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Hello and Welcome! I am Jodie, the owner and designer of Lake Erie Beach Glass!
I grew up in a small town in North West Ohio, however spending every summer on the beaches of Lake Erie or swimming in the Atlantic at Nags Head, North Carolina. The draw to the water was always very strong for me and I’ve always found myself wandering down the beaches looking for interesting finds. At the turn of the millennium, I met my husband Andrew who is a lifelong resident of the rocky shores of Fairview Pennsylvania. This is where I had my first tastes of sea glass (or beach glass as we call glass found at the Great Lakes). At the time, I was a single mother of two, with not much time to beach comb. However, Andrew (my husband) took us camping on the shores of Lake Erie where we would find all sorts of variety of glass. We would spend most of our weekends together beachcombing the shore line of Lake Erie collecting many different and unique sea glass specimens. I was intrigued with the beauty and the mystery that every piece had to offer. That was when Lake Erie Beach Glass was born. We went on a search for secluded beaches and dumping sites and areas where there were near shore shipwrecks that contained quality glass. We have found everything from Native American trading beads to antique black marbles and fragments of vintage shipwreck lanterns. I enjoy searching through antique dealers throughout the area to find examples of where each piece of glass originated. I also spend much time researching online and in various libraries and historical societies to further enhance my knowledge of glass history. I realize that as the art of sea glass jewelry continues, the need for expertise in glass identification will grow. I have found that in our area, many supposed “beach/sea glass” vendors are using manufactured glass, either as a blatant knock off of sea glass, or as non-descript jewelry pieces. As this continues, it fuels my desire to enhance my knowledge so as to educate consumers so they can determine genuine sea glass from the synthetically manufactured replicas.
I have been collecting glass for 7 years widening my area from the western part of Ohio, Pennsylvania, now to the shores of New York state. We have traveled as a family of six to the shores of the Chesapeake and to the shores of the Atlantic. My educational history is varied as I have studied fine arts classes at Capital University in Columbus Ohio along with metalsmithing courses here in my hometown of Erie Pennsylvania. I have utilized my artistic abilities in creating one of a kind unique pieces of wearable art to classic designs of jewelry and other art utilizing beach glass pieces that my family and I have found. I am currently embarking on a quest to catalogue the unique colors and rarities of the glass found within the confines of the shores of the Great Lakes.
My jewelry is displayed in the Cayman Islands at Pure Art Gallery , KADA Art Gallery in Erie Pennsylvania, and presented at various festivals and shows through out North West Ohio. I am an active member of the North American Sea Glass Association (seaglassassociation.com)and a moderator for an on line international chat group of sea beach glass experts and enthusiasts. I belong to RATZ, a group of artists who use repurposed or recycled items as the focus of their art and to an art trading card group using sea beach glass as my unique addition and signature to the creation of my cards.
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