Studio Life of James Cade

Seaglass is one of my favorite materials to work with. Not simply because it’s pretty, but because no two pieces are ever alike. Each piece has a history all it’s own, from the lowly brown beer bottle to an intricate decanter or the Fresnel lens from a ships lantern. It’s fun to dream up histories for each piece and imagine where they could have come from.

All of the seaglass used in my jewelry is found by members of my family. We all spend a lot of time visiting Mid-coast Maine. Steven’s Grandparents retired from Massachusetts to a lovely little cottage on the beach in Owl’s Head, and his Mother lives just down the road in Rockland. Four years ago, our eldest son Joshua had just finished his Undergrad in Business at Boston University and had spent some time working at a "regular" nine to five job. He decided that wasn’t for him, and told us that he’d like to move up to Maine to continue his education at a Wooden Boat Building School in Rockland called the Apprenticeshop. At first we were a little astonished at this seemingly random choice; but it’s turned out to be a great thing for him. After finishing the two year boat building program he is now working in the area as a professional boat builder, and just a little more than a year ago he was married to a Canadian girl named Sarah, whom he met at boat building school. Together they own a beautiful little wooden boat called the Anna R that they sail all over the Bay every summer.

Josh, Sarah and Matt sailing aboard the Anna R in Penobscot Bay

Rarely do three months go by without us making the trip up the coast to visit. Time spent with Steven’s ninety year old Grandfather especially precious to us. His little house on the Ocean is where we all usually gather together. It’s a cozy place where everyone feels right at home. It doesn’t hurt that it affords some of the best views in the whole area. You look out his window straight at the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and the Owl's Head Peninsula. In the summertime the whole harbor is alive with activity; Hundred year old Schooners, Barges, Tugboats, Lobster boats, Sardine Carriers, Ferries, and weekend warriors of all stripes. In the winter it is quiet, save the ferries chugging back and forth to the Islands; but it is no less beautiful. In some ways the view from Gramps’ house in winter is even more lovely. There is something about the color of the water in winter, you can tell just by looking that it’s frigid cold. It stands out in stark contrast to the snowy beach and fierce winter sky.


Celebrating Gramps' 90th Birthday with friends and family in Owl's Head

All winter long the bay is plagued by storms known as Nor’ Easters. These storms churn up the whole bay, and in doing so deposit treasure once buried deep underwater right on Gramps’ rocky beach for us to find. Winter is without a doubt the best time to go hunting for sea glass. Josh and Sarah often go for walks to some particularly good beaches around Rockland. Every time I see them in winter I can look forward to receiving an old mason jar chock full of sea glass.

By far the best sea glass hunter in the family is my niece Hannah, she has an eye for finding beautiful pieces that other people walk right by. She’ll find three times the amount of seaglass in a fraction of the time of anyone else, and it’s usually twice as beautiful. I made her the bracelet below as a Sweet Sixteen gift out of a gorgeous curved piece that she had found the previous summer.

I always feel like a child when I’m combing the beaches for sea glass. There are so many strange and fascinating things that inhabit the intertidal zone. Odd looking crustaceans, shells, sea grass, old lobster pots and traps, and random bits of garbage; it’s like a window into the world that lies under the waves. It keeps your imagination alive, reminds you of the beauty that surrounds us and the wonder of the natural world.

I like to think that in making Jewelry out of sea glass I am capturing some of that wonder and turning it into something even more beautiful.

When I return home from Maine to my studio and get back to work, each piece of sea glass that I turn into jewelry reminds me of this. It’s amazing to think that each piece of glass was created by someone somewhere in in the folds of history, then lost or discarded, churned in the ocean for ages, and then plucked off a beach by someone that I love, and then eventually turned into something that someone else will love and cherish for years to come.

And that, in a whole lot of words, pretty well sums up why I love what I do!