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found on the beach

found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup

lake erie beach trash, plastic soldiers on beach

Since Lake Erie finally thawed earlier in the month I’ve been hitting the beach pretty hard. This happens every year. I only go to the beach a handful of times during the winter, am usually bored by the lack of things to find in the sand, then as soon as it thaws I remember all over again exactly what it is I love so much about it there.

First trip there after the thaw I found a couple plastic soldiers within minutes of arriving. I’ve briefly mentioned it before but I collect those. I’ll basically pick up anything that catches my eye on the beach but I’ve made it a point to not bring anything home. Then, around a year ago, I broke my own rule… Guess who has so many plastic soldiers she had to buy a new container for them recently. Yeeeeah, that’s me. Anyway, finding so many in such a short period of time filled me with enthusiasm. It’s basically taken all my strength to not go to the beach every single morning these last two weeks. I know it’s just trash but it’s like a treasure hunt. I’m hooked!

I haven’t made any big arrangements in a while but I have made lots of small ones! Here are some recent photos from my favorite spot along Lake Erie.

arrangement of beach trash

bee boots by Joules

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!
IF YOU LIKE MY FOUND ON THE BEACH COLLECTIONS – PRINTS, PHONE CASES, AND MORE CAN BE FOUND HERE. HANDMADE ZIPPER POUCHES + POST CARDS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
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found on the beach – winter edition

by Kaylah Stroup

beach combing, things neatly organized, plastic pollution

Each year I feel like winter here in Ohio gets a little worse. Winter is rough for me, as I know it is for a lot of people. The lack of sunlight gets me down, and not getting enough fresh air definitely takes a toll on my mood. I truly understand why people move out of state when they retire. I have a hard time imagining myself waiting that long though… (Don’t worry mom, we don’t have any plans to move.)

Luckily for me, we’re having a bit of a heat wave this week. Yesterday’s high was 56 degrees Fahrenheit which in the dead of winter feels absolutely tropical. I had a whole heap of work to do but figured heading to the beach right after my morning coffee would be a great way to start the week off right. It definitely was. Within literally two minutes of being there I had found two plastic soldiers half buried in the sand which are my absolute favorite thing to find on the beach. I know it must sound so silly to read that finding some old toys in the sand could start my week off right but, yeeeeah, it did!

lake erie, wendy park, beach plastic, cleveland

above – What large sections of the beach actually look like.

below – My favorite finds of the day. Still trying to figure out what that number is. I have quite a collection of them that I’ve picked up over the years.

bee boots by Joules.

I really was just coming to the beach to get some fresh air, and decompress but the freshly thawed beach was a gold mine. ‘One man’s trash..’ I wasn’t even planning on doing an arrangement of my finds since the snow is at the ugly point where it’s just gross, dirty and half melted. Buuuut, you guys, these might be some of my favorite found on the beach photos that I’ve ever taken. They’re also the first I’ve done with a frozen Lake Erie in the background! Such a stark contrast between the dark sand, white snow, and colorful trash. I love it!

cleveland, beach combing, rainbow trash

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!
IF YOU LIKE MY FOUND ON THE BEACH COLLECTIONS – PRINTS, PHONE CASES, AND MORE CAN BE FOUND HERE. HANDMADE ZIPPER POUCHES + POST CARDS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
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found on the beach x2

by Kaylah Stroup

beach trash, colorful arrangement, plastic pollution

It’s been a minute since my last found on the beach post. I’ve still be wandering the beach, picking up things that catch my eye and photographing arrangements but I haven’t been sharing my work. To be honest, I’ve felt a bit discouraged. An anonymous commenter (of course) left some stupid, snarky response about how dumb this is and how I owe my readers better. I obviously don’t agree. This is one of my favorite ways to relax, and I think my photos are beautiful. But, it still stings, ya know?

