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As a marble maker I view myself as an artisan with a folkart flare. While I view traditional marbles as a neccesity of the craft; without the tradional marble background and skills, it's not proper to call oneself a true marble artist, I find myself straying down a divergent path. I like to try new ideas and formats allowing the marbles to become my spheres of expression. Using torch and glass rods the folkartist in me breaks from the traditional into an etheric platform where anything goes. Characters become animated through bubbles and colors. Colors evoke feelings and sensations. I attempt to bring life and vivacity through the medium of glass, hopefully creating a greater public awareness of marbles as a valid personal artform. |
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Welcome Hello. I love the color and impact of marbles. I like intensity and high contrast. Glass today has so much vivid color and diversity that it well keep me busy for the rest of my life just trying out new "stuff". My first glassblowing got started at Iowa State University in 1977. We built our own furnaces and batched our own glass. With 2 - 100 pound tanks we could batch an opal and a clear or colored and clear or colored opals etc. I miss those times. We were extremely experimental. It took 6 months befor I got to a level I wasn't totally embarrassed to show. Since then, between managing restaurants or working for various stained glass studios as a painter, glass slumper, installer or just flat out production I found it wasn't hot glass. Lately I've been making marbles for rings . 8, 10, or 12mm. My spare time I spend making assorted sizes of fun stuff. Since there is no end in sight I imagine glassblowing well continue as my longterm addiction. Bruce Troeh
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I spent some time and built myself a small 60 pound tank furnace to blow glass with. I don't run it all the time. Just wish I could afford to. I fire it with propane and forced air to melt the glass around 2250 degrees farenheit. |
