Blue Ocean Art Gallery, LLC, Guilford, CT
I loved going to beach as a child. My grandfather took me almost every day during the summer months when he was alive. However, I did not like swimming in the water if there was seaweed floating about. That all changed, thank you to Dr. Sean Grace, my Marine Biology Professor at SCSU. I fell in love with algae.
Our final project for his class was to create a seaweed herbarium. I traveled to beaches every spare moment I could find. I took my son, took his father, took anyone willing to spend their time with me. My brother John often watched my son, while I was off on a seaweed excursion. My mission was to collect and find every species possible along the Connecticut Shoreline.
My life, my home, and my car were full of all this seaweed. I wasn't able to completely finish the project like the rest of the class. My herbarium was so full of pages it fell apart. However, I did have more seaweed than anyone else, and I went to more beaches in search of more species than anyone else. I also have an amazing photographic collection of the ocean views from my collection sites.
That class came to an end and I forgot all about those seaweed specimens. Months went by, the project hidden away somewhere in the basement collecting dust and age. Until… the day I found it again; and again I saw what had drawn me to this in college, the beauty, colors, shapes, forms and variety. I was going through a difficult time, I just lost two of the most important men my life, my brother and then my son's father. I was heartbroken.
I started by framing a few of the pieces I had in my collection. Soon, I was going to the beach and collecting seaweed again. Over the past couple of years, I have been working on new pieces, learning new techniques and now I want to share my experience with others. It has brought me a sense of peace and happiness that I wasn't sure I would feel again.
Seaweed Art has become my passion and joy. Every time I go to a beach, the thing I do first is look for the seaweed scattered about. This is how my story started, here I am in middle, or perhaps this is another new start.
Melissa
