Forget JoAnn Fabrics and Michaels: The only craft supply store local Cleveland artist Jenn Brewster needs is Lake Erie. Brewster makes her art out of beach glass and lucky stones found at different beaches along Lake Erie.
“From the start, I liked going to the beach and finding everything. I always say that's my favorite part because it's so calming. And then you take it home and it sits for a while and then I'll get ideas,” Brewster says.
The ivory stones used as the centerpiece for palm trees in Brewster’s mosaics are known to beachgoers as “lucky stones” — and to scientists as the ear bone of a freshwater drum fish. The fish are native to Lake Erie and reveal these hidden gems after they die and their bones wash to shore. Beachcombers will then search high and low to find the distinctive left or right ear bone, marked with L for “luck” and J for “joy.” Artists like Brewster then breathe new life into nature’s art, creating something entirely of their own.
“It's so peaceful and challenging, but then when I look down and see what I did, I'm like ‘wow, that looks pretty cool,’” Brewster says.
(Photo by Annie Nickoloff; lead art by Duane Raver)
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