Rock Paperweight

From 1977 to 1981, Marquis taught, made his own work, and ran a production studio in Berkeley, named Marquis Deluxe, in partnership with the artists Jack Wax and Jody Fine. Typical Marquis Deluxe products included handmade murrine and filigrana marbles, Christmas ornaments, and cylinders. After his move to the Pacific Northwest, Marquis started a new commercial enterprise—named Noble Effort—in partnership with the artist Ro Purser. This rock paperweight was made at the Noble Effort studio, and it is the only example of Marquis’s production work in this exhibition. Marquis dissolved the Noble Effort studio in 1987, in order to concentrate exclusively on his art.