I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Friday, September 27, 2013

Seaglass: We brought It Home. Now What?





Hi! Fall cleaning here...or at least thinking about it. What to do with all our year's finds of seaglass?
 






I had an interesting email conversation with my friend Hunter, who was gifted with a treasure trove of rare Maui seaglass. She wants to make something with the finds...but what? Maybe: twisted wire pendants? A suncatcher or mobile? She is a talented crafter so I know she can make something wonderful.

But then I admitted the Truth. We do nothing with our seaglass.



Truly....though crafting with seaglass is fun---a big part of the pleasure is just finding,  owning and displaying it.



I have huge jars of seaglass, including my mom's collection, and my childhood Lake Erie jar---




and we [me and the kids] each have ''new finds'' platters or bowls which just sit out and are admired.
Currently special finds are going on the ship model ledge:



or in bowls....
 


I always say when I die, Please throw my seaglass back into the ocean! Yet I kept my mom's---beautifully weathered pieces from the Elizabeth Islands, off Cape Cod.
Below, our rare blue and white china finds with a chrome dock cleat behind.


The cache grows and grows. Perhaps some dust settles in or on....
below, a permanent collection, from Costa Rica, in a 19th century grey transferware bowl.


These liquor bottle bases are from the golf course beach, found by my son.

 
Hurricane Sandy seaglass bottles...yes, almost a year has passed now.


Every fall we sort and declutter, store the glass shards into their jars.
 

The best/ worst/ is my window ledges that contain favorite finds and my lavender glass collection.
 
 
These were all beach finds except the deepest purple one that came from my dad's collection.



The point is one need not MAKE something with the glass, whatever the quality, to treasure and enjoy it.

 
Above, beach pebbles---we call these bellybutton stones. Even though they have the line all around, and no bellybutton! I don't where the expression originated. These are very prized, usually found on the beach on Cape Cod.
Below, my Zen garden rock stack. There are three more pebbles that go on top but my kids keep knocking them off, darn it.
 
 
 
love
 
 lizzy
 
gone to the beach..... 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Hunter's blog and seaglass post: click here 

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like you collect beach glass like I do buttons. I don't do anything with them but put them in glass jars and admire them. Lovely collection you have.

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  2. Hmm, not sure I'd know what to do with it besides admire it, either. Although if I had a particularly smooth and pretty piece I'd be tempted to TRY making a wire-wrap pendant.... The rest, probably I'd do the same thing as you - collect it in jars and admire it. If I had an indoor or outdoor fountain I might put some in the water to add color or obstructions for the water to tumble over. Mostly I'd just play with it, probably, like some weird version of Legos -- play with some for a while, then put it away again...

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  3. Your sea glass is absolutely beautiful. I have seen some made into jewelry ...which was so pretty!

    And to think of every place that it comes from! Wow! Love it!

    Blessings,
    Gert

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  4. I tried wire wrapping. The wire I got at Ace Hardware was too thick. I got 21 gauge. I'm going to try again with thinner wire.

    You find so much sea glass. It's so rare here. I think it's because of the abundant lava rocks that form our core.

    I'll keep trying.

    Right now I'm making knit dishcloths with they made quite a few sales at our last fundrraiser for the school.

    Hope all is well.

    Hunter

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  5. Like you, I just put mine in jars and just admire them. To me there is nothing prettier. :) Kit

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  6. I wish I had a place to display things where I could actually SEE them. I have to satisfy myself looking at your artistic collections and displays (besides, this way I don't have to dust them)!
    smooches,
    L

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