If Michael Turner loses one of his marbles, no problem. He just makes another one.
Turner is a Clarkdale artist. He’s created in many media and especially enjoys glass. He discovered marble making about 10 years ago while he was working on a sculpture in copper. He wanted to use a marble where the heart would be.
“I didn’t like some of the marbles I could buy, but as I was going through the book I ordered from I saw they had colored Italian glass rods and ordered a piece,” Turner said. “I didn’t have a clue then how to make marbles, but I got a book and starting teaching myself.”
A few months later he received an invitation to a glass makers meeting in Kansas and attended a workshop on marble making there.
“That was the first time I saw marbles made and realized I needed a dual-gas torch with propane and oxygen. I got one and have been making marbles since,” he said.
Turner likes to experiment and has tried many techniques of including other materials with the glass like infusing copper wire and dust, and lately glow-in-the-dark material.
For the full story, see the Wednesday, Oct. 3, edition of The Camp Verde Journal or the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
