Here's a unique piece which is NOT stained glass. This is a lamp or lantern made of limpet shells, denizens of he oceans. While picking up sea glass, I came across just a few of these shells, and didn't think much of them but found them interesting. Then I learned they are parts of the diets of those who live in warmer climates, and they usually simply discard the shells. Well, I became amused while holding one up to the light, and low and behold, a lamp in the making! Here is the result. The lamp itself is very light in weight and soldered together just as a stained glass piece. I made the wooden base on a lathe, out of mahogany, I believe. Something a bit different from what I have shared in the past. Hope you like it!
Folks:
This is a most unique lamp as it is composed primarily of bonfire glass. Well, what is bonfire glass? This goes way back to the days before diesel powered watercraft, when it was all about wind in the sails. The sailors, when they reached shore, let out steam, as the story goes, celebrating around a campfire, usually on the beach with alcoholic beverages. And as some do, bottles were thrown into the fires. Heat causes glass to melt, hence causing unusual shapes of pieces to result. And, as these fires were on sandy beaches, when tides changed, the campfire remnants were washed into the sea naturally, leading to the wave actions further breaking up the glass and ultimately, with enough time (thought to take a minimum of forty years, in average waves) to give sea glass its "sandpaper" type finish as well as very unusual shapes. For that reason, sea glass/bonfire glass comes in many sizes and shapes. I used, for the most part, in my early sea glass lamps, flat pieces as they are easier to work with (applying copper foil around the edges, thus allowing solder to unite the pieces). Since bonfire glass is oddly, and unusually shaped, foiling is challenging and unique, dealing with three dimensional bent objects as opposed to flat. The photographs can only show some of these signs which are quite obvious when looking directly at the lamp. As I no longer collect my own sea glass, I am using what I have collected over the years. Additionally, for the record, one can purchase "sea glass" on Etsy, and I have done so on occasion. However, one must know that some of their ads state that the glass is "tumbled". To me, that means it may not be original sea glass, but common glass which is placed in "tumblers" which impart a comparable finish, but are NOT natural sea glass. I ONLY USE the real thing! JJY
Friends and family. I just finished this most uniquely shaped lamp shade made from 100% pure sea glass. It stands just over fifteen inches and has a two inch finial--all natural (and collected by me) sea glass. I have used very small pieces, simply because I am running low on sea glass, and my searching and finding days are over! I don't count them, but I know there are hundreds in this lamp. And once again, the colors you see in the photo are not nearly as true as when see live--our phone cameras have a ways to go in that regard! JJY
