Sea Glass Wreath A How To

I attended the 2017 Sea Glass festival in Lewes, DE, for the first time and became infatuated with sea glass wreaths. Sea glass is precisely what the name suggests, glass that was discarded or dropped in the ocean. It has a certain mysterious quality to it because we can wonder about the conditions surrounding how the glass arrived from point ‘A’ to point ‘B.’ Who dropped the glass? Where were they? Did they drop it intentionally? How long was the glass out at sea? You can imagine the force of the ocean crushed the glass into shards and the shards tumbled along till arriving at point ‘B.’ It’s the tumbling that softens the sharp glass edges and this can take many years.

Now, this leads us to discuss where can you find your own quality sea glass? Finding a good piece of sea glass is one of a beachcomber’s greatest challenges and most of it has to do with luck. You just have to be at the right place at the right time, such as after a major storm or during a high tide after a full moon. Most people are unwilling to share their sea glass finding locations.

 

Now that you found some sea glass, what should you do with it? I was so inspired by the sea glass wreaths; I decided to try my hand at it. Much to my disappointed, my efforts were met with criticism from friends. I took the jewelry wire and spun it around the glass arbitrarily, but I was told that I covered too much of the sea glass. Having attended design school, I certainly under that constructive criticism is important to the outcome of good design. After watching a refresher sea glass wire wrapping video on YouTube, I modified my wire wrapping placement to be more deliberate. I believe the result speaks for itself.

What do you need to make a sea glass wreath?

Pliers

Wire cutters

Wreath form

Sea glass

Sea shells

Wire

Technique:

Select the pieces of sea glass and position them on the wreath before you begin wire wrapping.

Vary the sizes and contrast the colors for best appeal.

Twist the wire to secure the sea glass to the wreath.

Knot the wire behind the sea glass and cut off excess.

Be sure to tuck any sharp wire edges in.

Broken sea glass and the beach don’t mix.  You are encouraged to pick up as much as you can!

This Sea Glass Wreath will be donated to the M.E.R.R. Institutes’ November 2017 Fundraiser.

Jacqueline Reed