Sea glass

I really love sea glass. It has this translucent quality that few other things have. Usually things are either transparent or opaque. Its texture is frosty, unlike beach glass, which is more shiny. It’s beautiful to use in jewelry or for artwork. It can be found on beaches along the oceans, but it’s often illegal to collect it. If it’s illegal to collect, it’s probably best simply to admire it and let it stay where it is for others to admire.

Today, however, at the Orange Poppy Art Studio, at a whimsical sun catcher workshop, I had the opportunity to use sea glass in my project. And I will have to admit that this project was more challenging than I expected. The wire was less than cooperative when I tried wrapping the sea glass, and when I thought that I was done, the sea glass promptly became unwrapped. I needed extra instruction on wrapping the sea glass before I finally got it. After that, I played with the color and shapes of different types of beads. The project was challenging and creative. Halfway through, I was ready to give up until I reminded myself that I’m too stubborn to quit. I finally reached the point at which I pronounced the project finished.

Here is the completed project:

There it is. The source of my angst and my joy. It’s a suncatcher. There are three pieces of sea glass in the suncatcher. In the future, when I look at my glittery, bright suncatcher, I will have forgotten the angst, and I will only remember the joy, just as I have with other projects that I completed. And that’s okay because the joy lives longer than the angst and it nourishes the imagination the best.

Question for you: what have you done recently to give yourself joy and to nourish your imagination? Please post in the comments section!