I think people tend to forget that there is someone real behind every single blog, username, and avatar on the internet. When you tell someone one of their hobbies is dumb, you’re being a jerk. You don’t have to like it, agree with it, or even look at it because the internet is a really huge place. The Dainty Squid is just a very very tiny section and I know for a fact no one is making you read it. So please, if you don’t like my found on the beach arrangements, stop reading or at least learn to scroll past. I’ll have cute animals back here another day. Life is seriously too short to waste it reading about things you don’t like. Instead of spending your time being snarky, go find something or someone you do like and build them up. It feels so much better to compliment than to tear down. It will make YOU happier.

Obviously the good outweighs the bad… by like A TON. It is really interesting how those awful comments wiggle their way into your mind and latch on though. Reading over that last paragragh, it feels a bit rant-y but it’s so true. When you start investing your energy into things you really like and care for, you will be so much happier. Maybe even zen enough to pick up trash for fun. Heh!

beach trash, colorful arrangement, plastic pollution

beach trash, colorful arrangement, plastic pollution, palladium boots

Anyway,

Back to the subject at hand, the beach! The weather has been perfect lately. Perfect meaning kind of chilly, especially on the water, and a bit rainy. For my birthday, back in August, Jeff got me a really nice raincoat that I’ve been getting a ton of use out of this last month. Rain almost 100% of the time means I get the beach to myself which is ideal. Plus it’s just fun to be able to play outside in the rain but not get wet. It’s almost strange to me what a huge effect being there has on me. It’s my favorite place to go and think. Just hearing the waves crash into the sand is so relaxing. I don’t think I could ever live far from a body of water. Every single time, I leave so much happier, so much more level-headed and grounded.

lake erie pollution, beach trash, plastic

When I first started making arrangements (back in 2012??) I almost always did them in the sand but this last year I’ve taken to building them on other natural objects nearby. Rocks, logs, etc. I love the juxtaposition of something very natural and not coloful next to an explosion of man-made color. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t consider this art and I certainly don’t spend very much time putting hidden meanings in my work. I just like to have fun and it’s really interesting to me to see my ideas progress. Looking back at this post from 2014, which seems to be the oldest beach trash post that made the move over to wordpress, it’s incredible how much prettier everything looks now. I enjoy having hobbies that help me measure my growth as a photographer.

My little palette of rainbow trash.

For a long time I’ve had a “don’t keep any trash” rule but I’ve started collecting figurines of people that I find on the beach. This started with just plastic army men but the more little people I found the more I wanted to keep them all. Army men are still my favorite to find but I’m happy to find anyone to add to my jar of lost folks.

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!
IF YOU LIKE MY FOUND ON THE BEACH COLLECTIONS – PRINTS, PHONE CASES, AND MORE CAN BE FOUND HERE. HANDMADE ZIPPER POUCHES + POST CARDS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

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found on the beach – mellow yellow

by Kaylah Stroup

I’ve been holding on to these photos for quite a few months now. Sadly, I haven’t been doing too much beach combing lately. The last time I went was actually my birthday at the beginning of the month. While there is still more trash than there should be, my favorite spot to hang out is fairly clean in the warmer months. It’s also full of people this time of the year which takes a little bit of the fun out of it. Beach combing is a solitary hobby for me. It’s my way to relax, unwind, and just zone out. It’s a way for me to get out of the house, yet still be alone. I miss it, and am very much looking forward to getting back into the swing of it as soon as the weather cools down a bit.

As I’m sure you’re already aware, I’m a huge fan of colorful arrangements. They’re my favorite to make. The more colors the better, in my opinion. Like this one, my all time favorite! Slowly but surely I’ve been making arrangements of single colors though. Check out blue + green! I eventually would like to do every color so that I can make a photo collage that includes one image of each arrangement of a single color. Today, I present to you, yellow!

plastic pollution, lake erie,

Not too many interesting finds in this color, at least not on the day I made it. I normally try to include unique finds in my arragements, if possible. It’s nice because that really catches people’s attention when they see recognizable items. While drawing attention to the issue of plastic pollution wasn’t my main goal in starting this little hobby, it’s quickly becoming something I’m passionate about so anytime I can create an image that gets people to stop and look is good! Sharing only the recognizable items like dinosaurs, hair clips, army men, etc kind of stinks though because I get comments like “I never find anything cool on my beach!” We shouldn’t really be finding anything made by humans washed up on beaches. I definitely don’t want anyone to think that I have this special beach where only neat things wash up, and it’s a good thing. There are a lot A LOT of random bits and bobs of trash.  This yellow arrangement definitely highlights those. Just lots of shards of broken plastic, and bottle lids for this color. That’s honestly the majority of what’s normally on the beach at any given time.

my favorite find of the day.

