Richard LaMotte will host a lecture “The Lure and Mysteries of Sea Glass” during the 11th Annual North American Sea Glass Festival in Ocean City, Maryland on Saturday, August 27th. Richard will share his knowledge and years of experience on sea glass with you, accompanied by Celia Pearson’s beautiful images from his two books, Pure Sea Glass and The Lure of Sea Glass. Richard plans to provide insight into the art of identifying unique shards and review the basic science of how sea glass is formed. Learn why certain colors are so much harder to find than others and explore the history of sea glass. Questions are encouraged as this lecture will serve to be a valuable exchange of information between Richard and anyone seeking to learn more about these vanishing gems.
A little bit about Richard and his latest book, The Lure of Sea Glass: Our Connection to Nature’s Gems.
Richard LaMotte, author of The Lure of Sea Glass: Our Connection to Nature’s Gems, is America’s leading authority on sea glass. His new book, which focuses primarily on the emotional side of sea glass, was prompted by the many stories and anecdotes he has heard over the years from people who shared with him how much sea glass collecting has meant in their lives.
Since the publication of his first book, LaMotte has hosted or attended hundreds of events for sea glass collectors all over the nation. At these events, sea glass aficionados have had an opportunity to view others’ collections and learn more about the sea glass phenomenon. He is a former president of the North American Sea Glass Association, which annually holds a national festival for sea glass collectors and those interested in learning more about the subject.
The new book is a sequel to his classic, Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems, which was published in 2004. That book, which has become the definitive book on the subject, helped spark the increasingly popular pastime of collecting treasures from the sea. It earned first place in non-fiction from the Writer’s Digest 13th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards. Since 2004, his company, Sea Glass Publishing, L.L.C., also has produced calendars, note cards, identification cards and other products featuring photographs and information about sea glass.
LaMotte and his family have collected more than 40,000 pieces of sea glass, much of it from the Chesapeake Bay, near their home in Chestertown, Maryland.
LaMotte has been interviewed in leading newspapers including The Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the New York Times and the Boston Globe. His work also has been featured in magazines including Coastal Living, Parade and Delaware Beach Life.
North American Sea Glass Festival, Ocean City, Maryland
Sea Glass Soiree Friday, August 26, 2016 5pm – 9pm
Sea Glass Festival Saturday, August 27, 2016 9am – 6pm
Happy 2016 sea glass hunters of the World! We’ve been busy organizing for the 2016 
The judging closed and the time came to announce the winners. The room was filled with anxious collectors, each hopeful that their piece would be the winning piece. The Shard of the Year contest has ten other categories, and as each winner was called up to the podium, they were beaming with excitement. Finally, the grand prize winner was announced by Richard LaMotte, former President and noted sea glass expert and author. As Richard held up the large piece of aqua, the room was full of oohh’s and aahh’s, and Earl Brown’s name was announced as the Grand Prize winner. Earl was in a bit of shock and quiet in his demeanor. You will see from the photos and his answers below that he’s a no nonsense straight shooter. Just as each piece of shard entered holds a story behind them, the photos after the contest tell a story. The photos taken inside immediately following the announcement, Earl was stunned. A few minutes later, in the photo taken outside with Kim Hannon below, Earl is showing off his beautiful winning shard and the smile on his face is emerging.
Earl explained to Kim Hannon, that he was out sea glass hunting very early in the morning, while it was still not quite dawn, and as he walked along the beach, somewhere between Bethany Beach and Fenwick, he came up to the aqua piece which was embedded in the sand in a shoe print! Can you imagine? Earl believes that it may have been stepped on by night fishermen. Wow, they weren’t aware that they were stepping on such a gorgeous piece of history.
