We’ve been spending Spring Break at Isle of Palms, a beach in South Carolina we’ve visited with extended family a few times over the past four years. The thing my mom and I most love about this beach is the shelling. We can find wonderful shells and it’s my favorite activity to go out once or twice a day to comb the beach. One of the best parts about shelling with my mom is that we look for different things. It’s sort of like when we go to antique stores together. I know I’m never going to have to wrestle her over a piece of ironstone or a writing slope. At the beach, I am mostly drawn to the shells with character – shells that “speak to me” in a way that others might not get. When you see my collection of shells set out together, you can see the pattern and I think they make more sense (maybe.) When I’m picking up broken whelks and shells filled with holes and covered with coral or barnacles, it probably doesn’t make sense to a casual observer.
My sister-in-law is joining us this year and she first started walking with my mom and collected things similar to what my mom likes – intact shells in good condition, mostly in shades of white, pale pinks, and light grays. When she joined me (I had arrived at the beach earlier, so I was ahead of them), she asked what I was drawn to. I pulled a few of my favorite shells out of my bag. I showed her the holes, the shells that were broken in a way that appealed to me, the chunky oyster shells, the whelk that was such a dark blue it was almost black.
“Oh, you like the wabi-sabi shells!”
No one had ever articulated it that way, but it really was a perfect, complimentary description. It was better than Jeff’s observation of my shell-collecting tendencies. “It looks like you collected your shells off the beaches of Mordor.”
For those unfamiliar with the term wabi-sabi, it’s a Japanese phrase that celebrates and takes pleasure in the impermanence and imperfection of things. More than that, I like shells that tell a story. I like the oyster shells that look like they are grandfathers, thick and crusty with layers and age. I like the shells that look like they’ve rolled around in the surf for decades. They are worn, and beaten, yet still beautiful. I like the shells that are broken in just the right way so you can see the intricacies of their twisted interior. I feel like I could spend hours examining them.
While we were shelling one afternoon, a fellow beach-comber asked me what I was looking for. I went into my usual explanation of why I pick up shells most people overlook. “Well, I like the shells that are sculptural and look like they have a good story to tell.” I showed him a few examples from my bag and he looked at them with curiosity.
“You must be an artsy person.”
“Yes, actually, I am an artist!”
He started to walk away, paused, and looked back at me. “Thank you. I will look at those shells differently now.”
And I hope you do, too.
If you watch kids on the beach, they’ll get excited about any shell they find. They can be the most common, boring shell or just a piece of a shell. The collection is haphazard and without focus. As we grow, we’re told which ones are beautiful, prized, and worthy of collecting, and I think it’s easy to fall into that and collect what everyone else values. I hope this post encourages you to collect the things, shells or otherwise, that speak to you even if other people don’t see the beauty or worth in them.
Here are a few more posts for beachcombers…
Decorating with Shells in the Garden
PS – For those having trouble with the blog post “jumping around” while you’re trying to read it, I asked my ad network about that issue and it is an IOS mobile issue that is affecting many sites. It is my understanding that a fix is in the works.
26 Responses
We have been to Charleston/Isle of Palms only once and loved the beach. We also collected great shells and one thing I noticed was the shells didn’t have that yucky odor to them. Would love to go back. Glad you posted about the difficulty reading the website, I had wondered if it was my pad.
You know….joining you for this beach stroll/shell observation it occurs to me it could easily mimic how we stroll through life. As we ‘pick up’ people, experiences, reactions..they pile up like shells on the seashore. Their impacts are as inticate and curious as the misshapen nooks and crannies I see in your pictures here. Picture perfect shapes and colors lie right alongside. As time passes, what affects how I collect, what i’m drawn to ,what I prize as I drop my choices into my memory basket ? They all seem to randomly wash up around our feet but we each bend down , reach and collect with the intent of a treasure hunt. At times i have valued picture perfect shells, other times the mishapen, discolored,broken ones. They live side by side in defence of each other in my collection. They like to gently remind me I drew them all from the same sea.
