Sanibel Island and its neighbor Captiva Island, located on Florida’s Gulf Coast (USA), are world-famous for their miles of accessible, family-friendly sandy beaches covered with an enormous variety and abundance of shells. [see http://www.sanibel-captiva.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Shells-of-Sanibel-and-Capti.gif]
Individuals come from all over the world to walk the beach and, using a stance nicknamed the Sanibel Stoop, collect shells that roll in with every tide. Sanibel has more for those loving a conservation-friendly and eco-tourism environment. It has over 20 miles of paved bike trails, the world-famous J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge [http://www.fws.gov/refuge/jn_ding_darling/ ] with salt and fresh waters home to resident and migrating birds, and the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum [http://www.shellmuseum.org].
Visitors can also enjoy sunset cruises, sea and canoe rentals, fishing expeditions, galleries, theater, museums, film festivals, lectures, a weekly seasonal farmer’s market, a variety of restaurants, and a public library usually named one of the top public libraries in Florida and among the top in the nation.
In 2011, Frommer ranked Sanibel #1 for best vacation destinations in the world.
In June 2009, Travel& Leisure Magazine names Sanibel Island the best shelling spot in North America.
More great things about the islands:
Sanibel Shell Fair & Show https://sites.google.com/site/thesanibelcaptivashellclub/annual-shell-show
Sanibel Historical Museum & Village http://www.sanibelmuseum.org
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Center http://www.sccf.org
Barrier Island Group for the ARTS (B.I.G.) www.bigarts.org
Sanibel Farmer’s Market http://www.sanibelcaptiva.com/story/Sanibel-Farmers-Market-Open/1569263
Sanibel Public Library http://www.sanlib.org
How did Sanibel Island Art © get started?
Our family started coming to Sanibel from Michigan in 1980 and, like so many others, immediately fell in love with this special place. We have returned every year since with a growing number of family members and friends. For years we collected shells and made more than our quota of shell filled lamp bases, decorated shell mirrors, other items out of the shells.
In about 2000 we started just taking pictures of the creative work of visitors – words and objects constructed on the beach of sand, shells, and materials washed onto the shores. Sometimes we walk 5-6 miles a day at different times of the day just to see and document what new creations had been made and to capture them in different lighting conditions. With the tides constantly rolling in and out, you never knew what might be there one moment in the day and then washed out to sea later.
Place-based public art of Sanibel Island
The creative work made by visitors who spend time on the beaches has been amazing to witness. Some are pictorial, others text messages; some are two-dimensional, others three-dimensional. Some work has done by someone simply drawing with a stick in the wet sand. Other work has been massive in size and in the variety and number of shells used; they must have taken hours, many hands, and much care to complete. We have taken photographs of mermaids, turtles, sharks, dragons, gigantic shells, fish, birds, flower vases, Hello Kitty, the Taj Mahal, maps of states and of the U.S., birthday wishes, holiday wishes, I love you statements, and many, many castles of all sizes. Over the end of the calendar year we have also found Christmas trees, angels, Rudolph, and many, many snowmen and women.
We have traveled to many beaches in Michigan and other US locations, Europe, Senegal, and South Africa and occasionally have we seen some beach art. However, none of the art we have seen in these places begins to rival the work we have seen in Sanibel since NONE of these places has the diversity of natural resources available for beach art makers to work with.