Mother Nature’s Collectibles: Shells, Coral and Shore Birds
04.11.08By Val UbellGrowing up in Wisconsin has its pluses. The four seasons, while challenging at times, can be wonderful. Lovely, green, budding trees and colorful flowers in spring, warm, sunny summers with beautiful parks to enjoy a picnic, gorgeous changing colors in fall, and the splendor of white, glistening snow in winter. (At least the first 3 or 4 storms.) But winters are sometimes unbearably long and ever since our daughters were little, we’ve ‘escaped’ south!
Many of our collectibles have a sea-side theme, items from the beach and ocean. Most are displayed in our sunroom, which hubby refers to as ‘the lanai.’
We’ve picked a lot of shells through the years and found an antique, glass car battery case to be an excellent vehicle for displaying them. (Hubby put a wooden top on it so I don’t have to dust them.)
One of my favorites ‘from the depths’ is coral. The pieces come in so many beautiful variations and make incredible display items with glass fish, paperweights and figures of birds.
I have recently been introduced to the work of artist Frank Schirman of Hawaii. He made fantastic figures from rare, exotic, black coral, mostly of the handsome Hawaiian people. These are from the 1960s and 70s. The detailing is just a delight. While you can find some on the internet, prices are definitely escalating. You can see why people appreciate them!
It’s also fun to get pictures of children and grandchildren with their special beach combing finds. Our oldest granddaughter discovered a sand dollar years back.
Our youngest granddaughter loves flamingos like grandma. Our middle granddaughter will be experiencing her first visit to the ocean this year and we know we’ll get great pictures of her as well.
It has also been fun to collect sharks’ teeth, but as I tell the kids, “only grab them when they’ve been discarded and lying in the sand.” Pretty clever, huh?
While many of our sea-worthy items have been found at the shore, others have been located at flea markets in Florida. That’s where I came across this huge claw! It measures approximately 12” long. How would you like to run across the original owner? I love to set this out with a ‘bowl’ of sand and shells at Christmas. To some, this may not seem to be a seasonal pair but when I mention it is “sandy claws”, friends catch on. My family members choose to simply groan.
We have actually come across living star fish on the shore, tossed up in a storm. Once they were recognized as ‘alive’, they were gently sent back to the deep. The only ones we display were found at The Shell Factory or similar tourist attraction. The Shell Factory is huge and offers an unbelievable selection of items from the sea and beyond.
Another collection I simply adore is ’sea-side’ jewelry. The earrings, pins and necklaces are such fun to wear and especially so when at a beach bar such as Sharkey’s on Venice Beach.
It’s always great to add to this collection. (Hint to those reading – my birthday is coming soon.)
Our memories and souvenirs keep us toasty-warm in the long, cold winter when we pick them up, smile and recall the times we shared at the beach and make plans for our upcoming vacations.
