Another collection of lost, forgotten or abandoned shoes found on the beach at Rhossili Bay, Gower, in South Wales. What stories these shoes might tell! Men’s shoes, ladies shoes, children’s shoes. Lace-up trainers, high-heeled wedges, crocs and flip-flops. I wonder what has happened to result in their loss on the beach. I puzzle about where they all go to after I photograph them. They mostly disappear from sight for ever – probably buried in the sand or washed out to sea again. Occasionally, I can spot the same shoe re-appearing after its travels, worse for wear, on the same or a different beach.
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Jessica's Nature Blog 
Where I live and work, I find all sorts of shoes too and I wonder who loses this many shoes. Glad to run into your blog. Al
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Thanks, Al. I have discovered that many artists use found objects in their work, especially flotsam from the seashore. Do you use the shoes that you find near the Ohio River as well as natural objects like bones?
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Yes, I have used found shoes in sculptures, but my main materials are Styrofoam and plastics. Every piece I make is an amalgam of found and natural materials and I work all year round on the Ohio River. I actually haven’t found as many bones as I thought I would, but when I do…I incorporate them as well.
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My favourite beach for the great variety of flotsam is Rhossili Bay in South Wales. There is a lot of plastic as well as the shoes. I think some artists must use the materials because I have occasionally seen people collecting to take home interesting pieces that I had already photographed. I sometimes find bones too – sheep, seal, dolphin, lots of sea birds and fish. Did you see my post on fish bones and fishing net at Rhossili (https://natureinfocus.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/a-fishing-net-at-rhossili-1/)? I thought the vertebrae were beautifully sculptured. I rarely bring bones home because they are often not clean enough – but I have a wonderful Gannet skull in a jar on my mantlepiece. I’ll post a picture on the blog for you.
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Yes, I checked out your article with its interesting photographs…thank you for the link. I understand about not wanting to pick up objects that are questionable.
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Yes, it’s easy to pick up diseases from bones and carcasses if you don’t know what you are doing.
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