Topic: ID Help w/ signed abstract PW

[Sklounion]

Hi,
On the basis of something seen on the Mont Blue website, I will ask to see the current output from Beranek, Skrdlovice, next week. I have a meeting just 7km from the factory, so will make a small detour, just to confirm or deny that this is from their current range.
Regards,
Marcus

[Mike Morgan]

This is just a bump to see if there might be any fresh insights on this and one other unidentified weight.

I started a Flickr photo set with these two weights that might offer somewhat better images.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike-morgan/sets/72157622342040656/

With the other (triangular) weight, I saw a nearly identical weight, except clearly dated '99 instead of '94, on ebay a while back, so I am sure mine was not a one-off piece.

Thank you all.

[Sach]

Any ideas how it might've been made? The design portion, judging from the bottom view, seems to be a tube of off-white. Perhaps various colors were repeatedly layered upon each other and cut down somehow?

First layer is white or ivory ( could be solid but probably is powder melted over a gather of clear )
then rolled in mixed color frit and melted in
next a a wrap of clear class is applied over some of the frit area
this is then heated and the piece blocked / marvered back into a round shape with a smooth exterior (this creates the "carved out" areas as the clear wrap pushes down into the color below.)
a pair of twisted canes are picked up and melted over the top
finally a gather of clear is applied and shaped for the final finish.

[Mike Morgan]

Thank you, Sach. As I read your post, I could envision that process making this weight... not an easy feat for a writer considering how little I know about working with glass.

Assuming this weight was planned and not a let's-try-this-that-and-the-other-and-see-what-we-get project, your reply leads me to believe that I probably should be looking for this signature among experienced glass artists (not necessarily specific to paperweights) versus someone who may have only briefly dabbled in glass work. Is that a reasonable assumption?

Does anyone know of any artists that often create these sort of paddle/beavertail-shaped weights who I might contact for advice?

[Sach]

None of this is technically complex, any glassblower of intermediate skill could have made such a weight.