Ocean Arts

Sea glass has become very popular as a component in jewelry, chimes, sun catchers and ornaments. Tumbled by the ocean waves, sea glass comes from tossed bottles and jars that have found their way to the sea. The sand and surf softens the edges of the broken glass as it tumbles in the waves creating smooth, frosty pieces of sea glass, or beach glass.

This summer, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, is mounting an exhibit of glass models of marine invertebrates made by the 17th century German master glassblowers, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka of Dresden. Professor James Hanken is an evolutionary biologist and the director of the museum. He talked to X-RAY MAG about the exhibit and the Blaschka glass works.