Glass Beach
— — what the sea did with what was thrown away.
Not only on a wall.
“Three small coves at the north end of Fort Bragg, on the Mendocino coast. The town dumped its rubbish off the cliffs here from 1906 until 1967. Sixty years of waves worked the bottles and crockery into rounded pebbles of green, white, amber, and the occasional rare cobalt. The site is now part of MacKerricher State Park. Look, don't pocket. — from the studio
Glass Beach, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Glass Beach is a stretch of three small coves at the north edge of Fort Bragg, on the Pacific coast of Mendocino County in northern California, about 165 miles north of San Francisco. The beach takes its name from the smoothed, sea-tumbled glass that covers it: the remains of household and industrial rubbish dumped over the bluffs from 1906 to 1967. The largest cove was annexed to MacKerricher State Park in 2002 and is now part of California's coastal park system, accessible from a trailhead at the end of Elm Street.
The Pacific here runs cold year-round, between roughly 10 and 14°C, and the surf is unforgiving along the rocky shelf, with no lifeguard service. The waves did the work: six decades of swell ground bottles, plate glass, and crockery into the rounded sea glass that names the place. Greens and clears are common, ambers and browns frequent, blues and reds rare. The volume of glass has fallen sharply since the 2000s as visitors have carried pieces away despite the park rules against collection.
The main access point is at the west end of Elm Street in Fort Bragg, with parking, restrooms, and a flat trail along the bluff to overlooks above each of the three coves. Descent to the beach is by a steep informal path and is best at low tide. Collecting glass is prohibited under state park rules. The Pacific Star Winery and Noyo Headlands trail extend the walk southward; the Skunk Train depot and downtown Fort Bragg are a short drive south.