This is an exquisite paperweight from master glass blower James Alloway. I bought it from him in 2007 and, so, know it was displayed only briefly in my home and since has been in my paperweight storage. Accordingly, its in perfect, like-new condition. James fashions all his paperweights individually. Each, therefore, is completely unique and OOAK. While he might (and, frankly, has) made all kinds of rainbow weights and marbles, none of them are alike. They all possess a fair degree of dissimilarity from each other. As always, he crafts his weights only from high quality USA made Spruce Pine Studio Clear Glass. Hes pretty well-known for adding dichroic bits to his work, usually in smaller amounts more than blanketing the work with it. With a first look, this beauty seems to be the odd one out: theres just no dichroism evident at first glance. What are all the sparkly bits hidden within the orange stripe? Yellow, gold, peach and pink glittery bits! Clever, James, to hide it in the stripe like that. Such restraint and skill. I had a really hard time capturing this element and, even though I got something, I think you might need to trust me on this bit. To be honest, I was of two minds about offering this weight. This is the only Alloway I have and, boy! Not that that will be anytime soon! A glorious Alloway for you if you want it! Dimensions: 3 tall x 3½ wide. Weight: 1.98 pounds. Generally round in shape. This weight is in absolutely perfect, unmarked, unmarred, unscuffed, undented and undinged condition. Truly pristine, it could have been made this morning. James Alloway is one of the top furnace marble artists in the country, consistently producing some of the most colorful and whimsical designs available. He was one of the first artists to heavily include dichro in his weights and marbles, and it has become a sparkling staple for almost all of his beautiful designs. James first encounter with glass happened when he was in fourth grade and was taking part in a summer science program. As a project, he vividly remembered bending glass tubing in an alcohol burner. A few years later, during a high school art class trip to a stained glass studio, he watched Tiffany-style lampshades being made and was very impressed with their beauty. After school, on the job as an auto mechanic, he sustained a back injury and needed something to keep him busy while he recuperated. He began a class in stained glass windows and his ideas about and creativeness around the craft of glass making took flight. While touring art galleries to look at the stained glass, he discovered another form of glassmaking: mouth blown art glass. The glass he was seeing was beautifully shaped, the colors bright and bold. He was hooked – and not by stained glass. He was completely enthralled by the idea of blowing glass as a profession. In 1987 he found a glass artist in his home of Portland, Oregon who was offering glass blowing classes. By the time this eight-week intensive glass blowing class ended, hed already constructed a basic glass studio in his garage. At that time, James Alloway Art Glass was born. He considers himself to be 90% self-taught. His style is his own. Because no one ever told him what couldnt be done with glass, he never allowed himself restrictions in terms of his creativity. While James creates many different items including vases and bowls, he is most well known for his beautiful art glass marbles and paperweights. Every art glass paperweight/marble item that he creates is unique and truly a one of a kind design. Glassblowing takes patience, timing and passion to accomplish great beauty. Timing is everything when one blows glass. The right thing can be done at the wrong time – and the piece will be a disaster. James desire to be successful in his chosen craft keeps him grounded and the pleasure that others receive from his work keeps him in his studio. I do not alter my photos in any way or use a flash. My only light is natural sunlight, regular table lamps and/or overhead track lighting. We bathe every paperweight with TLC and Mrs. Meyers Lavender Glass Cleaner before sending them off – all sparkly and clean – to you. We make every attempt to accurately describe the weights we list for sale. All our art glass items are previously owned (aka used, vintage and/or antique) and are NOT, therefore, new and pristine. After you receive this weight, please leave feedback! Thank you SO much – in advance. We can and do make honest mistakes because we, like you, are human. However, well never ever attempt to mislead or take advantage of you. Thank you so much for looking at my listing for this 2007 James Alloway rainbow twist paperweight. The item “2007 JAMES ALLOWAY Paperweight, Rainbow Twist withCntrl Bubbles, Signed/Dated/#” is in sale since Thursday, October 10, 2019. This item is in the category “Pottery & Glass\Glass\Art Glass\Paperweights”. The seller is “barblikesflowers” and is located in Santa Rosa, California. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Brand: Alloway Art Glass
- Subject/Theme: Abstract
- Type of Glass: Hand Blown Glass
- Country of Origin: USA
- Features: Signed, Dated, Numbered
- Glassmaking Technique: Hand Blown
- Color: Rainbow