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Monday, January 9, 2012

Deal Island's secret: Sea glass

DAMES QUARTER -- The location of certain "treasure beaches" on Deal Island has long been a closely guarded secret by native islanders.
That was until TV's famed homemaker, Martha Stewart, spilled the beans during one of her programs last summer and told the world where to find the good stuff, said waterman and artifact collector Ted Daniels.
"It's been reported in the newspapers and on the Martha Stewart show," he said. "Apparently Martha Stewart had a friend who came down here and found sea glass and she must have told her, 'Deal Island beach is one of the top destinations for sea glass.' "
Beaches on and around Deal Island hold artifacts from the past, and are prime places to search for Daniels and his two children, Liza, 11, and Jackson, 9.
Now that the word is out, lots of people are coming down here to search for sea glass.
"When we go down there, and we routinely have been for the past five years, we meet people from all over the country, some on vacations and some who came just to find treasure on the beach," he said.
It was the discovery of sea glass by Liza that changed her life.
"She started collecting when she was about 2. We find a lot of stuff among the remains of old settlements on islands washing away, but 50 percent of the sea glass comes from Deal Island," he said. "When she found her first piece of red glass, she was hooked."
"Daddy has taught me what to pick up and keep," she explained. "The ugly stuff is shiny."
Shiny glass, that hasn't been textured by waves and sand, is generally a leave-behind item. What sea glass collectors want are sand-tumbled, almost frosted shards of glass with no sharp edges and devoid of a shiny glare. The gold standard is the hard to find red glass, polished to a satiny luster after years and years of being tumbled in the sand with hard and gentle waves. Pieces of sea glass, the size of a quarter and smaller, are ideal for jewelry use.
Like the others in search of prime specimens of sea glass used to make jewelry, Liza tried her hand at making jewelry. In her small art studio at home, the youngster discovered she had a love, and a knack, for creating special jewelry. The goodies from the past are stored in baskets, Mason jars, plastic bags and cans. She even recycles hand-me-down glass beads from the family.

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