Curator Mel George had a broad vision for the concept of this exhibition that encompassed both the United States and Australia. It involves a creative link between eminent local glass artists and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. George is very familiar with the Corning Museum as she spent time there in 2014 as an instructor in the museum's glass studio. Each of the glass artists was linked by George to a glass artefact she had chosen from the museum's historic collection – objects in styles of glass that seemed to be in tune with each artist's own creative practice and could be an inspiration for a new work.

Initially I felt the exhibition lacked the physical presence of these intriguing historical objects that are represented only by a small photograph. However on reflection, while it would be wonderful to see the actual historical objects, it could detract from the work of these contemporary glass artists who are the real focus of the exhibition. The artefacts after all already have a life and history.

The 23 artists that participated in this exhibition eloquently responded to the brief. The bringing together of both contemporary and historical examples of glass gives fresh insight into the traditions and skills of glassmaking and the creative way these traditions and skills are used, transformed and developed in the work of contemporary glassmakers. It is striking, for instance, how Tom Moore's mythical creatures have an ancestor in a 15th-century pouring vessel in the shape of a two headed monster from the Low Countries. Peter Nilsson's beautiful flowing glass bowl uses the same glass engraving skills found on his given object – an 18th-century engraved glass tumbler. However, while the unknown glassmaker and artist share the same skill and bird motif, Nilsson sources his glass from recycling old television screens. Joanna Bone drew her inspiration from one of the oldest artefacts in the exhibition – a small glass ribbon bowl with rich rainbow coloured decoration that dates to 25 BC. Her response is a dark sea urchin-like vessel with bands of scale-like decoration perhaps suggesting the long history of living organisms as well as civilisations. Judi Elliott's wall piece of brightly coloured moulded glass cleverly suggests an affinity in technique and form with an ancient Egyptian tile (79-1BC). It is tempting to imagine that this tile would have once been decorated with coloured faience inlays and in its original state be as dazzling in colour as Elliott's contemporary work is today.

There are more modern artefacts that have been inspirational for the artists. Mel Douglas has been paired with a leaf shaped bowl designed for production by Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985). In a labour-intensive technique using glass to print on paper, Douglas has recreated the leaf form in two striking images leaving a slight imperfection on one leaf as a subtle hint of the unique quality of the handmade. Tom Rowney's glass vases with their stunning abstract patterns in trailed glass are a free and flowing interpretation of the work of Giampaola Segusa (Italian b. 1942) with whom he clearly has a great creative affinity. There are many more of these wonderful pairings and the exhibition is full of empathetic creative exchanges between artists across the years and centuries in this ancient craft.

Code X: Contemporary Fine Binding is an exhibition of books by artists from Australia and overseas in the adjoining gallery at Craft ACT. The art of book binding is an ancient craft. It arose out of necessity once the form of the written page came into existence. It has now developed into an art that has survived as a specialist craft. The covers of these books are made from goat skin, buffalo, Moroccan leather and exotic animal skins such as ostrich leg and crocodile as well as modern materials. They are decorated with jewels and inset with decorations. There is an incredible variety of book binding skills on show including embossing, tooling and inlaying of coloured leathers and gold leaf. Some of the books seem overpowered by their covers of richly garnished and decorated surfaces and their ornateness makes them seem more like artefacts that cannot be handled. There are other books, however, that are more simple in design and invite a warmer and intimate relationship with the viewer. Among them is Australian artist Vicki Woolley's book with its dark textured cover ornamented with a delicate gold leaf spray of leaves and American artist Gabrielle Fox's tiny book with its "blackbird in a pie" image on the cover. A true delight.