Seei ng the world through an arti st's eyes

Quade Kelley

藝術家喬?！ば疗丈谱鞑Ａ?，并且他做的玻璃球會藏在地球上的任意一個地方等待人們發現。

Artist Josh Simpson creates tiny glass planets that are meant to delight his audi?ence.Decades ago, he gave glassblowing demonstrations to local students in his studio in Springfield, Massachusetts.Simp?son started by showing the middle?school students how to make marbles(彈子).

As a master of glass blower, Simpson has been shaping and molding glass into art for more than 50 years.His creations,which have been showcased around the world, range from the small planetary orbs(圓形物) to the world's largest paper?weight.The 100?pound Megaplanet was commissioned by the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) in New York State.“Simp?son is a wonderful artist and teacher who connects the natural world to glass in a way that creates joy,”said Amy Schwartz,director of a glassmaking school.

More than 3000 of Simpson's palm?sized planets are hidden around the world.He got the idea of hiding his tiny glass creations in 1976, after finding children's marbles from long ago in his garden.In 2000, he invited others to help him hide the planets.He calls the archeological ad?venture“The Infinity Project”.“The Infi?nity Project connects people to glass be?cause we're endlessly fascinated by those tiny little worlds and how they're created,”Schwartz said.

“Molten glass is one of the most chal?lenging materials for an artist to work with.The hot liquid just wants to drip on the floor.It will burn you if you touch it.Wor?king with a material like that is amazing and challenging, but it's also really fun.I'd like to hide more planets in museums.I currently have hidden planets in the ar?chives of some famous museums,”Simpson said.

Reading Check

How long has Simpson been shaping and molding glass into art?

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