BIOGRAPHY

           I gather beach glass from the shores of New England.  I am drawn by the unique shapes and soothing colors of the glass that has been tossed and tumbled along the rocky coast for many years.  I select pieces of beach and complementary glass and set them into intricate and creative designed necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings and other fine jewelry.  The glass is hand bezel-set in sterling silver or gold, accompanied by pearls and semi-precious stones.  On occasion I include beautiful pieces of beach pottery into my designs.  My signature series is called “Oceans Apart”, dedicated to my family and friends across the seas.  Today, in addition to using natural beach glass, the line has evolved into an augmentation of the glass by shaping and coloring; this has opened up an endless color and design palette.  My work is contemporary, one of a kind jewelry inspired by Mother Nature, if it were not for beach glass I would not have the jewelry career I have today.
            I am following in the footsteps of the two people most inspirational to my work, my late Grandmother, and my Mother.  My Mother is a graduate of the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts and has since moved to Oaxaca Mexico with my Father where she continues creating art and jewelry.  When my Grandmother passed away, I dedicated my jewelry career to her, symbolizing her memory in an Ocean Angel’ talisman that was created from my favorite pieces of beach glass.  My Grandmother, originally from Holland, was a silversmith and jewelry designer.  I began my jewelry career with classes at Massachusetts College of Art.  My first project was to create an object that reflected the environment.  I chose to incorporate various shades of green beach glass into the design of a palm tree.  The seed was planted!  Classes in goldsmithing and jewelry design followed in Seattle Washington, continued at the Decordova Museum and other jewelry workshops.  I now work in Swampscott Massachusetts and have been creating beautiful jewelry for over 10 years.
            Walking my dog on the beach has evolved into a career and a spiritual journey for me.  The sunlight reflects on the shards of glass, illuminating the rare hidden treasures.  The rhythmic surf softens and relaxes my soul bringing a feeling of tranquility and calmness.  When I find a gallery-quality beach gem an excitement washes over me, awakening my creative desire to develop new jewelry.  The ultimate day for a beach glass hunt for me is, at low tide, just after a storm when the skies are clear and the sun is high.

GLASS

SEA GLASS:

Glass is made by man from sand, soda and lime.  When it is discarded into the ocean it can be physically shaped by abrasion, textured by chemical processes in the salt water and sometimes even clear glass maybe colored by the sun.  One surprising element of collecting these treasures is that while no two pieces are ever the same, the most common shape is a triangle. The two most important elements of each piece of sea glass are the amount of total wear or rounding of its surface and the color.  Sea glass cannot be reliably dated based just on its wear, it can take up to ten years to develop significant etching and ten to twenty years to round the edges.  Some colors of sea glass are very common, while others are very rare.  Kelly green, brown and white/clear are the most common, the other greens and amber are less common; pink, aqua, the intense blues, citron and purple are rare, while orange, red, black, yellow and grey are extremely rare.

Augmented Glass:  

The joy of "playing with glass" has contributed to the evolving jewelry line:  Glass blowing classes brought about the use of broken "blown" pieces into the jewelry.  Fusing glass in a kiln, which essentially melts pieces together, creating multi colored and layered glass.  Glass coloring with enamels as well as cutting and grinding glass are all aspects of Grondstra Designs Jewelry, always adding natural beach glass to the designs. A Creation and Collection to Continue!

SHE NETWORK