Hand painted clay marbles by Kelley

[Penny Kelley]

Hi, my name is Penny Kelley.  I'm a self-taught, marble artist.  I make and hand-paint clay marbles.  Want to share some firsthand marble history and how I became a marble artist. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949.  Raised across the river in the small town of Bromley, Kentucky.   I never played marbles as a kid.  My hands were too small and the neighborhood boys wouldn't play with a girl anyway.  Across the street from our house was a packed earth path perfect for shooting marbles before it was covered by concrete.  Power lawnmowers, sidewalks, paved school grounds and concrete eventually covered all the ideal places for games.  When I was 10 years old, I wanted to watch the boys shooting a game.  They tried to run me away but one of the older boys, a good shooter, said I could stay.  He put me in charge of holding his jar of winnings.  I swear it was a gallon jar--but, more than likely, it was a pint.  I remember sitting with my legs crossed and rolling the jar in my lap filled with colorful glass orbs.  I remember thinking, "Some day I'm going to get some of these.."  Never thought about marbles again until I was in my late 20's, I went to a county court day in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.  My bachelor Uncle was an antique dealer.  He had a stand and was selling his wares.  A large, beautiful, old German Swirl caught my eye.  It was in perfect condition.  It was sitting atop an old Coca-Cola bottle on the front of his stand.  Couldn't believe I was actually considering paying $30 for a marble, but I was lusting after it.  My Uncle was stationed in Italy during WWII.  He was telling me some fascinating war stories as we sat on the tailgate of his old truck behind his stand.  I glanced up and the marble was gone!  Someone had stolen it right under our noses!  That began my obsession with marbles.  I started shopping and collecting that very day.  I thought I was the only person in the world collecting marbles! 

This was long before the internet.  My collecting dwindled as I found very few marbles of interest to me.  Year later, I was charged with watching my 8 year old nephew, Hunter, for three days.  He and I were in the boonies on a farm near the little town of Mt. Olivet, Kentucky.  I asked him what he wanted to do in his life before he died.  He said he needed to learn to swim because all his friends could.  He said he was deathly afraid of water and would climb on anyone's head that got into the water with him.  Told him I could teach him to swim in minutes.   He asked me what I wanted to do  before I died.  Maybe because I was speaking to an  8-year-old, marbles popped into my head.  Told him I wanted to find some interesting marbles.  He excitedly exclaimed he knew where marbles were in Cynthiana, Kentucky!  I was beyond skeptical.  What were the chances that a kid from Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a summer vacation, knew where there were marbles in Cynthiana, Kentucky?!  The next day, we went to the swimming pool at the Blue Licks State Park.  He was swimming like a fish by the end of the day.  The following day, we drove to Cynthiana.  He directed me to a Rock Shop.  I was skeptical. The door was propped open with a tub of cheap, machine made marbles.  Above it was a sign that read, "$1 a scoop".  I gave him a disappointed look as my hopes dropped.  He grinned and said, "follow me".  He shot through a doorway into the next room.  There stood a glass case filled with handmade marbles by Robert Brown.  The owner and I talked until he had to close the shop for the day.  He knew Robert personally.  Said Robert was losing his eyesight.  He was passing on all his knowledge and equipment to Tom Thornburg.  Purchased some of Robert's marbles and the book, "Clay Chinas".  I was hooked!  After being inspired by Brown's marbles, I knew I wanted to collect hand-painted marbles.  I quickly discovered they were very hard to find and, anything handmade and hand-painted, was not cheap!

Attended some marble shows and became acquainted with Robert Hamon.  He made spectacular art glass that sold for thousands.  He made marbles out of his passion for them.  His brother sold his marbles.  Robert and I had wonderful conversations.  He said he started working in glass when he was 10 years old.  He'd been doing it for 60 years.  I asked if he ever tired of it.  He said he couldn't wait to get out of bed every morning to get to the glass shop!  I was dismayed to discover that at one time, I had resided just 30 miles from Roberts glass shop in West Virginia.  It was an unfortunate missed opportunity.  I'd probably be a glass marble artist today if I had met Robert sooner.  I had a spectacular collection of his works.  Would send him money and tell him to select the marbles he wanted to send me.  He so appreciated my trust and my passion that he  would send his very best of each design.  He asked me to name one of his latest marble designs.  It was a light blue marble filled with Lutz. It was amazing!  I named it 'galaxy'. 

