Josh Simpson has been working with glass for over 40 years.  He is particularly well known for his planets, which are glass paperweights, ranging in size from about an inch in diameter to the 107-pound Megaplanet that the Corning Museum of Glass commissioned in 2005.  He originally began making planets in the mid-1970s, when he was trying to capture the interest of eighth-graders during glass blowing demonstrations.  Inspired by the story of the Apollo astronauts seeing the earth hanging in space like a blue marble, he began creating marble-sized planets for the students.  This early inspiration developed into a major artistic direction.  In addition to exhibiting and selling these works, Simpson also hides them in various settings across the globe, and even offers the public the opportunity to participate through his Infinity Project.