Fortunately, there is no Sea Glass store, and that has helped keep me in shape. I have to actually find the materials for my artwork which I do on my exercise beach excursions.
Once on the beach I scour the sand and hopefully fill my oversize fanny pack. The solitude, beauty of the water, birds and anticipation of what I may find makes these weekly treks one of my favorite things to do.
Once home, I soak the glass in a bucket of water and Clorox to remove any of the residue accumulated over the many years in the sea. A few weeks later I clean and then sort the glass by color, size, category and shape. Pieces that resemble eyes, mouths, ears, etc. are stored in their respective bins.
I then start a project or multiple sculptures at one time. The vision of the piece starts to develop depending upon what base I find and the direction my imagination leads me. I may start with a vase, an acrylic sheet, a clock, a lamp shade, or whatever I come across to which I can adhere the sea glass. The personality of the pieces are developed as I go.
My goal is to create a work of art that is a seamless puzzle so all that is seen in the finished work is the sea glass. What is very time-consuming is choosing the pieces and then getting them to seamlessly fit together. This is done using a wet saw and other grinding, cutting, and sanding tools. Once I know the piece will fit, it is then glued into place using a clear adhesive.
When I add that last piece after many weeks of working on a sculpture, I feel like it comes alive. It is a soul reincarnated from what mother nature had let wash ashore.