Wow! What a field trip I have for you this week. I attended the 2012 Philadelphia Shell Show & Festival at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and as a fanatic of anything ‘beachy’ and a definite shell lover, I was in heaven!
I planned my trip in advance. I knew when the shell show was scheduled and I went to the museum expecting to see many shells…but I found it was so much more than that…I saw so much more than just individual shells. There were many competitions for shell creations in many varieties – in addition to straight shell displays and collections. The exhibitors were not just from across the country, but from other countries as well.
I took SO many photos and fell in love with SO many shells and shell creations that I could not possibly share them all here. What I have decided to do is to share with you my very favorite creation from the show called “A Summer Place” created by Donna Klees from Ardmore, PA. It received first place in the artistic division – hobbyist category.
Donna created this sweet little house of shells…
Isn’t the trellis amazing?
And, the scallop shell roof!
Gotta love the details in the windows…
If you would like to see more shells from the show, I will be sharing some additional photos on my facebook page – I was very impressed with the collection of sailor’s valentines that were presented and you can see some of those samples on my page. Click here to see my facebook page.
As an ending photo, I would like to leave you with this whimsical creation by Bill Jordan from Fort Myers, FL. He is a great guy and an amazing craftsman that I met at the show…love ya Bill! According to Bill, Sanibel Island’s beaches are so covered with shells that you will regularly see people bending over in search of them. The locals have dubbed this sight the “Sanibel Stoop”…the inspiration for Bill’s creation:
Thank you so much for visiting. Hope you enjoyed sharing some photos from the 2012 Philadelphia Shell Show & Festival.
Have a great weekend, Jackie