MARBLE/marble began with a dream.

On July 4th,1977 Madeline Wiener watched Scott Owens, Frank Swanson and Gregory Tonozzi carving a shared block of marble at the Marble Fair. They had one compressor, three air lines and were embarked on a collaborative creation. Watching her friends carving outdoors, sharing tools and ideas, planted the seed in her heart for what would become MARBLE/marble.

Eleven years later Madeline was challenged by a friend to make her dream of carving marble with her friends in the woods come true. In 1989, with the sponsorship of the Art Students League of Denver, where Madeline was an instructor, she and fellow sculptors Gregory Tonozzi, Scott Owens, and Gerald Balciar, made the dream a reality.

Though it was originally conceived as a one-time workshop, the participants were so inspired by the experience that MARBLE/marble became an annual event. The first Symposium was 8 days, had 32 participants and and took place on land adjacent to the old mill site on the Crystal River, which was loaned (and later donated) by the Stover family. By 1993 the Symposium had grown to 3 sessions with an average of 45 people/session. At the time of the land donation, in 1994, The Marble Institute of Colorado, a 501c3 organization, was founded, and M/m came under its umbrella.

From the beginning the symposium attracted people from across the United States and around the world.  MARBLE/marble has been host to artists from every corner of the globe, many of whom continue to make the journey annually, and some of those participants have gone on to become staff members.

Over the years, MARBLE/marble has evolved from its humble beginnings into the wonderful experience it is today, complete with modern facilities including bathrooms and showers and a shared outdoor kitchen and dining area. The infrastructure that makes M/m a premier stone carving event has improved without harming the pristine environment that surrounds it.