Had two sons and my house was always filled with little boys.  Had to keep my marbles in bubble gum machines with the holes plugged.  Little boys cannot resist marbles! <G>

In 1997, I went home to Northern Kentucky to visit my childhood friend, De Monroe.  We planned to attend a 30 year class reunion and a marble show in Cincinnati.  She taught ceramics in her basement and had a kiln.  It was an opportunity to attempt to paint a marble.  At the time, I didn't know how to round the clay.  Rounded a ball of clay as best I could, painted an intricate rose pattern I'd seen in the Clay China Book.  De glazed and fired it.  A few days later, I took it to the marble show in Cincinnati, Ohio.  That night, De and I sat at a table in the bar surrounded by four, expert marble collectors.  Asked them the most they had paid for one marble-$3,000, $5,000, $7,000 and $9,000! These were serious collectors!  I pulled my marble out of my pocket and showed it to Bryan Estep.  He sat straight up in his chair when he saw it.  He said, "Wow, that is a $300 marble!  I've never seen one except in a book!".  I asked if he thought it was old?  He inspected it closely and declared it to be a very old and rare marble.  I wanted to demonstrate to De that people would purchase marbles.  I told Bryan that I had just painted and fired it a few days earlier.  He was shocked.  He insisted that I must sign my work.  He asked if it was 'for sale'.  Held out my open palm and said, "Twenty bucks!"  He couldn't get out his wallet fast enough.  I turned and handed the money to De and said, "See, I told you that you can sell marbles!"  Bryan sat it atop his drink bottle.  With a big grin on his face, he sat and stared at it the rest of the evening.   He obviously planned to have some fun with it--asking other experts if it was old or not.  After that, I began making and painting marbles and shipping them to De to fire in her kiln.   De painted an island scene marble especially for me and named it, "Down by the sea, where I want to be".  I asked her why she was living in Kentucky if she wanted to live down by the sea?  She replied, "Good question!" --promptly packed up and moved to Ft. Lauderdale!  

Mark Block photographed some of my very first work.  He published them in his marble book, "Contemporary Art Glass".  (I'm a perfectionist and cringe when I look a them now.)  Eventually contacted the only other artists hand-painting marbles that I could find--Nadine McDonald, Greg Pessman and Tom Thornburg.  Hoped someone would share their experience and teach me how to be a better artist.  Kudos to Greg Pessman, a very talented marble artist and pig farmer in Fulton, Illinois.  He was generous with his knowledge and happy to share.  I purchased and treasure his marble, "Pigs on a roller coaster" from Mark Block at a marble show.  Know Greg has donated some of his work to a marble museum in West Virginia.  I strive to be good enough to have some of my marbles on display in a museum one day.  At the time of this writing, Nadine McDonald and Tom Thornburg have passed away.  I know of no other artists passionately making and hand-painting marbles but I pray there are some out there!

Collectors, Andy and Trudi Christian, were retired, driving around the country in their RV attending shows and searching antique stores looking for marbles.  They asked an antique dealer in  Bay St. Louis, MS, if they had any.  She said she didn't have any but she knew someone who did.  She gave them directions to my house.  We became fast friends. They were delighted to discover I was not only collecting but was also painting marbles.  They taught me a lot about identifying marbles.  Marbles are very difficult to identify by looking at photos in a book. Gave Andy and Trudy a box of my hand-painted marbles and asked them to trade them with other artists they met along their journey.  Wanted to know which designs had the most appeal.  They also agreed to take my copy of Mark Block's marble book and have every artist autograph their page.  Treasured that book but, unfortunately, it was lost in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

The eye of Katrina went right over my waterfront subdivision at the mouth of the East Pearl River.  Took my geodesic dome house on pilings and every hurricane-proof house in my subdivision.  I'm here to tell you that there is no such thing as a hurricane proof house!  It looked like a marble bomb had exploded there.  My spectacular collection of Robert Hamon marbles floated off into the marsh in a wooden marble cabinet and was never found.  Heartbreaking!!!   Soon after the storm, beautiful handmade marbles began arriving in the mail from all around the country. The first to arrive was from Pennsylvania.  Mailed my email address and asked why they had sent a marble.  Ray Laubs replied,  "a little birdie had told him that I had lost all my marbles in the storm".  Later, discovered Andy and Trudy Christian were handing out my address at the marble shows.  Ray is one of the very last sulfide marble artists in the country.  He asked if I was still painting.   Told him I had lost all my clay, paints and brushes and that it all seemed useless because I didn't know how to perfectly round a clay marble.  He said he would tell me the secret if I promised never to tell anyone.  Told him never to tell me because I would tell anyone who would listen!  It will soon be a lost art if we all don't share what we have learned.  Ray pondered it and decided to share the secret of rounding.  He said I could tell anyone I wanted.  Soon afterward, a box of clay and ceramic supplies arrived in the mail from him.  I wanted to paint a very special marble for everyone who had shipped one to me after the storm so I got to work. 