CHECK OUT MORE ‘FOUND ON THE BEACH” POSTS HERE!
If you like my found on the beach collections – prints, phone cases, and more can be found here. Handmade zipper pouches + post cards can be found here.
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found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup

beach plastic, rainbow trash, lake erie, wendy park

This is a little bit different than my normal found on the beach arrangements. There weren’t too many large items on the beach to be picked up. Woo! The city does a decent job of keeping larger debris off the beach during the warm months. They use a backhoe to push everything to one end where they then scoop it all into a huge dumpster (…that lives on the beach.) It’s better than nothing, and it definitely makes the beach look a lot nicer.

Even with the big pieces of trash gone, tiny pieces of plastic will always be a problem. It mixes in the with sand and is essentially impossible to clean up. Approximately 60 billion pounds of nurdles are manufactured in the US each year. (How many nurdles in a pound? 25,000!!!) Nurdles are small plastic pellets that make nearly all of our plastic products. Accidental spills, and deliberate dumping mean that tons of them end up in the water, on our shores, and in the bellies of marine animals. This isn’t just Lake Erie, it’s everywhere!

nurdles, beach trash, beach plastic, rainbow trash, lake erie, wendy park

You can regularly spot lots of nurdles in my beach photos. Lots of whats in the photos in this post is just random pieces of plastic that have broken off of other things but if you look closely in the yellow and orange section you’ll spot lots of them. Tan ones, which don’t work so well in my little rainbow arrangement, pose the biggest threat since they look a lot like plankton to animals. Its a HUGE issue thats only getting worse as we rely more and more on one-time use items.

I’m not telling you this because I’ve quit using plastic and want to make you feel guilty. I’m just as much to blame as everyone else. I didn’t start picking up trash on the beach because I wanted to help the environment. I started because I like arranging things, and finding “treasure”. The beach just ended up being a great place for me to find things to photograph. I feel a bit guilty when anyone pats me on the back for helping clean the beaches because I know deep down picking up plastic army men and other interesting items doesn’t really help much of anything.

beach plastic, rainbow trash, lake erie, wendy park, flotsam army

The amount of time I’ve spent on the beach, seeing what a mess we humans are making of it, has definitely made me stop to think about what I can do to help. I could go on and on listing off shocking statistics but honestly, I don’t think anything will effect you that way that seeing it in person would. I encourage you to get out and check out your local beaches. Start by familiarizing yourself with the issue… and maybe try using a reusable shopping bag. We’ve made a huge mess but if we all pitch in we can help clean it up before its too late.
xoxo

Check out more ‘found on the beach” posts here!
If you’d like to read more about nurdles check out some of these links from across the internet – plastic pollution: nurdles, this incredibly informative video (highly recommended) and this article on the BBC.
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found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup

beach trash, gradient, rainbow, lake erie, plastic, pollution

Just a small ‘found on the beach‘ layout for you here today. In my last beach trash post, I mentioned how the last few times I had been to the beach previous to that visit it was actually very clean. It seemed like the park was on the up and up! There were new picnic benches, a fancy pants wooden fence, and most noticeably of all, it was clean. This beach that was previously covered in driftwood, and trash was actually somewhere people might want to go again. But that was before winter though. It seems as though it was ignored for a few months which meant it was a mess again. I think Earth Day marked the day that beach cleaning started up for the park. All of that to say, my preferred trash beach is fairly clean for the time being which is great obviously but means I don’t find as much.

This layout was from my first visit after their clean-up. Not too many things but the stuff I did find was pretty interesting. I’m working on another found on the beach fabric collection so needless to say, I’ve been hunting for really great little odds and ends to make the photos really pop. I was happy to find two plastic planes, the letter ‘G’, and a couple of strange little animals from hair clips.

