Standing on Broad Shoulders
The one-story building at the corner of Chestnut and Mulberry streets in downtown Corydon is well
known around town as the home of Zimmerman Art Glass. This former service station received a stunning designer upgrade in 2015 when Kerry Zimmerman and his wife, Michele, renovated it to create a chic industrial building that seamlessly merges a contemporary art gallery with a fully equipped glass factory.
Zimmerman Art Glass’ annual two-day Glasstoberfest — now in its 10th year — attracts 5,000 to 6,000 people each year who come to Corydon to celebrate art making and the fall season.
Many old-timers in the area, however, are well aware that Zimmerman Art Glass was one of Corydon’s premier attractions long before this classy new building and before Glasstoberfest.
“My grandfather, Victor, started this business in Corydon in 1942,” said Kerry Zimmerman, the current owner and a fourth-generation glassblower, “but glassblowing in our family goes back further than Victor, to the 1880s, when my great-grandfather, Ferdinand Zimmerman, came to America from Alsace-Lorraine, and became a glass artist working for a Pittsburg firm that made punch bowl sets.”
“My grandfather actually came to Corydon in 1923 to work at the Corydon Co-op Enterprise, located on the banks of Little Indian Creek. They made lamp chimneys — the glass globes for oil lamps. When the need for glass chimneys declined due to widely available electricity, my grandfather had the foresight to begin producing new wares: candy dishes, perfume bottles, table lamps and paperweights.”
Kerry, who grew up knowing he would become a glassblower, enjoys talking about his family’s history. “My grandfather actually came to Corydon in 1923 to work at the Corydon Co-op Enterprise, located on the banks of Little Indian Creek. They made lamp chimneys — the glass globes for oil lamps. When the need for glass chimneys declined due to widely available electricity, my grandfather had the foresight to begin producing new wares: candy dishes, perfume bottles, table lamps and paperweights.”
Victor’s son and Kerry’s father, Joe Zimmerman, officially took over the business in 1961, although he had been a gaffer (assistant) since he was 11. According to a brochure created by Kintner House Inn,
“Joe was a catalyst for Corydon’s tourism development… He welcomed visitors to the factory where he demonstrated and explained the glassmaking process… and he sold his art objects to thousands of tourists and glass collectors who visited Corydon.”
Kerry added that Joe also developed new techniques and created many more contemporary art items for a new generation. The Chicago Tribune also wrote a tribute to Joe, calling him “a nationally known maker of paperweights and art glass … that have been included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the United Nations in New York andthe Smithsonian Institution in Washington.”
Joe’s sons, Kerry and Bart, worked alongside their father until his untimely death in 1986, when they took over the business. Even as children, they were often perched on a stool beside Joe, asking questions and watching. Like their father, they continued to add new equipment, use new techniques and create more contemporary glass pieces.
In 1998, they spiced up their repertoire by accepting a commission from Harrison County Hospital to create a glass art piece for the hospital lobby.
“Bart did the lion’s share of the work on that piece,” Kerry said. It was Kerry’s design that was accepted — a 6-foot-wide sun with 186 pieces of intertwining glass rays in every color. “I wanted something to symbolize hope and a bright future for Harrison County,” Kerry said.
Kerry assumed full responsibility for the business in 2008, following the heroic, but tragic, death of Bart, who was attempting to rescue someone in a boating accident.
With his thoughts gradually turning to the future generations of Zimmerman glass blowers, in 2015, Kerry moved the business to its current location.
“It is like day and night compared to the old place on the creek, but we continue to honor past generations here,” Kerry said, referring to a display of historical photos in the gallery. Art glass pieces of four generations of Zimmermans — Victor, Joe, Kerry and Bart, and Kerry’s sons Alex and Brian — are also on display in the gallery.”
“We may have a piece by Ferdinand, making it five generations,” Kerry said. “While cleaning out my mother’s cabinets after her death, we discovered a glass pitcher made in Pittsburg between 1890 and 1905. There is evidence suggesting it was made by Ferdinand.”
The gallery, with its historic display, is a place where customers can leisurely browse, learn and offer suggestions for items they would like to see made. Zimmerman Art Glass’s bourbon glasses were originally suggested by a customer.
Kerry’s son Alex can now customize these glasses, in the adjoining workshop area, to fit an individual customer’s hand. The workshop space, which can open onto an outdoor pavilion, is ideal for the large crowds that come to watch glassblowing demonstrations during Glasstoberfest.
“We started Glasstoberfest in 2015 with the idea to give working artists a chance to demonstrate their skills as well as sell their art.”
“We started Glasstoberfest in 2015 with the idea to give working artists a chance to demonstrate their skills as well as sell their art,” Kerry said. Woodturners, potters, blacksmiths, chainsaw artists, and, of course, several different glass artists have demonstrated their artistic practice at Glasstoberfest.
Kerry is most at home in this role of demonstrator of the glassblowing process. “Everything starts with the iron rod picking up the glass from the kiln,” he said. “Some of our tools date back to the original lamp chimney factory.”
Watching the hot glass swirl on the rod can be hypnotizing. “What people don’t realize,” Kerry said, “is that glassblowing is all about rhythm, and when I’m in the right rhythm, I can also be hypnotized.”
In 2022, Kerry received the Indiana Heritage Fellowship Award from the Traditional Arts Indiana organization. The award honors an individual’s long-term achievement and contribution to their community and to their artistic tradition.
In the past year, Kerry has received commissions to create two large glass sculptures. “We had the opportunity to make a colorful glass bubble sculpture for Dr. Rezaei and Complete Pediatrics in New Albany in the spring of 2024,” Kerry said. Zimmerman Art Glass also created an amber chandelier to hang in the cupola of the Harrison County Arts gallery in Corydon. This chandelier was dedicated in December 2024.
A mural on the Mulberry Street side of Zimmerman Art Glass was created in 2022 by artist Carrie Johns. The mural depicts Joe and Kerry with rods in their hands while some of Corydon’s landmarks are depicted in the background. This mural is a reminder that Zimmerman Art Glass is deeply intertwined with the culture and heritage of Corydon, and that Zimmerman Art Glass serves as a repository of Corydon’s collective memory.
A mural on the Mulberry Street side of Zimmerman Art Glass was created in 2022 by artist Carrie Johns. The mural depicts Joe and Kerry with rods in their hands while some of Corydon’s landmarks are depicted in the background. This mural is a reminder that Zimmerman Art Glass is deeply intertwined with the culture and heritage of Corydon, and that Zimmerman Art Glass serves as a repository of Corydon’s collective memory.
“We stand on some pretty broad shoulders,” Kerry said as a way of honoring this heritage. His son Alex added, “It is my job to make sure that this shop makes it to the next generation.”
Zimmerman Art Glass is much more than a historical treasure; it is a beacon of resilience and creativity, overcoming tragic events and illuminating a path into the future. •
Story by Judy Cato
Photos by Lorraine Hughes
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