Contemp Artist Signature

[Shamrock Marbles]

Drawing a complete blank on these two marbles.

Does anyone recognize the signature?

The blue marble is 0.71" diameter.

The white & pink marble measures 0.73" diameter.

 

[Shamrock Marbles]

[Royal3]

Not a clue, John, sorry. Have you tried Ron’s site? It’s tedious to work through, but you might get lucky. They’re both classically constructed marbles, so maybe they’ve been around. 

https://www.glasmurmeln.com/HOT--ar--ar--ar--Identification-guide-for-contemporary-glass-artists.htm

 

[Shamrock Marbles]

Royal,

Thanks for the link!

Well. I think I answered my own question.

I believe these marbles to be made by Harry Besett.

The last loop is not a "D", but a return stroke to finish the "tt".

Picked up at Wheaton Village Marble Show 2005 or 2006.

Thanks!

John

[Shamrock Marbles]

Found a candlestick set on Ebay.

Considering that the signature has to fit on a 0.7" diameter marble, I believe these to be a match.

John

 

Besett Signature

[Shamrock Marbles]

[Alan]

I don't believe the first few sigs are the same as the last.

 

The last ones appear to be Harry and Wendy Besett. They did attend a few of the Wheaton Village events.

[Shamrock Marbles]

1 hour ago, Alan said:

I don't believe the first few sigs are the same as the last.

 

The last ones appear to be Harry and Wendy Besett. They did attend a few of the Wheaton Village events.

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

I like how you put "did" in italics.

Do you have any suggestion(s) to attribution?

John

[Alan]

23 hours ago, Shamrock Marbles said:

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

I like how you put "did" in italics.

Do you have any suggestion(s) to attribution?

John

The ones signed Besett are just that.  No guess on the other ones as the styles are not unique to any artist's style.

I said "did" because I was at those shows and know them both.  I can't say about shows since as I haven't attended those.  That show seems to have shifted considerably to almost all torch work.

[Shamrock Marbles]

14 hours ago, Alan said:

The ones signed Besett are just that.  No guess on the other ones as the styles are not unique to any artist's style.

I said "did" because I was at those shows and know them both.  I can't say about shows since as I haven't attended those.  That show seems to have shifted considerably to almost all torch work.

Yes, I attended those shows, too.

Came as a visitor in 2004. Had a table the remaining years until the end.

Paul Katherman has worked hard to resurrect the show (my apologies to anyone else if not properly credited).

About the signatures on the two marbles...

I'm 100% sure they are made by Harry Besett.  What tripped me up, was I just looked at the signatures a few weeks ago. I kept seeing in my mind the name "BraD". A mental red herring.

After posting, it hit me. Royal's post had a link, but no signature for Besett. Ebay had some Besett candlesticks.  All three are signed Besett with a "range of variation".

The end stroke and return loop to cross the double "tt" are in all signatures. The "B" exhibit the same stroking angles.

The middle of the marble signatures are shortened due to the size (0.313" long) and surface curvature.

Besides all that stuff, I forgot that they were gifted to my kids. Blue for the boy and pink ribbon for the girl.

Do you have signatures on your Besett marbles to share?

John

[Shamrock Marbles]

"Range of Variation" in Besett signatures on three different candle sticks.

Even with that range, the "B" and "tt" backstroke cross loop are distinguishable.

I am not a handwriting expert, but you can see he writes his last name in three sections "B", "es", then "ett".

John

[Shamrock Marbles]

Anyone who has tried to write their name on glass with a spinning diamond engraver know how difficult it can be to get good results let alone consistency.

The tool just wants to catch and bounce.  Hence, the skipping of the lines.

Add the complexity of a small object with a curved surface.  What a pain!!

The best engraved signature is done by Mark Matthews.  Even his micro-signatures on collaboration marbles are precise!

I understand why artists have gone to titanium pens or used signature canes.

John

 

Mark Matthews Collaboration "Beach Ball" Marble (1-5/16" Diameter)

[Alan]

If it were me - I'd take the easy

 

way and email photos of anything in question to the Bessets.  They know their work and can tell you rather easily without looking at the signature.

 

I'm in Tampa right now and can't take photos.  My very small Besset mica pieces are unsigned, as it would deface the piece.  Their bas relief engraved cameo pieces as well:

 

I have a very large Besset piece (below) that i don't recall how is signed because it was a special multi-stage production project with another artist (IIRC).

[Shamrock Marbles]

Alan,

There is more information:  My wife confirmed the origin.

However, I did just what you suggested and sent them an email.

After doing so, I learned their barn studio suffered a devastating fire late December 2017.

They lost everything (finished inventory, office equipment, glass equipment, etc.), but no one was physically hurt.

There was (and still is) a GoFundMe to raise money to get their studio up and running.

https://www.gofundme.com/besett-vermont-glass-studio-fire

Since the fire, they have been fighting to get their business and lives back in order.

With all things considered, I felt like a total jack-a$$ with my trivial inquiry.

They have more important things to do with their time, than answer stupid emails.

So, we'll leave it at that.

 

The Harry Besett & Ken Leslie collaborations are totally awesome.

There are Harry Besett, Ken Leslie and Josh Simpson collaborations (e.g., "Planet Swallower").

There are Harry Besett, Wendy Besett and Josh Simpson collaborations.

Your wonderful orb is a Besett & Leslie collaboration titled "Sweeny Todd".

http://www.vtglass.com/marbles/artspherescollaboration.htm

 

Thanks for your help,

John