It isn’t my best or largest beach trash photo but I can never resist the opportunity to arrange things in rainbow order, and get a few shots…

the dainty squid, beach trash, lake erie, plastic pollution

A quick found on the beach FAQ

  1. Did you find all this stuff in one trip?  Sadly, yes. This isn’t even a quarter of it either.
  2. What do you do with all after you’re done? Normally I toss it in the trash. Sometimes I may take certain pieces with me if I think they’ll look cool in a future arrangement. On rare occasions, I leave it as I photographed it. I’m still not sure which side of the fence I fall on here. It’s a bit counteractive since it’s still on the beach after I spent the time to pick it up but maybe others finding it and seeing what an issue plastic is, and possibly getting a kick out of the fact that someone made something colorful and fun from trash, is better than it sitting in a landfill forever. I don’t know.
  3. Do you wear gloves when you pick all this trash up? No, I don’t. These are things that are washed up from the lake, not just left on shore. They’re no dirtier than the sand or water. That’s not to say I don’t sanitize my hands as soon as I get back in my car though…
  4. How long does it take you to do these? Maybe 20 mins (probably less) depending on the size to pick everything up, and another 20 minutes to lay everything out and shoot it.

gradient, found on the beach, palladium,

My last arrangement inspired me to start a new little photos series where my shoe color starts the gradient in the arrangement. The white pair is still my favorite, just because I think that arrangement is the prettiest. I currently have one other colorful pair of Palladium Boots, in blue, so I’m looking forward to adding to the series. I’m thinking I’ll like it a little bit more when it doesn’t just remind me of the Italian flag. Heh! I also should probably get this pink pair, right?!

beach trash buddy!

 

Check out more of my beach related posts here.
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tiny, temporary art installation of beach trash

by Kaylah Stroup

beach trash, lake erie,

It happens every year. When the warm weather comes around I remember just how much I love spending time at the beach. I remember just how relaxing it is for me just to wander the shore, listen to the waves crash, and search for colorful items that have washed ashore to make arrangements. I literally blog about this same thing every single year but somehow the realization is completely new and exciting each time. Every year I discover that this is my happy place.

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach these last few weeks. Because you should always take time for the things that make you happy and ground you. We’ve had some pretty awesome storms recently which always washes in an abundance of crap from the lake. The beach has been a mess which I guess works in my favor. I’ve been gathering beach finds for another round of limited edition pouches. My first batch was really awesome but so far I’ve gotten some real gems that I can’t wait to work with.

While searching for interesting pieces for my project I’ve also been picking up lots of kind of normal, not so exciting things as well. When I went to lay out my finds on this particular day I didn’t really have much that worked together in a single arrangement so I ended making a few. It turned into a tiny, temporary art exhibit of sorts. It wasn’t something I planned but now I want to do it over, do it larger, and with a thought out plan.

beach trash, plastic combs, lake erie beach trash, beachcombing microplastic beach trash, rainbow, beachcombing

For a spur of the moment idea, I think it turned out pretty neat. Someone who happened to show up at the beach as I was finishing up even managed to find me on instagram later and comment on my little installation which felt pretty neat. When I returned two days later it was still standing, although you could tell the waves had washed some sand over a few rows of lighters. It makes me wonder how many other people stumbled upon it. I wonder what they thought…

Check out more of my beach trash arrangements here.

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found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup


The weather here in Cleveland is finally warming up, at least for now. Everyone knows we’ll probably get at least one last surprise snow storm because that’s just what happens here. The warm-ish weather had me aching to get back to the beach. It’s been so long since my last found on the beach arrangement but I am back in action… and kind of completely hooked all over again!

The last few times I had been to the beach it was actually very clean. It seemed like the park was on the up and up! There were new picnic benches, a fancy pants wooden fence, and most noticeably of all, it was clean. This beach that was previously covered in driftwood, and trash was actually somewhere people might want to go again.

