Sandy McCormick, beach glass folk artist
Why beach glass?
Sandy McCormick’s love affair with beach glass started with a trip to Russia where a fellow tourist, from Seattle, invited her to visit once she returned home. At Margaret’s house, Sandy observed a table, lit by fluorescent tubes, with many colourful pieces of beach glass placed on the lighted surface. The glass sparkled and the varied textures of the pieces glowed as they blended into a multi-hued mosaic. Sandy thought that was the most beautiful table she had ever seen and vowed to start collecting beach glass
that very day.
That was in April, 1974. Fifteen years later, when she first visited Texada, Sandy had not quite filled a two-litre jar with her collection. Then, as miners would say, she struck the mother lode. There are several Texada sites which are former refuse dumps where only glass and rusty metal remain. Decades of immersion in salt water with rusty metal turned many pieces of glass a yellow-golden color, which is unique to Texada. One major site is the proposed location of the liquid natural gas plant an Alberta company wants to build. If the project proceeds, the site would be lost forever to collector artists like Sandy.
Sandy’s beach glass art
Working with beach glass is the ultimate in recycling. The glass, made of substances found in nature, was once made by man into the articles which were then recycled by the ocean into the pieces Sandy works with today. Every piece of beach glass is worn and carved by the sea in a unique way. That means that every one of Sandy’s creations is one-of-a-kind. Her ever-growing inventory includes decorative mirror and picture frames, glass curtains, glass hangings (wind chimes), inukshuks, bowls, starfish, Christmas decorations, clocks and table-top trays.
Who is Sandy McCormick?
Sandy was born and raised in Vancouver. She has been visiting Texada since 1989 and has lived on the island since 2006, with her partner Lee Stephens. Sandy is a UBC graduate who retired from journalism to enjoy the Texada way of life. She has gathered beach glass on all seven continents, but 98 per cent of her collection is from Texada Island.
Sandy McCormick sandynleeti@gmail.com 604 414-3525