FROM ME ON EBAY?
IF SO YOU HAVE A GREAT EYE.
I TOO LOVE THIS DECANTER.
MOUNTAIN RITA

VIVEK I CAN NOT OPEN BLOG UNLESS I OPEN GOOGLE FIRST?