Best of the Beach!

by Debbie
(Michigan)

Best of the Beach

Best of the Beach

This Project utilizes glass, rocks and driftwood all from Lake Michigan.

---------------------

Comment:

What a creative piece of found art, Debbie!

Although our site focuses on sea glass, the treasures to be found along the beach include a lot more than just the sea glass.

For centuries folks have used driftwood, shells, rocks, and many other "found" objects to decorate their houses and make artsy things with.

Lin especially likes finding old pieces of metal.

What happens with metal along a shoreline is interesting.

When it is exposed to the air, it rusts quickly. However, when under water, it will corrode slowly.

At various times, a piece of metal, like iron or steel, can be underwater for a long periods, and then spend some time exposed to the air.

At other times, it may remain buried for long periods under sand, mud, or rocks.

All of these states produce different rates of oxidation (rust).

The reason these pieces are not like other pieces of rusted metal is the shoreline itself.

Like sea glass, the metal gets tumbled among the sand and pebbles.

This tumbling removes the rust and many times, the piece is nicely polished with almost no visible rust.

With the rust removed, the polished metal is exposed and lots of times, the corrosion has left very interesting and artistic patterns or

shapes in or on the metal piece.

David from Odyssey Sea Glass

You can get some good ideas from the following books:
Found Objects Crafts Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry
Found objects can be beautiful both for the unique, unexpected look they add to your work and for the stories we imagine them to tell. In the pages of Semiprecious Salvage, you will discover the excitement of reclaiming remnants of the past and reinterpreting their beauty in wearable works of mixed-media art.

Sea Glass Nature Crafts for Kids
 Nature Crafts for Kids: 50 Fantastic Things to Make with Mother Nature's Help
"I recently found this book at my local library and loved it so much that I am looking to add it to my collection. This is not a book filled with cutsie fifteen minute projects that the kids do on their own, rather it is for adults to explore with kids ...

Nature Crafts - Sea Glass and found objects Craft Workshop: Sticks and Stones: How to make Stunning Objects using Natural Materials with 25 Step-by-Step Projects
The beauty and texture of natural, organic materials including sticks, wood stones and pebbles celebrated in inspirational and practical designs.

Organic Crafts - Book Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities
This ecofriendly craft title encourages children to explore the natural world through projects based on natural, nontoxic, and renewable materials. Grouped into categories such as "Trees, Leaves, and Twigs" and "Rocks, Pebbles, and Shells," the projects lead ...

Comments for Best of the Beach!

Click here to add your own comments

Jun 03, 2012
 Seaglass
by: Carol C

Beautiful work !
Jun 03, 2012
 To Debbie from Michigan
by: Pat

Debbie, your seaglass work is stunning! I am so anxious to see much more.

Remember the beautiful seaglass earrings you gave me.

I love them and wear them often.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Crafts.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.