Pyromania
Pyromania, located in beautiful Newport, Oregon, is a family business. Husband and wife, Dennis & Patricia Schmitz, and their daughters, Jessica and Andrea, work together to create glass floats. Each colorful orb is individually crafted with the same techniques that have been used for 2000 years to create glass art pieces that celebrate the spirit of beachcombing. Each Pyromania float has the Studio’s name and the year engraved near the plug. These collectible floats are lively, bright, and multicolored pieces of art.

Mark Ellinger
Mark Ellinger is a professional glass artist and a native of the Puget Sound area of Washington State In 1998 Mark built and founded “Glass Quest” his own modern glass blowing studio in rural Stanwood, Washington. Mark’s unique designs are inspired by his love of the Art Nouveau period and the beautiful surroundings of Puget Sound.

Leaning Glass Studios
Together, husband and wife team — Jennifer and Paul Steinke — make up the glass blowing team of Leaning Glass Studios. For over 20 years, Paul has been creating unique glasswork. To date, Paul has produced over 3500 glass ornaments, multiple vases and dishes, and fused glass pieces. Paul’s wife Jennifer began working with glass in 2000. Under the study of Eddie and Barbara Streeter, she learned that everything in glass making is HOT! Jennifer works on producing unique bowls and vases.

Treasure’d Glass
Treasure Collupy was born and raised in Skamokawa, Washington. After attending two years of college, he yearned for a change. On a trip home from Seattle, he went into a local “hot shop” where, by twist of fate, he was asked to help. After a couple hours of assisting, he was addicted. Three months later, Treasure quit his job and moved back to Skamokawa to learn the art of glassblowing!

Fern Hill Glass
Claude Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Claude uses dichroic glass and lots of bright, pure and often reactive colors. He enjoys experimenting with colors to create different and often unexpected results.

Tags: art glass, beach treasure, beachcombing, blown glass, coastal georgia treasure, fishing floats, glass art pieces, glass floats, golden isles events, island treasures, Jekyll Island Events, Jekyll Island Treasures, leaning glass studios, mark ellinger, pyromania, treasure hunting, treasure'd glass
Posted in January/February 2009 | No Comments »

Discover Jekyll Island Treasures
For generations, beachcombers have delighted in finding glass fishing floats that separated from European and Asian fish nets. The colorful floats could drift for years, driven by winds and currents, tossed and polished by the surf and sand until they eventually washed up on beaches around the world. Today, finding one of the original glass floats is rare; the fragile glass spheres face the are often broken or lost among crashing waves, rocky shorelines, and tangling seaweed. Every year, Jekyll Island celebrates the tradition of finding glass fishing floats by placing colorful blown glass floats along the beaches. Beginning on January 1, a special group of “Beach Buddies” hide the hand-crafted floats above the high water line on Jekyll Island’s beaches. From January 1 through February the floats hide among the shores, waiting for a special Jekyll visitor to discover it. After a beach comber finds a float, he or she takes the treasure to the Jekyll Island Visitor Information Center on Downing Musgrove Causeway. There, the finder can register the float, receive a certificate of authenticity, and have his or her picture taken to post on the Island Treasures website. For more information on how you can discover an Island Treasure, visit www.jekyllisland.com/islandtreasures

Tags: beachcombers, beachcombing, glass fishing net floats, island treasures, Jekyll Island Beachscape
Posted in Beachscape, January 2008, Page 1 | 1 Comment »