Having a Blast!

Gee, I think it was sometime in March or so when I discovered the sandblaster in my stained glass class at Maine Art Glass in Lisbon, Maine. My instructor Jim Nutting was working on a recycling project using glass bottles and when I saw what he did with a wine bottle, well, I knew I was going to have to try it. Try it, or as is my style, totally get obsessed by it. I have a pile of my own "upcycled" bottles I'm stockpiling for gifts and for sale - they're so fun! Tune in for a future blog on them.

So here it is July. Needless to say, I'm off the deep end with it and now I'm in the market for some sandblasting equipment. I'm so intimidated by everything out there for sale, which is mostly marketed for blasting the rust off of old parts, not blasting away parts of rock or glass. Dave and I will figure something out, hopefully soon.

I am blessed to live in such a great state (remind me again in January because I forget). We have such wonderful things to find on the beaches of Maine. Sea glass is a favorite which as you saw in my previous blog, I was finally able to drill and add to a bracelet. But the stones sat in jars and bowls, which they are still fun to paw through and gaze at, but I have found a great way to make them a little special. I am sandblasting images onto them - both "innie" and "outie" styles. The ones pictured here are pendant sized, but I've done larger ones, which are at home on a desk as well as they are happy to sit in a garden.

Spiny Knotted Beach Bracelet

I was so proud to finally finish this creation, it's the reason I started this blog. Back in February, I took Stephanie Sersich's class on how to make Spiny Knotted bracelets. About a month or two later, I ran across a very cool tutorial by Dara Spiotto who wrote a blog on The Beadin' Path's website on how to drill sea glass. With the knowledge shared by those two inspiring people, I was off and running; I wanted to make a spiny knotted bracelet using drilled sea glass. It would be like wearing the beach on my wrist! What a thought during the very long, cold winter and the spring that dragged on and on and just wouldn't turn into summer. I had jars upon jars of sea glass from collecting over the years. Perfect minute pieces I couldn't pass up no matter how small, through pieces that needed to be tossed back for Mother Nature to cook a bit longer.

So off to the Home Depots and Lowe's stores to pick out a Dremel, then off to find diamond tipped bits. July 21, I have finally finished. All of the sea glass, sea bricks, a piece of pottery and 2 stones are my finds off the beaches of Maine. I took apart a necklace long ago and that's where the tiny little cowry shells are from and they're matched up with some weather-worn Maine periwinkle shells that have holes in them already (drilling shells is not good for the lungs according to Dara). I suspect the tiny white cowries are from the Philippines, which would be very appropriate since that is where half of my heritage is from. My dad was born there. Last but not least are 3 lampworked sea urchin beads I made from a suggestion from my friend Mattie. Her grandmother owns the Sea Urchin Gift Shop on Isle Au Haut, Maine and they now carry rings and earrings by me.

Hope you enjoy this photo of my bracelet. It is truly one of a kind. I don't think I can make anything like it again. Perhaps a spiny knotted necklace to go with it in the future. Drilling sea glass takes a very long time. I suspect I'm just being timid with my Dremel and not putting it to it's full use.