stroker art/marble thread

[STROKER]

here is a new thread i am starting for goblets, marbles and pendants as well as some of my wood and mixed media from time to time.

i wanted a seperate thread for my non functional art pieces as that is what i do most until recently when i got bit by the pipe bug.

lets get this thread started with a few mibs i did yesterday and a goblet i finished up by inserting my version of a swan that looks more like a goony bird. the goblet stands about 8 inches tall. i am sure i could do a better top now that i have been working with hollow for the last month. but i figured i needed to finish this one as oppossed to scrapping it.

doug (greymatter glass) has lit the fire under my ass with his marble trade and i want to make sure i give something cool from my end. or at least as cool as i get. ha ha

the marbles are a blast and its been a while since i did one so i spent all day making solid stuff yesterday to get back on track. forgot how long one takes to make.

the jelly fish orb/marble is pretty big at 40 mm and i am not sure it is actually a marble if its not smooth? but i like the end result. trapped some air bubbles here and there but i think it looks pretty decent still.
(i dig the shadow the jelly throws over the coral in a few pics. it shows the depth nicely.)

the flower mib looks much brighter than the pic shows. my lighting is off and i should have compensated with the camera. oh well.
the mib is about 30 mm

the last one is a little faded out. not sure why either, they are color i always use and dont usually thin so much on me. stringers must have been a tad too thin.
it is about 30mm as well.

i have a few pics from old post i am gonna include here later as i am continuing the style and want to show the progress from the start.

these threads are a great way of really keeping accurate records of your work.

as always, thanks for looking.

later, jay

[cc_bob]

Very nice work. I especially like the flower.

[Pogo]

like that sea mib.

[STROKER]

thanks for looking everyone and commenting..

i have not had much to post on this thread but i am working on a galaxy marble or maybe a blackhole type thing. idono???

i am experimenting with fume and seeing what i can come up with.

my damn compressor took a shit today so i am without o2 at the moment. i use a o2 generator for those of you going huh?

anyway i dont even have a o2 tank for back up and i may be without my compressor for a few days till i get parts. that sucks for sure.

this is life sometimes.

by the way the metals i fumed are sterling silver under 14 k gold.

i still have been too cheap to buy any .999 or 24k and had this scrap stuff laying around.

what do yall think? i want some greens in my next one so i am gonna play with reducing more. put it in the kiln a few times as well.
fume is very new to me but i see why so many people use it.

later all, jay

[STROKER]

alright i know this is not glass but i thought some of you might enjoy it.

it is a multi posistional sculpture i call "flight". it looks different depending on which side it lays on. i have made one for a client on a steel stand that had it displayed in an upright position. i like that one alot.

they are approx 36 inches wide by 22 deep and about 1/4 inch wall thickness throughout most of the piece except the base.

this is a very time consuming piece with 59 individual strips that have to be cut meticulously accurate at a compound angle , and i can only glue 4-5 at a time because of clamping issues.

this is the 5th one i have done and they do not get any easier with practice.

probably have 45-50 grinding and sanding alone in it not to mention construction time.

i am building a double version as we speak that will be approx 5 feet tall on a steel stand. should have been done already but i cant seem to get out of the glass shop enough these days. ha ha . i am a glass crack head.
need to get busy though as i have a buyer and i dont want to piss him off.

i blame you guys entirely for my addiction. but i guess ill let you slide. haha

thanks for looking. later, jay

[Mecha]

Wow! That is a stunning piece.....

[faded]

that is really friggin' cool.

[jes]

wow, cool. I had no idea

[STROKER]

thanks for the comps guys. this is what i have been doing for the past 14 years. i guess you could say i have made alot of sawdust in that time.

here is the one i was telling you about on the steel stand. i like this look the best so far.

i also did one for a client that was a wall mounted piece. that was sweet as well.
that one had a very complex stand fabrictaed to show it very nice and clean from many angles, despite being a wall piece. for some reason i have not been able to find the digital file i have it on. too many pics....

the woods are african bubinga, ebony and fiddleback maple.

thanks for looking, jay

[glassdocnc]

Awesome detail! Those curves are something!

[bzglass]

very friggin nice!!!!!

[mistahead]

cant help but lov the wood stuff mang!!......very nice

[dorkeedude]

Well its good to know i'm not the only woodworker on this glass forum! You stuff beats the hell out of my woodwork though, but I was only 4 when you started working with wood!

[VED]

incredible work

[STROKER]

Well its good to know i'm not the only woodworker on this glass forum! You stuff beats the hell out of my woodwork though, but I was only 4 when you started working with wood!

damn, you really know how to make a man feel old......
just messin with you dork. ha ha i had to say that.

i am sure there are some others lurking around here that make sawdust. it seems we have a very diverse crowd hanging around on this forum.

glassdoc, bz, mista, ved i really appreciate the kind words. one thing i can say for sure is that i always put as much into a piece as my mind and body will allow. its nice to be able to say i made that when i look back at some of my stuff.

going to florida to visit my mom and uncle in a few days and will be out of the creative zone for a few weeks. im jonesing already. ha ha.

on a very high note for me. my uncle who i mentioned in another thread has stage 3 throat cancer has just been recently diagnosed as cancer free for the time being.
after haveing as much of the tumor removed surgiaclly, he went through 9 weeks of chemo and radiation at the same time and it was brutal on him. however the results are incredible. originally was told he only had months and now he could have years. fuck ya!!!!!!!!!!!!! he says he is feeling stronger everyday.

we are gonna play a bunch of texas holdem at the local dog track and see if we cant take all of sarasotas money. at least that is the plan.....

later good peoples, jay

[dorkeedude]

Ha, yeah there is a very diverse crowd on this forum! Yeah I know how it is when you get into doing something, then you have to stop for a while to do other things, not that spending time with family is bad or anything. It sounds like things are going good for your uncle though!