Ray and I have remained in contact ever since.  He is storehouse of knowledge and information--always encouraging me, always available to answer any question about kiln temperatures or talk me through any roadblocks.  It is important to learn to avoid kiln catastrophes that can ruin all your hard work.  Very discouraging!  Let me say here that I love painting marbles but I hate making the marble.  Have never found any perfectly rounded, clay marble blanks to purchase that were ready to paint. (I call them 'canvas'.)  You have to make your own if you want to paint marbles. They have to be completely dry when fired or they will explode in the kiln.  I've had my share of experimental very educational kiln catastrophes.  Certainly learned what NOT to do! LOL!!

Met a woman on a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale that had three kilns she wanted to sell--two small jewelry kilns and one larger kiln.  When we got off the ship, I followed her to her home and purchased all three.  I have only used one small, jewelry kiln through the years.  Ray told me never to sell my kilns because I would regret it.  He and I made a marble display showing the steps of making a marble from a ball of clay to a beautifully painted, glazed marble encased in glass.  He made a special, wooden display case and donated the educational display to a marble museum.   I treasure our 'co-op' marbles.  They are unique because they are by two, entirely different, techniques in one marble--by two different artists.   Don't think anyone has ever done this before.  My hand-painted marble has to be very small.  The glass magnifies and doubles an object in size.  Very few things can withstand 2,000 degree molten glass without turning black.  Because  my clay ceramic marble has been fired at such a hot temperature, it can tolerate the molten glass.  Recently (2024), Ray sent me an incredible chess board and set.  Each chess piece is enclosed in a glass sphere--set of 32 gorgeous sulfides.  Ray is brilliant.  He works in wood, as well as, glass.  I think he can make anything he imagines.  The board has indentions in every square so the spheres can't roll.   The king and queen are larger than the bishops, knights (horses) and rooks. The pawns are dolphin sulfides.  They are smaller than the key pieces.  This chess set is an incredible treasure of beautiful sulfides!   Ray is as passionate and generous as they come.  I will be forever grateful to have been blessed with his friendship.

Every marble artist has a private marble collection.  I love to trade my marbles with other glass artists.  Love to give them a choice of many and see which one they choose.  Always wanting to know what designs are most desirable to a collector.  I sign my marbles "Kelley".   Hope to find someone with a marble passion to pass on all I have learned through trial and error before I kick the bucket.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steph]

Hi.  Welcome.   I love ceramics.  

Great history.  I can't remember if I've seen one of yours before or not. I will be on the lookout now. 
 

[akroorka]

On 7/14/2024 at 4:28 PM, Penny Kelley said:

Hi, my name is Penny Kelley. 

Hello Penny and welcome to "TheMarbleConnection".

On 7/14/2024 at 4:28 PM, Penny Kelley said:

before I kick the bucket.  

Your field of expertise is a niche collectable as most collectable marbles are. To find one that is an expert in clays marbles is rare and unexpected. There are many “contemporary” glass marble makers—Way too many imho. To find one that does clay is a revelation.
Everyone has their favorites and the clay field has not been a big collectable market in the last few years imho, not enough made and not enough to find.
Let’s not confuse these “Clays” with the Polymer marbles that we are all familiar with. Clay marbles are a far more involved process that involves far more work and artistic knowledge, let alone the equipment involved.
I have a few “contemporary” clays that include some from Nadine and I purchased these only in her memory. (Bless her Soul “The laborer's appetite works for him/her”)
I wish that I knew you by name but I do not. I was never a big one to attend shows.
The collection that you show is a great example of a contemporary field that few are involved with in today’s market. It should be involved imho because of the amount of time and labor (love, passion) involved for the marbles that are produced.

Feel free to add any addresses that these marbles may be purchased from because I am sure that many will want to get some into the collections that they now own.

Marble—On!!
 

[schmoozer]

Penny, God bless you for continuing the tradition!

I have 3 Robert Hamon marbles, the best of my collection. I bought a sulphide from Tom in 2008 at his shop, sadly had to sell it due to financial issues.

will be looking for your marbles..

[I'llhavethat1]

Not what I was expecting when I read the thread title, but super cool.  I like the idea of clay encased in glass and need to find one now.  Props to you and thanks for sharing your story