Rosetree Glass Studio
We first saw the beautiful handblown glass pieces by Rosetree glass at the American Made Show in DC this past January. We were immediately taken by the gold speckled depth in the pieces from their "Wisteria" line. It's the type of glass that makes one wonder, "how do they do that?" In his studio in New Orleans, LA you'll find Mark Rosenbaum of Rosetree Glass creating masterpiece after masterpiece. The process is fascinating! The pieces he creates are handblown. He then treats the glass with a precious metal solution and between layers of clear glass, adds bits of different colored glass and powders. Finally a clear top layer of glass is applied over the whole piece.
Rosetree Glass Studio history:
But the road has not come easy for Rosenbaum. In 1996 after finally securing the studio of his dreams in a vintage art deco movie theater, he had his work cut out for him. The theater had been abandoned for over ten years and to say that the space needed some renovating would be an understatement! After several months of renovations, the studio was finally ready for Rosetree glass to move in. All the hard work paid off, and Rosetree glass was thriving.
In 2005, Mark and his family packed up the studio, emptying 400 pounds of molten glass out of their furnace. News of hurricane Katrina painted a grim picture of category five devastation. The family boarded up the windows and doors and feed to Texas to stay with family, not knowing that they would be displaced for over five weeks. As the weeks turned into months, and the city of New Orleans struggled to get back on its' feet, Rosetree glass weathered the hard times and began to get business back to normal as best as they could. Although faced with a whole new set of repairs and problems, the studio did manage to to stay in one piece and fortunately did not experience flooding. Throughout these struggles, one thing's certain; Mark Rosebaum of Rosetree glass is a force to be reckoned! His beautiful handmade glass pieces are proof of the resilience and unending talent that this artist has.
See several pieces from Rosetree glass on our website, or stop by The Kalled Gallery in downtown Wolfeboro, NH.