This is a reprise from an entry I wrote for Art Jewelry Elements quite a while ago... I wanted to share it on my own blog, mainly for archival purposes, and to continue this thread of exploration into rocks and shells, in future posts. Enjoy!
I collect things from the shorelines where I have lived. Shells, stones, feathers...
When I was small I was fortunate to live on or near the Gulf Coast. I have many memories and sensations of sand, sea and surf. The smell of salt water, the sea critters I encountered: crabs, starfish, and even dolphins. It was magical. This has been a source of inspiration for me...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNFPct_xXlTTe94w2XnMjVgaHO0y_pGnZBuZAmKaQRtVEEqSFEklwL8GgsXI258-2YoPxLBOZldUury_hiOsvVGdLNaoE5zcxnOk1jck4JIm_4yoclH9rJdd7_tm8nPOawKLdzv6yj2XY/s400/gulfcoast1.jpg) |
Gulf Shore Days - me sitting on a rock |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif66N4hS1CIU0SqcjnDTS6jBWT7qjXp7ccZlkjtZfmwKD0bwBQaq71kPE0nVgSFVyX_JdFw8G_MUBM45-VrCIF-VsqbacKcdPR9zE3zmvX125yWBEaK1V89abHOdthKVgnQYhfXNty3-f1/s400/gulfcoast2.jpg) |
My friends |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIPw2CXx21N7FtgEVlASHxwxrM-Ju3q4P30dp0yRHVuj85WQzo7DpgUnHLK80y641C7dPsKAmwIPmtQBpgfBHWOOubAJWg1j_Ml_1NINdiMm5mnzixxnHxAFejWuLQsCQKOUuKyV_AsEv/s400/gulfcoast3.jpg) |
Me and my sister |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51j-SSv4DSW2ESPPtr5_wBUeACLs4UcjZlNVoxGhlwBKh4p7NmoqU2j4pvhi8as7nAtZN1PrFD1ntEtdp_tQl0JsPb9nueQ1y7bNB5u8S1cyriLc6GNN7SBDjdqIPDwYdQJI0ACQ7p6eD/s400/gulfbeads1.jpg) |
Beachy Beads! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNmTEs5hhjLy9ewemNMTRFRiZqWmUxowdv9zOuSxXi-A6qvuyYlrJ5hJ2A3bnEHm0PnmQayVxr0fwmM4kqEKVXexj6vts3bf0LjxBdpb_nJWjWmVW_LKdtMdpDky-I0MlF7XZJPnfeGvs/s400/gulfbeads2.jpg) |
More Beachy Beads! |
No less magical were the shores of Lake Superior - the largest fresh water body of water on Earth - we moved there when I was bout 9 years old. A true Inland Sea - full of majesty just as powerful as any salt-water ocean. Here I encountered places and stones of astonishing color and texture.
I have many memories of living in Lake Superior country...
![BEACH ROCKS](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis33eapCxd87BXtq2lAKks8YIlWw6DJTDZ_Z39z9oVRIRPXaV7-Ks7U0Ix7lZKqfRn-LWxTuxO_IoXFK9NWMOmvLMaXU6cMeZyHQnAfehs-mjOorGCSO1-fPMp0wJbWQPRJMA124CBFzzr/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+2.53.15+AM.png) |
Rock-strewn shores |
![KAREN 11](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLKmpoXNabw4-8vffJjiFHjgeHBBVvRnCzWsueX6EScSSAM0CTFjm7-RhH_iy5cTkyQDQwTpWD1MtTOnlg0_n9nmwKGwYn8a4WLaZycusl1Cssy5KUvvbodKqZamwwGAZhDylP8AEDBcP/s400/00156_s_9acp7ue8y0057.jpg) |
Me, age 11 or 12 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijANYSmMxBVrt91T-RuppFp29A2nkmYHFZiAgOBpgK0kJ-qe0TvdxT9M-zMYg86t5Q9KsqEpasnRawIuy-Pti3_7F9GwJiGbKqF5oRagz0HQJHcdcoX6WkqHnYu1HIaxpJo4HbqEsdRgPx/s640/00090_s_9acp7utu30291.jpg) |
Me and my sister an... yes I really did run around barefoot all summer. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixiCX5bE-K_NRKxpS52vhen1f3nBD0Y8KIQPDT2HcBM8hRefS1P0-H5QXp6xMVOcdFp9rZTMEJL0vckFIFwpbPII5sEO01kmCxBzBBQa0rS_VDcRRai6nf1toyslCiJLtwoDDOy3Oa6Kj/s640/00095_s_9acp7utu30296.jpg) |
Me again, meeting Paul Bunyan at Hiawatha Forest... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEe4UXPb6fnwqR6uRG1U3KcURKLvctvz6lyz25ZSPSyJ6IQgUw65SQYB7jjoaN8acngmU9WLs1QGLSZVfpqG07GJncezzrhH1PpzCD6fGuxCZpLK1CcFkNmzeyiFrq7TlKmMEDDzUVOIHr/s640/00276_s_9acp7utu30072.jpg) |