Well, winter did a number on the beach. It was gross… but perfect for picking! I found lots of colorful things, and had lots of fun ideas brewing about how I’d lay everything out for photos. While trying to avoid a group of people who seemed to be wandering my way (I had crazy morning hair and was picking up trash, not really in ideal people meetin’ mode) I walked out onto a small breakwall. The gloomy sky mixed with the dark rocks immediately made me realize it was the perfect spot to lay all my colorful finds. It’s been a great deal of time since my last found on the beach arrangement, and this certainly isn’t my largest but the photos are definitely some of my favorites!

A quick found on the beach FAQ

  1. You found all this stuff in one trip?  Sadly, yes. This isn’t even a quarter of it either.
  2. What do you do with all after your done? Normally I toss it in the trash. Sometimes I may take certain pieces with me if I think they’ll look cool in a future arrangement. On rare occasions I leave it as I photographed it. I’m still not sure which side of the fence I fall on here. It’s a bit counteractive since it’s still on the beach after I spent the time to pick it up but maybe others finding it and seeing what an issue plastic is, and possibly getting a kick out of the fact that someone made something colorful and fun from trash, is better than it sitting in a landfill forever. I don’t know.
  3. Do you wear gloves when you pick all this trash up? No, I don’t. These are things that are washed up from the lake, not just left on shore. They’re no dirtier than the sand or water. That’s not to say I don’t sanitize my hands as soon as I get back in my car though…

Kinda sorta obsessed with this shot of the colorful trash with my bright white Palladium boots. I purposely put the white trash at the bottom of the arrangement so my shoes would start the gradient.

In all my beach combing days I’ve never found so many army men and animals in one single trip. Right after taking the photo below I ended finding a little red dinosaur a few feet away. Kind of makes me way to break my “don’t keep any trash” rule. I feel like a jar of beat up plastic soldiers would look pretty darn neat on my shoulder.*** For the time being they’re in my car since I’m hoping to possibly do another found on the beach fabric, and maaaybe postcards? We’ll see. I had a pretty large collection of interesting beach finds stored up for those types of projects but I got rid of it all when I moved because it just seemed weird. Now I’m kind of kicking myself but I guess it just means I get a fresh start on the project!

I want to say that you’ll be sure to see lots more of these arrangements in the coming months but hopefully the park gets back to it cleaning routine once the weather warms up for good.
xoxo

***I literally had coffee come out my nose when I read over this post and finally caught that. I don’t know why in the world I originally typed “shoulder” instead of “shelf” but it made me laugh so hard that I have to leave it. Brain, what you doin?!

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Klaus @ the beach!

by Kaylah Stroup
world’s most handsome puppy!

These last few weeks Klaus and I have had to schedule our walks around the times that my landlord wanted to show my apartment. Klaus is an excellent dog. He never chews anything he shouldn’t. He’s never had an accident in the house. He doesn’t just randomly bark like some dogs buuuut he does bark at strangers. If someone comes over he doesn’t know, pulls in our driveway or walks in front of our house while we’re outside – that’s when he barks. Not only that but he has a REALLY frightening bark. I trust that he would never hurt me but if I didn’t know him I would definitely be scared of him. Obviously, I figured it’d probably be best to get him out of the house while it was being shown to potential renters.

Despite my best efforts, he’s never really liked the beach. Any time in the past I’ve taken him he’s just been a nervous wreck. This last showing, I just didn’t feel like walking around the neighborhood again so I loaded him up and we went to the beach to give it yet another chance. Surprisingly this time, he didn’t completely hate it! He even put his front paws in the water which is huge deal considering the fact that I think the noise of the waves coming in was what really freaked him out the most on previous visits.

We wandered to the far end of the beach, and I did my best to tie his leash up to some driftwood. It wasn’t super secure but he was happy to just lay down beside me while I fiddled with all the tiny pieces of trash I gathered for a new found on the beach arrangement. It ended up being a ton of fun! I loved sitting in the sand with him and just soaking in the sun. Warm November sunshine, time with Klaus, and making pretty things out of nothing – these are a few of my favorite things.

raninbow trash, cleveland, lake erie

It took long enough but this puppy and I might finally be beach buds! I just need to find a better way to tie him up, maybe just a way longer leash? Any ideas?
xoxo

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