Marbles I (2011)

Here are the marbles created in the first Marble Making Workshop.

The Simple marble was the first creation. We learned how to heat and form the glass rod stock onto a metal mandrel to form a sphere, and then decorated it with daubs of coloured glass from other rods.

The Twist marbles were created in much the same way, only the whole marble was heated and turned with a second mandrel to form the swirl patters.

The Ribbon Interior marble creation was more complex, with half-marble being formed from one transparent coloured glass, then a middle layer of opaque colour added, then a second half of a different transparency. A second mandrel is inserted at an angle the whole composite twisted to create the final look.

The Wig-Wag marble is made by pulling the starting sphere into a cylinder, then laying lines of coloured glass along the length. Sections are then heated and twisted in alternating directions, then the mass finally reshaped into a sphere again. This creates the resulting back-and-forth motion of the banding.

The final marble, the Vortex, is a clear marble with a spiral pattern on one side. The initial clear marble is given a cone-shaped base, upon which alternating colours of opaque glass are laid. This base is then heated and turned to produce the spiral. A backing colour is added and the marble is shaped back into a sphere. The clear part then acts as a lens through which the vortex is viewed.