Shelly Bits
This is a project I've been thinking about since 2018, when I gathered a collection of very smooth, round and oval, surf-polished shelly bits on a trip to the Bay of Islands (>).  That collection was lost in the Palisades fire.  During a June 2025 trip to Bay of Islands, I gathered a replacement tub of the shelly bits during morning walks to the beach.  These new ones are somewhat different than the first collection, being generally smaller, more circular than oval, and gathered with an eye towards the white insides of the shells rather than the yellowish or off-white of the outsides.  These shelly bits would be great for jewelry if I could figure out a non-destructive way to mount or link them.  An alternative plan might be to include loose shelly bits as an integral, interactive component of a ceramic work.  Thus I might put a pile of them on a ceramic tray, plate or bowl that I have made and have people pick a few of them up, feel how smooth they are, and put them in another bowl.  They are kind of like coins, but better—really amazing objects—and the shelly bits project or projects should hopefully include tactile experience.

Artists & Techniques
The donation jar at Matariki 2025 Kororāreka Art Exhibition in Russell was really well done and was interesting in that it serves a functional purpose. On my June trip to the Bay of Islands, I came across a number of artworks consisting of shells glued to a background in various patterns such as a heart, a pizza, or a color gradient.  Earlier, in Australia I saw a shellwork Sydney Harbour Bridge produced by indigenous shellworker Esmy Timbery (>).  Googling "shell art" or "seashell art," one can find other examples.  To me all these works are rather limited and static.  On a larger and more dynamic scale, in 2023 artist Megan Cope utilized 85,000 oyster shells in several sculptural works at the Sydney Opera House (>).