I've collected small amounts of sea glass over the years, but became much more interested in it a few years ago when I started making flame-worked glass beads. Most of the beads we flame-workers make have a glossy, glassy surface, but it is possible to create a more matte surface, either by using a chemical etching agent, or by tumbling the glass in a rock tumbler with silicon carbide grit, which is the method I prefer. If you etch or tumble glass beads made with a transparent glass, the matte surface resembles that of sea glass.
The sea glass at Glass Beach at Fort Bragg was the product of a former city dump; the glass dumped there was eventually eroded by the action of the ocean and created a beach that was largely glass.
However, when we mentioned to local people that we were going to Glass Beach, they told us that it had been pretty well picked over, and that there wasn't much glass left there. It turned out that they were right about that. The few pieces of glass we saw were very small. The glass may have been broken down and eroded by the ocean, but more likely it was just carried off by people who ignored the city's warnings to leave the glass for others to enjoy. The quantity of sea glass in many places has been declining in recent years, mostly due to the fact that less glass is being used in soft drink bottles, and thus less dumped into the oceans.
We didn't come away empty-handed from the beach, though. We found one trophy that we carried away with us, only to deposit it into the nearest recycle bin.
 |
| Plastic Bottle "Trophy" |
No comments:
Post a Comment