Sea Glass
What is sea glass? Well, according to the web-encyclopedia pixies, sea glass is "physically and chemically weathered glass found on beaches along bodies of salt water". Hmmm, doesn't sound so inspiring. It's true that you will find sea glass by the sea and that it is glass, but it is also so much more than that.
It is treasure, jewels thrown up by mermaids, waiting to be found. It is little parts of the past returned to the land after a long voyage at sea. It is the excitement of the unknown and finding something unique and precious. It is a reminder of childhood days on the beach and little jars of happiness on windowsills.
I have been collecting sea glass since I was small, but I've only become a more serious collector in the last year or so. All my sea glass is collected from along the North East and Somerset coasts in England. You can view my collection so far by clicking here.
It is treasure, jewels thrown up by mermaids, waiting to be found. It is little parts of the past returned to the land after a long voyage at sea. It is the excitement of the unknown and finding something unique and precious. It is a reminder of childhood days on the beach and little jars of happiness on windowsills.
I have been collecting sea glass since I was small, but I've only become a more serious collector in the last year or so. All my sea glass is collected from along the North East and Somerset coasts in England. You can view my collection so far by clicking here.
Most sea glass started its life as an ordinary glass bottle, but it can come from jars or windows or more rarely decorative pieces of glass. It usually makes its way into the sea by human hands and once there spends many years being tumbled by the waves, worn smoother until forming small frosted jewels that wash up on the shore. The North East of England has a larger proportion of sea glass than other areas because of the Victorian industries that used to line the coast. Bottle factories which at the end of the day would throw all the unwanted glass over the cliffs straight into the sea. This makes it a rich picking ground, and even after many years the remnants of the glass makers work can still be found relatively easily. |
Sea glass comes in many different colours, the most common of these being white, green and amber. Rarer colours include blue, yellow or black, and even rarer again are red or orange. Although the rarest and most precious of all is muticoloured glass. You never know what the sea will give up on a daily basis and each tide is a blank slate in the world of beach-combing! |
Please do view my sea glass art by clicking the picture below or using the links on the navigation bar above