Local artists from Lincoln Hot Glass are bringing treasure to you and going down in history at the same time. The United Nations has named 2022 The Year of Glass, and glass artists are making history with the world’s biggest marble treasure hunt by hiding their handmade marbles for you to find. Now, you can have the adventure of a lifetime and add some beautiful artwork to your collection. The hunt for the marble treasure is open to the public at no cost.

Nebraska is home to many talented, locally and nationally recognized glass artists. Marc Kornbluh has been making and selling marbles to the international marble collecting community for close to 20 years. His marbles are in museums and private collections throughout the country, and one of his marbles resides in the permanent collection of the Sheldon Museum. “At Lincoln Hot Glass, we make a variety of marbles, from small memorial cremation marbles to giant globes. It’s the only place in hundreds of miles where you can learn to make marbles and other items on the torch,” notes owner Marc.

Matt Losee is the lead instructor at Lincoln Hot Glass and enjoys working with those 16 and older to learn about working molten glass on the torch. “Glass marbles are pretty close to indestructible. They’re very durable. Unlike stone, wood, metal, oil paintings or other art, glass is chemically inert. It won’t oxidize and degrade or rot. In a million years, these marbles will look the same as they do now.”

Carrie Strope is a local glass artist and teaching artist who uses all forms of working in glass, from fused glass and mosaics to stained glass and torchworking. “We’re excited to be joining the World’s Biggest Marble Hunt during the International Year of Glass to help bring a fun, free, family-friendly activity to Nebraskans. It is exciting and engaging for even the youngest of marble hunters. 

We hope to inspire folks with the marbles they find and look forward to showing them how accessible it is to make your own marbles at Lincoln Hot Glass”, says Lincoln artist Carrie Strope. 

A couple of the glass artists that are joining the marble hunt and hiding marbles started out as students at Lincoln Hot Glass. Chris Apple started out taking an ornament class as a way to connect with his deceased Aunt, who was a glassblower. Soon after, he was taking every class the studio offered and realized he wanted to be at the studio more often. “Working with glass is a way for me to use my creative energies in a capacity that is not related to my creative day job. It’s meditative and therapeutic. Studio time is me time and is a great balance for my mental wellbeing.” 

Another student turned renter, Doug Hanks says, “Glass, for me, is the perfect medium. Every piece is unique, and will last for generations. Where else can you balance lava on a lightsaber and make something beautiful?”

The many marbles being hidden throughout Nebraska use various techniques and are all original works of art. Some of the marbles are created with precious metals such as silver and gold while some of them are full of imagery created using small strands of glass or murrine, which are created by stacking many layers of glass and pulling it down to smaller patterns. If you’re interested in learning more about making marbles, Lincoln Hot Glass offers classes that teach you all of the steps in creating a marble that you could hide for others to find or for you to keep as your own treasure!!

Lincoln Hot Glass will be posting marble hunts specific to the Lincoln Area on their facebook page. Join the Nebraska artists listed below and The World’s Biggest Marble Hunt. You can join the hunt absolutely free!

Participating Lincoln Artists:
Carrie Strope – https://calyxglass.com/
Marc Kornbluh – https://www.instagram.com/kornbluhglass/
Matt Losee – https://www.instagram.com/md_losee/  
Doug Hanks – https://www.instagram.com/hanxglassart/ 
Travis djBLAC – https://www.instagram.com/djblac/ 
Chris Apple – https://www.theapple.red/