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John Bridges here, I'm an independent glass artist working in my home studio here in lovely Eugene, Oregon, which some call the glass Mecca of the Northwest. I'm currently 39 years of age and I live here with my wife and two daughters, 7 and 12, who tolerate my eccentricities honorably.
I’ve always been drawn to create art, expressed mostly in graphic art and music, yet I have a background in science as well, mostly in electricity. I was working professionally in electronic engineering technology when, in 2000, I discovered glass lampworking through a practicing friend. I was immediately fascinated by what I saw as the perfect marriage of art and science. I began experimenting, amazed that hours would fly past as I watched the glass swirl and twirl in the flame. I was drawn in, as if glass art came and got me.
From the very first I've been fascinated with marbles. Something about the way they can transport the mind out of the room to some uncharted sphere, something about that otherworldly floatiness, something about that perfectly round spin....It all had me transfixed. Marbles are magical in that they have no purpose other than being what they are. They possess their own dynamic energy in that they’ll roll away if not kept captive on a stand.
I now create glassworks in many forms, but marbles remain my focus, heart desire, and the subject of late night ponderings. I've developed several marble families, and there are more to come as I continue to chart unknown lands. I mostly rely on implosion as a base technique, and am generally in pursuit of symmetry, depth, and resonant character, though departures from those points can be enlightening.
I strive to make all my marbles presentable from any angle, as any sphere should be. As I continue I find myself being drawn toward ever greater levels of translucence and detailed texture. I feel that the ideal marble should use all the area that a sphere allows, yet leaving enough clear space for the gazing eye to penetrate all depths, and every form should be composed of numerous strands. In this way a marble should be pleasing from a distance, and yet draw the in the gazer as the eye pursues an end to the detail without success. So if you please, have a nice gaze at these images and let me know if I’ve succeeded.
-John Bridges
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