One of the unexpected perks that comes with volunteering at the Museum of Glass are the wonderful associations we form with others who, like us, are crazy about this place and crazy about glass. Not surprisingly the staff and volunteers may be artists themselves or keenly interested in art and all of them have favorite MOG experiences to share. Since January is always a time to look at what is new, here is a partial glimpse at who was new as we enter 2009.

Heather Cornelius is our new part time Hot Shop Interpreter. You can find her on the Hot Shop floor each Saturday; she also subs when needed. Monday through Wednesday Heather teaches ceramics at Open Arts Studio as well as being a gallery technician for Pacific Lutheran University where she graduated with an Arts degree emphasis in 3-D art. Being familiar with the chemistry of glazes, it has been fun for her to transfer this to glass chemistry. She loved reading the mountains of glass literature and then being able to see its application on the Hot Shop floor. Her favorite parts of the experience so far have been the comradery of being part of the Hot Shop experience and the thrill of explaining the glass process to the audience and seeing them “get it”. Her favorite kid question is, “Is it lava or is it fire?”

Tom Findlay who was our newly hired store manager is now also MOG visitor services manager. Tom came to us after a stint as District Manager for music and film stores which required him to routinely travel to 8 states. He loves the change into a more artistic and urban environment and the ability to spend more time with his wife and his five year old son, Evan. Tom’s education is in Television Production and Experimental TV and Film from the University of Washington. Providing great customer service is a passion: describing his job here as a great mix of creativity, quiet desk time and people interaction. He loves creating the store layout and displays as well as setting store direction.

2008 saw the addition of volunteer, Norene Scott who helps in the Studio on Third Thursdays. Norene has been both an attorney and a professional artist for nearly 30 years. She does watercolor painting as well as creating watercolor jewelry which she has in galleries in Washington, Idaho and Hawaii. She really enjoys working with the children on their studio projects here at MOG. A few years ago she was the sole visitor at the Boise Art Museum to view a wonderful show by William Morris. She says, “I had no idea such objects could be created with glass!” This got her interested in glass. Earlier this year she spent two days on Murano and saw some “amazing” jewelry. Don’t be surprised to find her as part of the Hot Shop audience; she really enjoys her time there.

Lena Gibson joined the docent corps in ‘08 filling in where ever needed and now works every other Saturday shift. She moved to Tacoma over two years ago to be near her children. For twenty years she taught many subjects in small mountain towns in Colorado and was the technology coordinator for Silverton. She arrived right in the middle of the Lino exhibit, devouring the materials and shadowing docents to get up to speed. She did so with great confidence and mastered the material so well that she was even able to give a friend a private tour of Lino at the Renwick. Her favorite experiences so far have been the field trip to Cappy Thompson’s home and the Daniel Clayman lecture. She mirrors the feeling of most docents when she says, “there is always so much happening here.”

Alisa Kessel has been shadowing docents for the past few weeks and is ready to do her first tour. She brings to the museum, “an abiding interest in glass art.” She and her husband, Ben, moved to Tacoma from Chapel Hill, North Carolina so she could teach Political Theory at University of Puget Sound. On their third day in Tacoma they visited the museum and Alisa was so taken by the hours she spent in the Hot Shop that she decided there and then to become a docent. Considering herself both a teacher and a student, she is very excited about learning and sharing what she learns with others. She and Ben are enjoying exploring the Northwest and with her three cats, it already feels like it is home. Alisa will bring much enthusiasm to museum visitors.