Enjoyed your observation Resa. It made me smile. Thank you
Resa,
What a beautiful post, inspired by our God.
Thank you.
Beautifully stated.
I went to our beach (Pacific Northwest) last weekend and it had lots of smooth, dark colored rocks. I collected some and then painted flower scenes on them. They are a good size to put in your potted plants. I plan to gift them to my family at Easter. I top-coated them with a high gloss sealer so it looks like they are still wet from being on the beach. The beach always inspires and renews me.
Marian, I remember years ago you gave your readers a link to a free adblocker. Do you still use or recall that app fix? I have upgraded my OLD iPad for a newer refurbished version and some of my important apps were lost in the shuffle.
I am glad there is a fix in the works the iOS problem has made reading your blog very frustrating
I use AdBlock PLus.
Thank you for trying to get the jumping to stop, it sure is frustrating sometimes. But a bigger thank you for reminding me of the excitement on my children’s faces when they found any piece of shell on the beach!
I have been collecting shells all my long life. I began with the “near perfect”. But about ten years ago I began collecting what I call the “junk no one else wants”. I particularly like the columna from broken whelks and I’ve done a good bit of art work with them. The fan shapes extending from some of the tips are so graceful and are lovely in shell collages. Keep hunting!
Enjoy the beach. We are having a snowstorm here in Colorado. Very pretty and I’m all tucked in.
I have always felt that perfection is highly over rated.
I love shelling too and it’s one of my favorite activities at my parents’ house on Sanibel Island — a great place for shelling. I was just there helping my mom pack up the house for sale, sadly, and squeezed in several beach walks. I find it hard to explain when people ask “what kind of shells are you looking for” because like you, I have very idiosyncratic favorites.
We are having beautiful weather this week and makes it a perfect time for beach walks. We have a family vacation home on Folly Beach just over the river from Isle of Palms and Sullivan Island. My most favorite thing to do there is walk to look for shells and sharks teeth. I think of it as a little piece of heaven on earth. I collected enough oyster shells to make as place cards for my granddaughters wedding.
You and I like the same type of shells and other ‘pretties’! Perfect imperfection ~
bobbie
Are we talking about shells or humans…I think I see a parallel. I love that u see the beauty/value in the imperfect.
I knew about wabi sabi but I had to look up Mordor!
I am currently at Isle of Palms too on a getaway celebrating my husband’s birthday. It’s funny, because I thought of you today and remember you visit family there and could have easily ran into you on the beach today. We walked the beach this morning and there were quite a few people walking, sitting and even paddleboarding (with wet suits on). This area is just beautiful and tonight we went into Charleston for dinner at Hymans which is famous for their She-Crab soup, and it didn’t disappoint. I also recommend touring Boone Hall Plantation which is nearby in Mt. Pleasant. Enjoy your trip!
I actually and truly laughed LOUDLY out loud about Jeff’s “looks like you collected your shells from Mordor!” That is absolutely hilarious. Bwuahahahahaha.
That is absolutely something my husband would say as well!
Well said.
My family camped on Isle of Palms when I was a child and I rode my bike on the beach every day, all day, collecting shells. That is still my favorite vacation memory.
I like the ones that speak to me, but my favorites have become the ones that my grandchildren bring back to me from their vacation. When sending them off, I always tell them I love them….then add, “bring me back a shell!”.
You should paint a still life with them! It would be beautiful!
What a compliment that gentleman gave you! He recognized your gifts without even knowing you. I hope you remember and treasure that conversation.
Same with looking up Mordor!
Marian, I loved reading about this account! I’m honored to be part of this wonderful telling & yes you totally made me appreciate the wabi sabi shells more. They elevate my collection, the more broken, textured pieces I added after our conversation. 🙂 The contrast improves the impact of the more “perfect” shells and shows it wasn’t bought at a store. What fun to read about our meaningful time together in this wonderful post! Can’t wait for next year.