I tell you that to put into perspective the show we had just watched three floors above us: the Corning Glass Museum’s Hot Glass Show; where we all swayed in the wind watching Leane Rae Quade , (better known in the art world as “Quade”) create a vase out of three pounds of molten glass by turning a pole of similar weight.
We watched as she worked with 1900-degree molten glass – a process that requires precision, and on this day, a lot of sweat as well. A few days later we chatted with her – after learning from other guests that was ‘also from Seattle’.
Her life is one of three months aboard and three months off the ship. She’ll be making art objects aboard the Eclipse on the next leg of her journey but does work with the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle.
The Celebrity/Corning partnership has provided quite a ‘treat’ for passengers with as many as two shows a day on ‘sea days. None of the glass created by the three on-board artists is sold. But several pieces will be auctioned prior to the end of the cruise with that money going to scholarships.
