Marble Madness

Marbles in a milk glass bowl

I have loved and collected marbles since I was a child.  Today I thought I would share with you some modern "Artist marbles" that I bought this year at the 2011 Bead Show in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  These marbles combine two of my loves - marbles and glass.   

Lampwork Marbles - View A

'Artist Marbles' are the name I call marbles created one at a time by contemporary glass artists.  These artist marbles are not bargain priced objects, unfortunately.  (How I wish they were, sigh...)  The artist can spend more then one hour on a single marble, and so these marbles are usually in the two digit price range.  I consider each marble a tiny art work, and so I supported artists by purchasing them.  Just doing my part to support the economy.  (That's what I told my husband....)  (In the first photo I have my marbles in a milk glass bowl that I bought at a rummage sale, so there is my thrifty portion of this post...)

Lampwork Marbles - View B

Why are marbles being sold at a bead show?  Because many beads are created from glass, and some glass artists also make marbles, lucky for me... 

The 10 marbles I bought at the Bead show where the first artist marbles I had bought in a decade or more.  (I probably haven't bought artist marbles since before I had children, and my oldest child is 17.)  It was very exciting for me to see the 'state of the art' glass work which is being done today, some of which you can see in the marbles I bought.  

Lampwork Marble made by Joe Holford

Walking through the show, I could see an explosion of glass talent first hand.  I felt I was observing a renaissance of glass creation.  Thousands of today's glass artists are creating with the material and energy and knowledge that was unavailable in previous centuries.

2 views of a Marble (made by Joe Holford)

In the last 1-2 decades, glasswork has become a form of art available to hobbyists.  Equipment, specialty glass, and instructors (and even video lessons) have resulted in the number of glass artists exploding.  These people, at many different levels of skill, experiment and create glass objects.  Glass workers are re-discovering techniques and processes, (glass working has been around since 2000 BC); and experimenting with new ones.  Today's glass artists are creating in a new world - a time with access to energy and materials and knowledge unavailable to glass workers of the past. 

Here are some example: Working glass requires temperatures from 900-1800 degrees C.  In previous centuries, the fuel required to heat glass (mostly wood) competed directly with the fuel needs of people for heat and food.  Glass working was sometimes banned because of the amount of fuel required to heat glass.  Another example is the ability for today's glass artists to order their glass materials with precise chemistries - centuries ago, workers often formulated their own glass.

2 views of a Marble (made by Joe Holford)

I love touching and looking at these mini marvels of glass work.  I am looking forward to seeing what the glass artists create next year.  

Here are some notes:  

• For my other post on marbles, click here.
• I am interested in knowing which of the photo mosaic you like more - Version A or Version B.  Let me know if you have an opinion. 
• Seven marbles in this post were made by Joe Holford
• Three marbles in this post were created by Frank Scott - The green one, the one with stars, and the one with flowers.

Click on any image to see it larger
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Angel Window

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I am linking to these parties:

Little Red House: Mosaic Monday (Entry 24 of 80+)

Running with Glitter Mon 22 (Entry 58 of 217).

Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 33 (Entry 4 of 26.)

Dittle Dattle: Amaze Me Mon 37 (Entry 60 of 288).

BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 134 (Entry 99 of 255.)

Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 12 (Entry 2 of 48)

Roses: Show off your Cottage Mon (Entry 11 of 71)

Making the World Cuter (Entry 9 of 128) h

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tues 75 (Entry 56 of 229.)

Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures (Entry 7 of 161.)

* Stroll Life: Table Top Tues 77 (Entry 33 of 98).

* House of Grace: Twice Owned Tues (Entry 22 of 55)

Sassy: Trash to Treasure Tues (Entry 1 of 108)

Diamond: Time to Shine 31 (Entry 74 of 89)

Anything Goes 30 (Entry 70 of 121.) 

Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 27 (Entry 21 of 282.)
Beach Cottage: Good Life Wed (Entry 9 of 115)

No Minimalist Here: Open House (Entry 24 of 123) 

Very Merry Vint: Share the Love Wed (Entry 1 of 54).

Ginger: Wow Me Wednesday 12 (Entry 23 of 351.) 

Designer Garden: VIP Party 24 (Entry 36 of 94) 

From My Porch: Treasure Hunt Thurs 19 (Entry 4 of 18)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur (Entry 12 of 77)
Col Lady: Vintage Thingies Thur (Entry 9 of 33)
Bloggeritaville: Thrifty Thur (Entry 4 of 92)
Shabby Chic: Transformation Thur (Entry 120 of 201)
Somewhat Simple: Strut your Stuff (Entry 126 of 220)

Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home 28 (Entry 49 of 82)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 21 (Entry 15)

French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 146)
* Common Ground: Vint Inspiration 51 (Entry 95)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 94)
White Iron: Treasure Chest Fri (Entry)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 67 (Entry 58)

Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday (Entry 118)
Picket Fence: Inspiration Fri 28 (Entry 140) 
Find Fab: Frugalicious Friday (Entry 117 of 147)
Tatertots: Weekend Wrap Up (Entry 476 of 699) 
Hodgepodge Friday (Entry 31)
Cherished Treasure: Sun Blog Love (Entry 26)

Under the Table: Sunday Showcase (Entry 141)

The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sunday (Entry 17)
I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop (Entry 144)
Library Adventure: Flea Market Finds (Entry 16) 

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