Come Along with me – the Wonderful Things I Found at the Beach

There is something just so magical about a walk along the beach. I’m sharing my experiences and viewpoint. As a maker, the beach is like a giant outdoor art-supply store—full of texture, colour, shapes, patterns and unexpected inspiration. ‘Not to mention the best big surprise!

I never seem to come home from a beach walk without a pocket full of ideas and more!

Of course, not everything needs to be collected. Sometimes the best treasures are the ones you photograph, sketch, or simply remember. At my local beach the adjacent waterway is a much loved home for the swans. And when collecting natural materials, it’s important to follow local rules and leave living creatures, habitats, and protected materials undisturbed.

Look at the Beach With a Maker’s Eye

The wonderful thing about beachcombing is that you don’t necessarily need to know what you’re looking for. Instead, look for things that catch your eye.

• A strange shape.
• An unusual colour.
• A beautiful pattern.
• Something worn smooth by water.
• Something that looks completely different when you turn it over.

This is exactly how I find inspiration for many of my projects. In fact, I recently wrote about how a walk at the beach or in the woods can get my creative ideas flowing. Nature provides an endless collection of forms, textures and colours to study. (Made By Barb)

Beach Stones and Pebbles

Beach stones might be my favourite treasures. They come in such an amazing variety of colours and shapes. Some are perfectly smooth and rounded, while others have interesting lines, speckles or layers. Look particularly for:

• Flat stones
• Smooth rounded pebbles
• Unusual colours
• Naturally patterned stones
• Stones with interesting textures
• Small rocks with beautiful shapes

Sometimes you don’t even need to do anything to them. A bowl filled with beautiful beach stones can be a little collection of natural artwork.

Turn Beach Stones Into Art

I’ve used beach stones in several MadeByBarb projects.

One of my favourites is my Cyanotype Prints on Rocks & Stones project. A beach walk was actually what gave me the idea! Light-coloured, smooth stones can become a completely unexpected surface for beautiful cyanotype printing. (Made By Barb)

It’s a perfect example of how something as simple as a beach pebble can become the starting point for an entirely new art technique.

Beach Stones Can Become Garden Art

Another wonderful possibility is using beach stones in garden projects.

I’ve used them in my Upside-Down Mosaic Sandcast Stepping Stones. The technique lets you arrange beach stones and other decorative pieces into sand before pouring the concrete. When the finished stepping stone is turned over, the hidden design is revealed. Imagine making a stepping stone from stones collected from a favourite holiday!

Every time you walk across it, you get a little reminder of the beach.

Driftwood

Driftwood is another beach treasure that is almost impossible for a maker to ignore. Water and weather can transform ordinary pieces of wood into wonderfully sculptural objects. Look for:

• Interesting curves
• Forked branches
• Holes and openings
• Weathered surfaces
• Unusual silhouettes
• Pieces with beautiful grain

The shape of the driftwood can suggest what it wants to become. Maybe it’s as simple as a handle for some Fibre Bowls.

Perhaps it’s part of a sculpture. Maybe it’s simply beautiful enough to display on its own.

I’ve even made Driftwood Faux Succulent Gardens, using the natural shape of driftwood as part of the design. MadeByBarb has several projects where natural materials become an important part of the finished piece.

I’ve used shells and stones as inspiration and embellishments in my concrete work. My Concrete Geode Candles, for example, explore the contrast between rustic concrete and beautiful natural elements such as stones and shells.

Sand

We usually think of sand as something that gets everywhere, but sand is also a fantastic creative material. Look closely at it. The texture changes from beach to beach, and even from one part of the beach to another.

I’ve used fine sand as part of my Sand Cast Leaf Plates. The sand becomes the temporary mould that holds the design while the concrete is poured. It’s a wonderful reminder that sometimes the simplest material can play an important role in a project.

Feathers and Natural Patterns

A beach walk isn’t only about rocks and shells. Keep an eye out for interesting natural patterns and shapes. A feather can inspire a print.

The pattern left behind by the tide can become an abstract design.

A tiny plant can provide the inspiration for a cyanotype. This is one reason I love nature-inspired printing. The natural world provides the designs for you.

My MadeByBarb Cyanotype projects explore this idea in many different ways, from fabric to rocks and even wood.

Look at What the Water Has Created

One of the best things you can find at the beach isn’t something you can take home at all. It’s the marks left behind by the water.

Look at:

• Beautiful clouds and rays of sun
• Patterns made by waves
• Tiny channels carved by water
• Pebbles arranged naturally by the tide
• Lines and textures in rocks

These are fantastic references for my art. Nature is constantly designing things without ever trying to make a “design.” That’s something worth remembering when you’re stuck creatively.

Find Colour Combinations

The beach is also a wonderful place to discover colour combinations. Try photographing little collections of colours rather than individual objects. This Easy First time quilt was inspired by the colours imprinted in my mind.

For example:

These natural colour palettes can later inspire painting, sewing, mosaics, concrete finishes or even home décor.

Take Photos Instead of Taking Everything Home

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can bring home is a photograph. Photograph interesting:

• Shadows
• Tide patterns
• Textures
• Colour combinations
• Natural arrangements

I especially like photographing things that make me stop and say, “That’s interesting.”

You don’t need to know what you’ll do with the idea yet. Just collect the inspiration.

Nature Can Become a Design Library

After enough beach walks, you start to realize that you’re building your own personal library of shapes, textures, emotion and colours.

• A weathered piece of driftwood might inspire a sculpture years later.
• A pebble might become the colour reference for a painting.
• A shell might inspire a mosaic.
• A tide mark might become a pattern for fabric.
• A flat stone might become the surface for a cyanotype.
• Those Moths spark creative designs

This is one of the reasons I love working with natural materials. They aren’t just materials—they are ideas waiting to happen.

Take the ideas back home and interpret into wool & fibre! (tutorial to come soon)

This was the Absolute Best Surprise!

As you may know I do have a certain love for turtles… My own Red Eared slider is 36 years old now, and quite a character as told in his escape story. What to my surprise, when looking at the murky waters by the reeds… what to my surprise – a Baby Painted Turtle!

I scooped up this sweet tiny fellow to marvel at all the beautiful markings! Look at those colours and shapes!

I have new found confidence that there still is active wildlife survival! I’ve seen egg shells around turtle nests, hoping they made it to the water. This was such a perfect specimen and quite feisty as well!

What were my chances that it would be so close to where I was looking, almost so camouflaged.

What Will You Find on Your Next Beach Walk?

The next time you visit the beach, slow down. Look closely.

• Don’t just look at the obvious treasures.
• Turn over a stone.
• Study a piece of driftwood.
• Notice the patterns in the sand.
• Look at the colours.
• Take photographs.
• Sketch something that catches your eye.
• And let your imagination do the rest.

You never know what that little beach treasure—or even just a photograph of it—might become.