FAQ's About The Jewelry And Sea Glass
Is The Sea Glass In Your Jewelry Genuine Sea Glass?
Yes, I only use genuine sea glass that was collected on a beach and was worn smooth naturally in the sea.
Do You Alter The Sea Glass In Anyway?
I am inspired by the beauty of natural sea glass. I never shape, sand, color, polish or artificially tumble it, and I never cut it to fit a setting. The only permanent change I make is a drill hole. Many of my jewelry pieces are made with drilled sea glass which gives the jewelry an ancient look and feel.
Do You Collect The Sea Glass Yourself?
My husband and I collected most of the sea glass ourselves from the beaches of Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Bali, Italy, Canada and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The sea glass from the Pacific Northwest, California, Hawaii and England was collected by friends and professional beachcombers.
Where Do You Collect Sea Glass?
I lived in Puerto Rico for fifteen years and have collected sea glass on beaches all over the island. Beachcombing is my passion. In addition to the beaches of Puerto Rico I have spent months on end wandering the beaches of the Eastern Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, Bali, Australia, New Zealand and the Society Islands. I collect what is beautiful to me and am not an industrial beachcomber. I love to collect seashells also, never living shells, and sometimes incorporate some of my more durable seashells into jewelry pieces.
What Criteria Do You Use To Select Sea Glass Pieces For Use In Jewelry?
I rule out sharp or cracked pieces. I then look for what is beautiful, striking or interesting. Most of the seaglass in my jewelry is fully frosted but there are times when a flaw is what makes a piece interesting and that is pointed out in the description. A piece may be nearly completely frosted with a shiny spot in recessed areas. This can make an interesting contrast especially with bottle rims.
Where Did You Learn To Make Jewelry?
When I started making sea glass jewelry in Puerto Rico there were no jewelry making classes available and the internet did not exist. In the beginning I learned by trial and error. Since moving to the states I have been taking classes with Connie Fox who is a renowned jewelry artist and teacher in San Diego, California on a continuous basis. It is her I credit for my latest direction.
What Is The History Of Out Of The Blue Sea Glass Jewelry?
I have been making sea glass jewelry since 1987. I started this adventure in Rincon, Puerto Rico shortly after finding my first piece of sea glass there. In the beginning I sold by way of the coconut telegraph and from a table on the beach. There were very few tourists then but I was able to make a living as Rincon was an undiscovered poor man's paradise. While selling on the beach The Lazy Parrot Inn offered me a gallery space and quickly became the home for Out Of The Blue Seaglass Jewelry for many years. At one point my sea glass jewelry display there was the largest in the Caribbean and possibly the world with well over eight hundred pieces of sea glass jewelry on display on any given day.
Out Of The Blue Seaglass Jewelry has been on the cutting edge of sea glass jewelry production and design for over twenty years and is considered to be a pioneer in the art form. When I first moved to Rincon there were already a few people there who had been making sea glass jewelry since the 1960's. There were also several other sea glass jewelry artist in other parts of the world as well. However, Out Of The Blue Seaglass Jewelry is the oldest large scale full time sea glass jewelry business in the world that I know of. Out Of The Blue Seaglass Jewelry has been able to produce sea glass jewelry on a large scale using only genuine sea glass since the beginning due to the abundance of sea glass in Rincon, Puerto Rico at the time.
