Ordinary Oysters Turn Extraordinary
By
Isn’t it amazing that something this beautiful can be made from a shell that is so ordinary and well, let’s be honest… an OYSTER SHELL isn’t that pretty.
But arrange them all together like this, you get this absolutely gorgeous mirror that I saw on a visit to Virginia Beach. This has been stuck in my head for the past few weeks as well as the pair of OYSTER SHELL candlesticks sitting on a mantel a few few steps away.
I was reminded of these pieces of art after seeing oodles of EASTERN OYSTER shells at Barefoot Beach the day I hung out shelling with Carla and Kelly. Here’s what I found that day…
I’ve been seeing more of them this week on Sanibel on the West Gulf Drive beaches as well but not nearly as many as on Barefoot.
Maybe we’ll all look at these shells a little closer at our next oyster roast we go to, right? They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes for whatever project you might think of doing…
Well Pam, it appears that the world is your oyster. ;~)
Great blog Pam, I’m so glad you did one on these shells! I love them, almost prehistoric looking. I love the purple colored ones. I’m sure I’ll stock up when I come down next month, Oct!!!! Can’t wait!!
Mary Ann
That mirror is fabulous! I love your blog! Keep up the great work Pam!
THat mirror is beautiful!…..
I always pick up some oyster shells. They add texture and interest to my shell displays. That mirror is pretty cool though.
Cant wait for my week in paradise!!!
Hi Pam
I just returned from Crescent Beach (St Augustine area) and found, like you, bags of oyster shells. That’s really an oddity because CB is not known for shelling…In fact, you can walk yards without finding a single shell on it’s wide, flat beach. That’s one of the things we love about this beach…easy to walk on – barefoot! And my boys always loved skimboarding there.
Your examples of oyster objects is definitely inspiring!
Jane (artfully graced)
More great insight on the wonderful world of shells.
If you want oyster shells, come to Jacksonville! Any given day you can find 1000′s of them! I actually saw a mirror like this at an antique store not long ago & they were asking $500! The frame was only about half as wide as this one though. They also had one covered with small pieces of driftwood. It was even more expensive, but they both stood out as very unique.
Okay – this is totally off-subject but has been driving me crazy for weeks and I can not find the info that I had last year.
There is a restaurant on West Gulf and on Wednesdays they have a sushi chef come in and they had the best sushi I have eaten and I cannot remember the name of the place.
Help please!!
There used to be a sushi restaurant on Middle Gulf but not any more and I dont know about the Wednesday night deal. I asked around but nobody knew about it. Hmmm. If I hear, I’ll let you know. sorry!
I promise you – last July we went on a Wednesday night becasue that was the only time this place had sushi and it was so good and about 1 mile from Ocean’s Reach. Is there a Twilight Cafe or something like that? I’ll find it when I get back because it was so close to the condo I just hope they still do the sushi.
Thanks so much for checking.
Okay, I just got a call back from one of my girlfriends who lives off W Gulf… it was Twilight but now it’s changed to Stone Crab and they are closed for September. she said they may do something like that again when they reopen in October but doesnt know for sure.
I love it! That mirror is great.
PS–my daughter and I keep going back to the video, pausing it and increasing the video size on the I-pad so we can do more virtual shelling!
just look what I have been putting in my junk pile. I keep a shell garden about 6′x3′ at our beach cabin. No more, all my “pretties” are going to make a oyster shell mirror.
Yur web site is the joy of my day. Thank you.
Janet
I am inspired Pam, on my next trip to Sanibel I will be collecting one specific (undetermined at this point) shell to try and create something similar. Since my recent return from the shelling capital of the WORLD I have realized that I am running out of room to store and display my shells…….that mirror is STUNNING!!! That mirror is something that ANYONE would love, shelling freak or not!!