A Shell of a Good Time

I feel so lucky to have grown up on the coast and to be able to spend time on Folly Beach, Kiawah, Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, Myrtle Beach, and Edisto just to name a few.

Food tastes better at the beach!

The air smells fresher at the beach!

A nap is more relaxing at the beach!

Let's face it -- a day at the beach is like a mini vacation. Walking barefoot on the soft, warm sand, sunbathing till you are so hot you just have to run and jump in the surf to cool off, pouring yourself a tall glass of sweet tea (tea like Grandma used to make), and don't forget about the shell collecting.

You would think that Charleston beaches would have no shells, but not so. I have collected shells for years and Folly is one of my favorite all-time collecting areas. I’ve found lettered olives, oyster shells, horse conchs, whelks, etc. And, I’ve never been disappointed by what I’ve collected! After emptying the bags of shells, I would put them out in the sun to dry or clean them up with a muriatic acid and water solution. Every trip to the beach was more exciting than the last.

In my childhood, I had the opportunity to spend time with my aunt and uncle at their summer house on Edisto. This particular aunt was my favorite; she was the one that would let me eat what I wanted when I wanted. So, for breakfast, ice cream was at the top of my list. Couldn't ask for a better aunt, right?

And, my uncle was the one that kept a kitchen cabinet designated for cookies and candy (at child-level)! What more could a kid want?

Activities were important to them and on those long summer days, shell art was usually planned for a couple of evenings a week. My uncle would collect all the materials -- shells, paint, electrical wiring, wood pieces, plaster of Paris, etc. We would work for hours on our designs of ashtrays, lamps, small boxes, and more. I thought our finished products were the most beautiful creations I had ever seen.

How beautiful do you think shells stuck in a blob of plaster of Paris could be?

As I think back on these “art projects,” I have to laugh. True, they were very tacky – but, it wasn't what we produced that was beautiful—it was the time we, as a family, got to spend together. Money could never buy that!

After these sessions, we would clean off the tables, put away the supplies, and put our art projects away to cure! Then, off to bed. The windows would be left open and the ocean breeze would cool the rooms as we drifted off to sleep, listening to the sound of the waves.

Such a soothing, restful sound.

I hope each of you has memories like these. Memories made with family members who took their time to make summer special—not because they had to—but, because they wanted to do something special for you!

I cherish those memories to this day.

Oh, FYI! I will be displaying my blob plaster of Paris pieces this week in a shell art showing at an exclusive Art Gallery in Charleston.

Please take this opportunity to come out and join us for this exciting event... Not!

~ Jeannie Joyner