Marbles No.11

5"x 7" oil on Gesso Board

     I have had a fascination with marbles for a long time. I didn't play with marbles as a kid but many years ago my husband pushed back the furniture in our living room and gave me and the kids a lesson on how it's done. My husband grew up in Cuba where marbles were treasured, coveted, and won and lost in games on the street.

Fun facts: 

     Marbles and the games they bring have been around for about 5,000 years. They were made from stone, bone, and clay and maybe even marble if you were a rich kid.
     A way to make glass marbles by clipping pieces from a rope of molten glass was invented in 1846.
     At the beginning of the 1900s marbles were being mass produced, and in 1905 a company in Akron, Ohio was cranking out about 12 million marbles a year. (I think the factory burned down, but there is a museum there now, with some of those precious specimens, that I would LOVE to visit!!!)
   
     I found a quote when I was reading about marbles yesterday. It was in a comment section and I didn't see the author's name but I'll share it: "What a perfect toy! Give children colorful spheres and watch them declare values and create games. Pure human nature."

     For those who like to see the work in progress here's a couple of the steps:

      See you next Wednesday! There's another marble painting coming up sometime soon.