My baby brother Jake asleep fishing, while one of the great ore boats passes - little does he know here, his little rock perch is about to be engulfed in a wave from the wake of this mighty ship. But don't worry, he survived and is perfectly okay now. :) |
But mostly I remember the ROCKS - like the ones I collected at Agate Bay or Pictured Rocks shore. I was lucky to be able to return to Superior about 15 years ago to collect a few more...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWseF7uR2JLkJRUsfPozm3TdRETmdj2LTcEJBP_wS1_My2EsTCu1xw4w_ta2Q0BtoSjvzjyUZuJ6ZTU_nbnUEhnL7U7b15rC-f6CicUdn4uS4EJtNsX4FkjZGpUBmww6e-10gkBzv0KmM/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+3-1.00.00+AM.png) |
Rocks |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw-9a971YhDfHgFIzN0S2sYSLawQa4kdPxnA5mQB_8EqtEDZmQ8P_1n5_haLXE_qDkb4Wh5Oj_RMelnNY9seHrFRMANhyphenhyphenP2XMlXhmu2rRptKATI-JlKbmC1AxGXs2YUtVwz5dBHRwTG4/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+2.57.12+AM.png) |
Rocks |
![MY BEACH](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkdIHvvys1mQbXtjrU4I1bJTBN7cHFKsfIvRgXJ6sXTWcE9qYAgv3q2uqHN-nLCYWIthF37FXJjEWLm8_SnzQ5oiUqLrQgeFvOSxqqQvhArts2OYStF-TYjqw4aDk5vjyFX1GTOVH4mW2/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+2.57.36+AM.png) |
...polished by water |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkHSTbXkdwJK-nGbRu7P82WGrZV5jdxKfS98zRVs6S5cNZ84S6HwTwm5EajqzBK5qFtsgFsIjJyZya_syJHp1e3p2-YvlT6ht7SIvDnmIK99vHYLI4LuxXocOUk8U0uyLWqRBZ9zK7F1u/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+2.57.42+AM.png) |
Superior-tumbled rocks |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6eNTGyXnevRLPqaBzPIq8Z3eNdkK4zzwngpht3jFhWQGRUwZtJEpgTvaLTPRi7fnuyRBPCXg1PahtXD3RizHU30j3E-9KwuLSBpgBi6yD0sXpNOpzhFRY0rcBtTeHLLWu2XjB-qf3-kVg/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+3.01.19+AM.png) |
Rocks bathing in the watery froth of Superior |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpacBT-lCs355ukPXQndNeseGC_mqOzGWrUe7db-p-fwUz4jQVCYKH3hZFGkPdSQzp7yiwVTnoO5SlgiPBOojfY4hvdNioOLN4CUbaPg6i5VGZDHhE3dQP9bwTGxjoOgeRPv24JBzP1cX/s640/Screen+shot+2012-05-22+at+3.02.01+AM.png) |
A glimpse through the crystal clear waters |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHEQgs0zGcrf-YKUO9uBDbkgHTxmy4hoFWI56uu6ckW-861CEbYzRso8lAD33aqhjfd5tq_Qwi_BN2fekPQ158MYZEeAo2RlbeAUhUCOvTXjr0lQavAnI5I_4BzZrMr8HJ5LPyGFxLW5N/s640/4715681487_f41e61e83f_b.jpg) |
Sorted rocks - amazing color! |
I sometimes step back and wonder at how incredibly similar the shores of the Gulf Coast Ocean are to the shores of the Inland Sea - Lake Superior, or as I have come to know it: Kitchigami.
Though I no longer have the actual shells I collected from the Gulf Coast, I do have several stones from Kitchigami. They are incredibly important to me, and they are my muse...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdJkmIsH-AsUebFAZo6extx7b5OyU5iTVVZbSPUuGmENUNwk_bqS8O3R1Mleif18vZ69Fk1dFm1c365eRLI659PFTFdfRfpFjBtxm274l-ZxG5wOKv5uZB39fcUDRquS_pGlXoyBPtz73/s640/IMG_1293.jpg) |
My collection: nature inspired forms, colors, textures |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9DPaoDs4pPsvLekw2cyR2DGuW1yuLxv4MCdXGzwhjGWuncd3QpE3uMk1ZDVfCGjbS64qsMUntzgV-GZRpdwfqGzZLPs9JVNKKDJNx0di50Ego6R1k4p_aNAsmtqUsdYP2rbU8s4HYzf5/s640/IMG_1299.jpg) |
... my source and my creation |
What are you sources of Inspiration? I'd love to hear about them!