Seaside strolls are 'treasure hunts' for Cape Cod beach glass artist
SEARCHING FOR SEA GLASS ON THE SEASHORE. FOR SOME, A CHILLY, DAMP DAY IN LATE SEPTEMBER IS HARDLY THE PERFECT CAPE COD BEACH DAY. BUT FOR MICHELLE LEDUC STROLLING AN ABANDONED WEST, DENNIS BEACH ON A DAY LIKE THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. IT’S JUST LIKE A TIME TO LIKE, CHECK OUT. IT’S ALSO A TIME FOR MICHELLE TO LOOK FOR MATERIALS NEEDED FOR HER BUSINESS CALLED CAPE COD BEACH CREATIONS. IT’S ALMOST LIKE A TREASURE HUNT. I FEEL LIKE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO FIND. WHAT THIS RETIRED MILFORD TEACHER NOW PERMANENT CAPE CODDER FINDS, IS A SEA GLASS THAT SHE TRANSFORMS INTO THESE HANDCRAFTED WORKS OF ART. YOU’RE JUST BASICALLY GOING THROUGH THIS AND YOU WANT TO ALSO GET DIFFERENT COLORS FOR IT WAS DURING COVID THAT MICHELLE SET UP SHOP IN HER SHACK AND BEGAN SEEKING OUT THE LOCAL SEASHORES. I JUST JUST LOVE HOW THE PURPLES STAND OUT. TURNS OUT A TREASURE TROVE OF INSPIRATION WAS DISCOVERED ON THOSE SOLO SEASIDE STROLLS. SO IT COULD BE SHELLS. IT COULD BE JUST SAND, IT COULD BE DRIFTWOOD. SO IT’S NOT JUST SEA GLASS, BUT THAT’S WHAT I MAINLY USE, THAT BEING THE CASE, IT ALSO BEGS THE QUESTION ON HOW MUCH SEA GLASS IS ON CAPE COD BEACHES. WELL, THAT’S A SECRET. BUT I MEAN, IT DEPENDS. THERE’S SOME DAYS THAT I COME BACK WITH LIKE A HANDFUL AND THEN THERE’S SOME DAYS I FIND ONE BECAUSE MOST OF MICHELLE’S WORK IS CUSTOM DESIGNED. NO. TWO CREATIONS ARE EVER THE SAME, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT OF THAT UNIQUE, SHARED CONNECTION HER CUSTOMERS HAVE TO THAT SPECIAL PLACE CALLED CAPE COD. SOMETIMES PEOPLE GIVE ME THEIR ITEMS, SO I’VE HAD PEOPLE SEND ME THEIR SHELLS OR THEIR PIECES OF SEA GLASS THAT THEY HAVE FOUND, AND THEY WILL ASK ME TO CREATE A PIECE FOR THEM WHICH I ALSO LOVE DOING. I THINK ALL OF IT ENCOMPASS IS JUST THIS, THIS HAPPINESS, THIS THIS PLACE OF I JUST WANT TO BE THERE. OR AT LEAST IF I CAN’T TAKE A PIECE BACK WITH ME, THE BEACHES ARE A LOT CLEANER NOW TOO, BECAUSE OF WORK. AS I MENTIONED, MOST OF MICHELLE’S CREATIONS ARE CUSTOM DESIGNED. THAT SAID, SHE DOES HAVE A SHOW COMING UP LATER THIS MONTH AT THE HARWICH CRANBERRY FESTIVAL. AND BECAUSE OF HURRICANE LEE, IT WAS RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 21ST AND 22ND. SO I GUESS THAT’S REALLY NEXT MONTH. BUT NONETHELESS, THERE YOU GO. SO SHE GOES FROM THE SEASHORE WITH THE SEA GLASS TO THE SEA SHACK AND NOW TO THE FESTIVAL. THAT’S RIGHT. WE REALLY SOME SPECIAL DES
Seaside strolls are ‘treasure hunts’ for Cape Cod beach glass artist
Updated: 5:35 AM EDT Sep 25, 2023
A Massachusetts company on Cape Cod got its start by searching for sea glass on the seashore.For some, a chilly, damp day in late September is hardly the perfect Cape beach day. But for Michele LeDuc, strolling on a West Dennis Beach is perfection.She looks for materials needed for her business — Cape Cod Beach Creations.“It’s almost, like, a treasure hunt, I feel. You never know what you’re going to find,” LeDuc said.What the retired Milford teacher, now permanent Cape Codder, finds is sea glass that she transforms into hand-crafted works of art.It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that LeDuc set up shop in her “she shack.” A treasure trove of inspiration was discovered on solo seaside strolls. “So it could be shells, it could be just sand, it could be driftwood. So it’s not just sea glass, but that’s what I mainly use,” she said.Because most of LeDuc’s work is custom-designed, no two creations are ever the same – however, customers share a connection to that special place called Cape Cod.“I think all of it encompasses just this happiness. This place of, ‘I just want to be there,’ or at least if I can’t, I can take a piece back with me,” Le Duc said.LeDuc’s work will be featured in a show at the Harwich Cranberry Festival on Oct. 21 and 22.
A Massachusetts company on Cape Cod got its start by searching for sea glass on the seashore.
For some, a chilly, damp day in late September is hardly the perfect Cape beach day. But for Michele LeDuc, strolling on a West Dennis Beach is perfection.
She looks for materials needed for her business — Cape Cod Beach Creations.
“It’s almost, like, a treasure hunt, I feel. You never know what you’re going to find,” LeDuc said.
What the retired Milford teacher, now permanent Cape Codder, finds is sea glass that she transforms into hand-crafted works of art.
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that LeDuc set up shop in her “she shack.” A treasure trove of inspiration was discovered on solo seaside strolls.
“So it could be shells, it could be just sand, it could be driftwood. So it’s not just sea glass, but that’s what I mainly use,” she said.
Because most of LeDuc’s work is custom-designed, no two creations are ever the same – however, customers share a connection to that special place called Cape Cod.
“I think all of it encompasses just this happiness. This place of, ‘I just want to be there,’ or at least if I can’t, I can take a piece back with me,” Le Duc said.
LeDuc’s work will be featured in a show at the Harwich Cranberry Festival on Oct. 21 and 22.
