"Yesterday I had a really bad day at work so I was like, I'm going to the beach and maybe that will make me feel better (even though taking the train to the beach after work only leaves like a half-hour window at the actual beach before having to catch the train back again) so I got ready and went to the train stop and tried to buy a ticket but the machine kept spitting out my money and no ticket and I was like, maybe this is a sign, but no I'm going to the beach anyway so I decided to risk getting caught without a ticket and got on the train and then it went to the next stop and the announcement said 'end of the line' even though I had checked on the Internet and on the board at the train stop that that train was supposed to go to the beach, so I asked someone and they were like no, this train is going the other way now, so I was like ok, I will get out and walk home, but then I realized I couldn't get past the turnstile without a ticket so I risked riding back to my stop and I didn't get caught and then I walked home carrying my towel in humiliation and shame and that's the story of how I didn't go to the beach."
That's a little story I wrote (and experienced) a few months ago. I live about 3 kilometers from the beach, in the middle of the northern coast of Spain. I don't go as often as I used to in Malta, when I lived about 5 minutes from the beach--then I went nearly every day, whether to swim or just sit on "my" rock, listen to the waves, and read a good book. Now getting to the beach is a bit more complicated, so I only go when I have the time and energy to hike for an hour or can catch a ride with someone.
Here's a picture I took at the beach on my birthday last year
A couple of friends invited me recently to a garbage pick-up day, and I must admit that I picked up at least as many shells as bits of trash! Well, what can I say? I'm an artist. :) Here you can see my process for that haul:
Cockle shells, mussels, limpets, and jingle shells are most common here
In May I took 2 weeks of vacation, which I had originally planned to spend in Andalucia with a friend from the US, but because of quarantine travel restrictions, the trip had to be postponed. I was very disappointed, but I ended up having a good vacation anyway, just working on art every day, and I used the two Sundays for hiking. On one of them, I went to the beach to collect not only shells, but driftwood, and had some fun experimenting with wind chimes and sculpture. Here's some results:
My favorite is the "seahorse" at the end of the sculpture on the left. It's just a natural piece of driftwood I found--I didn't carve or alter it in any way!
Some of the pieces pictured in this article are still available in my shop, The Mermaid Island. You're welcome to stop by! Thanks for reading!