Description
FLOW SUMMER 2017
Features
Letter from the Editor
by Jennifer Menzies
Jennifer Menzies, editor of The Flow, welcomes readers to the Summer 2017 marbles and paperweights issue of The Flow. She also shares how the Talking Out Your Glass podcasts from sister publication, Glass Art, introduce listeners to interviews with world-renowned glass artists and respected experts. A free subscription is available via Stitcher or iTunes.
The Flow 2017 Marbles and Paperweights Gallery
The Flow Summer 2017 gallery features the work of 35 flameworking artists. This collection showcases beautiful and innovative glass art that includes designs featuring plants, animals, insects, sea life, florals, and geometrics, plus scientific and space themes. These intriguing designs created “in the round” show just how creative flameworking artists can be.
Studio Craft as Career
A Guide to Achieving Excellence in Art-Making
by Paul J. Stankard
Photography Courtesy of the Artists
This excerpt from the latest book by renowned artist/teacher Paul J. Stankard follows his development as a glass artist and gives insights into achieving excellence in producing glass creations. He also shares some of the glasswork that he believes has helped to change the American glass art landscape.
Scott Pernicka
Pushing the Boundaries of Marble Size
by Sean Hovendick, Internal Fire Glass, Inc.
Photography by Carrie Will
Collectors are accustomed to seeing marbles that are one, two, or three inches in diameter, but the work of flameworking artist, Scott Pernicka, continues to push those standards, Working in glass for over 20 years, much of the handcrafted glass spheres now showcased on Scott’s website are measuring four-plus inches in diameter.
Marble Crazy
by Sara Sally LaGrand
Photography by Allison Borgschulte, Moon Marble Company
In 1999, Bruce Breslow invited veteran marble maker, Mike Edmondson, and local Kansas City artist, Jerry Park, to a weekend gathering he decided to call Marble Crazy. Now an annual event, Marble Crazy has featured some of the best American marble makers including Drew Fritts, Geoffrey Beetem, John Kobuki, and many others.
Marble Weekend at Wheaton
by Dave Hollander
Photography by Dave Hollander, Paul Katherman, and Leigh Stoppel
Wheaton hosts a number of art programs and events each year, but Marble Weekend has taken on an identity of its own. After a seven-year hiatus, the event center was filled once again, this time with predominantly borosilicate artists. As before, live lampworking demos were the cornerstone of the event.
Glass Vegas
Photography by Doug Baldwin
Glass Vegas began in 2017 with the goal of building the best functional glass show founded on professionalism, respect for the artists, and a chance to work on solving the challenges that functional artists face. The startup of the event’s juried World Series of Glass awarded prizes for mille as well as functional work.
Flower in a Window Marble
Text and Demonstration by Alan Eaton
Alan Eaton demonstrates the techniques for inserting a blue flower design inside a marble. The exterior of the marble is sandblasted, and a flat lapidary wheel is used to polish a window that allows the viewer to see the flower inside the marble from various angles.
What’s Hot
by Darlene Welch
Information on the latest in new glass types and colors, supplies and tools, kilns, books, patterns, and anything else that glass artists and enthusiasts need for working in hot glass can be found in the What’s Hot section of The Flow.
Gold and Silver Fume Implosion Marble
Encasing Precious Metals with Glass
Text and Demonstration by Michael Dickinson
Photography by Nicolette Anderson
Michael Dickinson demonstrates techniques for working with 24-karat gold and high-grade silver that allow the manipulation of dot encasements to be used to create a truly unique array of colors as a finished marble. This fume implosion tutorial is a starting point to developing different interpretations of precious metals within glass.
Double Galaxy Marble with Fused Dichroic Sandwich
Text and Demonstration by Milon Townsend
Milon Townsend demonstrates techniques for making a galaxy marble out of twisted dichro cane. Three pieces of boro plate glass are fused together to create a boro sandwich and provide an example of how to bring the technique of fusing from soft glass into the higher temperatures of boro.
Kiln Corner
A Checklist for Evaluating Used Kilns
by Arnold Howard
Photo Courtesy of Paragon Industries, L.P.
Arnold Howard, who writes instruction manuals for Paragon Industries, L.P., discusses things to look for when purchasing a used kilns. Important things to look for include any rust on the kiln case and screws, the condition of the stainless steel and paint, and the condition of the firing chamber floor and lid.
Butterfly/Jellyfish Marbles
Two halves Make a Whole
Text and Demonstration by Sabina Boehm
Photography by Noni O’Reilly
Sabina Boehm demonstrates how to combine a half marble created by JD Anderson and a half marble made by Sabina. She includes tips for not trapping air bubbles plus techniques for creating clear twists for the design and applying center dots around the diameter of the marble to camouflage the join.
