Artist Intro - Marvin Glasgow

Marvin Glasgow is an avid amateur Archeologist.  He usually donates time each summer to help in archeological "digs".  He builds clay bowls in the traditional coil-and-pinch method, and has spent a lot of time learning to create stone tools and weapons.

How did you get started in Native American Reproductions?   
I hunted for arrowheads before I became a teenager.  Over the years places to hunt became overgrown or off limits.  I then started knapping, sporadically, about 20 years ago, but when I retired 7+ years ago, I seriously returned to flint-knapping more frequently, attending workshops and spending more time improving my techniques. 


What is your favorite medium/technique?
I like knapping Obsidian (volcanic glass) more than any other material.  It is easier to knap than flint, and the finished product is more colorful and unique. Since Obsidian is not available locally, I purchase it thru E-Bay, where it comes in saw-cut slabs of different sizes. Occasionally I will use colorful fiber optic glass to make arrowheads.

What has been your most satisfying moment as an artist?
There has not been one moment that stands out by itself.  There are many moments that make me feel real good, like when I make a really unique point, or when I demonstrate the skill to school children and see their amazement.  Other times are when I teach someone how to knap and they become good knappers themselves.  Perhaps the most flattering moment is when a professional Archeologist ask my opinion about an artifact and how it might have been made.  I once made a point that was so good and authentic looking that I was asked where I found it, not "did you make this?"

What was the most challenging skill to master?
To be able to make a complete blade that is thin, wide and long without breaking it.  My record right now is 8 1/4"+ by 1" wide by 1/4" thick.  Then I add the handle, which can be up to 5" long.


How much time and materials are required to complete an "average" piece?
If I take a large piece of flint, perhaps one I have picked up in a dry river bed, it can take 3 - 5 hours to make a blade or point, depending on how the flint chips when I work it, the point or blade style, and  how long the blade will be.  That process takes percussion to remove the excess material, then pressure to finish the item. If I make a small arrowhead from a flake, then about 15-20 minutes, depending on how pretty I want it to be.  If I use a saw-cut slab, it takes me about 3-4 hours to complete a blade, depending on the length and style.  Arrowheads I can usually make in under 2 hours (from a saw-cut and shaped slab).  If a person is thinking about picking up this hobby, there is a saying among flint knappers that "it takes desire, patience, and a ton of rock to learn to make arrowheads successfully."  By the time you have broken a ton of rock, you have become a pretty proficient knapper, and can probably start teaching others the hobby.


On 19 June, Marvin gave a demonstration on flint-knapping at Crystal Moon Gallery.  We all learned quite a lot during his visit:

Since neither high-grade flint, nor obsidian are common in North Texas, Many natives in the North Texas area would work with whatever stone had good fracture characteristics.  Ancient arrowheads have been found knapped from fossil (aka petrified) wood, Quartzite, Flint, and Chert.

As an example, Marvin showed how a large river-rock of coarse Chert could be subjected to percussion flaking (hit it with a rock!) to test its quality:

In most cases, our native cousins would not want to carry a river-rock back to camp.  So, they would typically reduce the stone down to a 'quary blank':

The 'quarry blank' removes most of the exterior part of the stone, and has hopefully eliminated any fracture-prone areas.  This piece is about an inch thick and about 8" long.  At least half the original stone has been removed.  Later, when they could take their time, they would use pressure-flaking to thin and shape the blank into something like this:

The shape is beginning to look familiar, and the stone is now only about one-half-inch thick.  If they were interested in making a weapon, the final product might have been refined into something 1/4 to 3/8 inch-thick which would be attached to a handle: