This Is My Sea Glass Palette
Among the many “Frequently Asked Questions” I receive in my studio is one about my process. As my work has evolved, so has the way I create it.
At the moment, I have the exciting task of making work for the upcoming Fall Open Studios, as well as for the shops I have recently added to my retail network. This has challenged me to find new ways to approach my creative process. The process varies somewhat between jewelry and hair accessories, so this post focuses specifically on the creation of my hair pieces.
In my most recent round of creating, I began by pouring sea glass from several large 64-ounce glass bottles into a half-dozen trays. In the past, I would simply work directly from those trays, but because the glass is so varied, I realized I needed to add another level of sorting.
For this round, I decided to focus specifically on Medium and Small Barrettes. That immediately gave me an approximate size to work toward. Rather than trying to incorporate every piece of glass in the pile, I set aside the much smaller pieces to use later for combs and alligator clips.
Separately, I searched for just the right shapes and sizes of pottery pieces. There are significantly fewer pieces of pottery, so I have to be especially judicious about how I use them. They are very important because they clearly distinguish my designs. Pottery is often the starting point for a design, with the sea glass and decorative elements chosen to highlight and bring out its colors.
Once everything is laid out and sorted, I have different piles of glass—and effectively, this is my palette!
It never really occurred to me just how similar this process is to an artist’s palette of colors and tints until I took this photo. Now, you can see that there are endless combinations of color, including opportunities to create beautiful monochromatic pieces.
After laying out all the designs on a large board, I begin the next step: epoxying everything to the findings. While those pieces set for 24 hours or more, I turn my attention to the next group of hair accessories or jewelry.
A few days later, I return to the pieces and add the appropriate decorative elements using epoxy and a single piece of wire. I let those set as well and return to them at least 24 hours later. Then comes the final wiring, cleaning, sorting, photographing, and placing each finished piece into the collection.
And then the cycle begins again.
It’s absolutely magical to see how so many individual pieces eventually fit together, almost like a puzzle! After 24 years of doing this type of sorting and assembling, I am still completely amazed by the way the designs fall into place.