[cc_bob]

The wood sculptures are fantastic!!!

Glad to hear your uncle is doing better, cancer sucks!!!

[FredLight]

Wow! Just Fuckin' wow, man.

[STROKER]

cc and fred i really appreciate the kind words.

since i am going to see my mom in a few days, i need to make a few gifts for her and butterflies are her favorite collectable followed by teddybears.

i dont see any teddy's in my future but i thought the momkas rods would be great to make butterflies with. so i made a few pendants.

these were the first two i did as prototypes last night and i see potential for sure.

i got screwed up on the wig wag piece and made both wings with same wag direction. have to be very careful there as it is tricky but to make it proper you must do each one completely opposite of the other.

if i could go big i could put alot of detail but i am not sure how much weight/size i can get away with before it is too much? the green one is 2" wide and the other is 1.5". (ladies , what is the cut off size for you?)

i dont want to beat my mom up with her pendant in other words. ha ha

i think i have it figured out so i should be able to make a nice one or two this evening. we shall see.

once again, thanks for looking. jay

[glassinine]

I love the fumed piece. I wouldn't worry to much about the wigs being off, I think the only people that would notice is skilled wig waggers. Seems to me that might be a good size, but my wife doesn't like large pieces, but she complains about standard 1.5 inch pendents. I can dig it, keep it up

[glassdocnc]

Jay, I'm glad to hear your uncle is doing so well! Yay!

The pendants are neat but I'd have a problem wearing that big bail on the back. I think it would just tend to fall over sideways. 1.5" is pretty big too. Certainly don't go bigger. Maybe pierce the head side to side to accomodate a necklace. And add at least the suggestion of antennae pretty please.

There are some butterfly tutorials on LE if you want to check out what some others have done in soft glass as well as boro.

[STROKER]

Jay, I'm glad to hear your uncle is doing so well! Yay!

The pendants are neat but I'd have a problem wearing that big bail on the back. I think it would just tend to fall over sideways. 1.5" is pretty big too. Certainly don't go bigger. Maybe pierce the head side to side to accomodate a necklace. And add at least the suggestion of antennae pretty please.

There are some butterfly tutorials on LE if you want to check out what some others have done in soft glass as well as boro.

thanks for the input marina. an for sure yay! about my uncle.

i was wondering about the loop but i was also afraid if i made it small it would get broken. my wife likes all her stuff very small but my mom tends to be just the opposite with her jewelry. almost gaudy but hey we cant all see eye to eye.
i definately did not get my art side from my mom. ha ha .

o.k. so tonight i will work on smaller / more body friendly loop and antennae maybe. i am short on time to get too complex.

lastly, do you guys like the body under the wings like the green one or flush like the wagger? i like the under neath or green but i know the other is almost bullit proof?

any more input is certainly welcome. thanks. jay

[STROKER]

hello all,
kind of been in a funk the last few days but i did get out and put this piece together. hard to get a good photo. not real happy with the connection at the lady/stand. i had it real sweet and should have left it alone, but i tried to burn some haze spot off and poof. it got out of shape. should i redo or leave it? my wife says leave it.

the marble is the one i sent kebira in the marble trade. it is about 35-40 mm and i used some momkas striking rod to do the wigwag design. i am trying to make a retti design that is made from dots and dragged for the back. i see potential with practice.
i posted pics of mib on another thread but i wanted it on here as well.

thanks for looking, jay

[glassdocnc]

I vote with your wife and say "don't touch it."

Nice piece and marble.

[Pogo]

Grampa says if it ain't broke don't fix it!!!
I don't think many people will even look at the weld... Focal point is woman, then spikey doo's.....

Great work, Stroker... *golf clap*

[RamblezMarblez]

The first goblet looks like you were inspired by Ceasar (sp.) something. I saw a nice orange/swan/filagrana goblet at the GAS conference in Corning Ny. I really like it. The second marble looks like if you just heat the whole marble, the dots with smooth out and will piont stait up instead of slight right or left. Looks like your melting in each dot one at a time.
The wood sculpture is AMAZING. I bet with time you'll be the main guy who incorporates both wood and glass within a piece. Nice work all together!

[KahunaGlassArt]

wow really nice woodwork!
AND WICKED SCULPTURE

[STROKER]

you have all convinced me to leave well enough alone on this one. thanks so much for the input my good people.

slick, i definately based the orange piece on a ceasarre toffelo goblet. his work is insane. one day maybe..??!!

i have to do some more of this style sculpture. i enjoy it alot. just wish my kiln was taller. i can only go 12 inches and that sucks.

i want a big frontloader for x-mas.

later, jay

[glassdocnc]

A big bell kiln is on my list (but not for this year). I love to see your pics Jay. You are always pushing yourself and learning fast.

[vetropod]

beautiful work!!!

[STROKER]

a few more wig wag mib blanks.

these are really fun to make and i love the look myself.

dont know what i am gonna do with em yet. still on the punty.

these are pretty small so i may put on a pipe or accent a vessel/goblet?

later all, jay