Honeycomb Cafe's Artist of the Month: DI resident Julie Blough

For the month of July, Honeycomb Cafe is featuring the sand art of Daniel Island resident Julie Blough. A veteran of the Navy who hails from California, Blough and her family relocated to South Carolina in 2010, ultimately making Daniel Island their home last year.

Blough enjoys walking Daniel Island’s trails overlooking the water where she collects colorful pieces of glass, stone or ceramic that she finds along the way. Blough carefully considers every piece she collects as a possible decorative item for any one of the sand art pieces she is working on.

On a visit to Florida years ago, Blough was delighted by the tiny plaques and other shapes she saw made out of molded sand featuring the impressions of familiar oceanside images like seashells, fish, crabs….and footprints. Many of the pieces were decorated with colorful stones and sea glass.

Blough invested in a course to learn how to make sand art pieces herself back home. First, you choose a mold or “sandbox.” Then you line the bottom of the mold with decorative items, such as colorful pieces of sea glass, placing each one exactly where you would like it to appear on your plaque. You then pour in a special sand mixture that “captures” forever the impression of an object that is special to you. Blough has made impressions of children’s hand prints, dog and cat paw prints…..even a customer’s own face!

Small plaques, starting at $20, take approximately 30 minutes to dry, while larger pieces (prices to be determined) often require several hours. Blough finishes all pieces with a protective coat of acrylic. Finished sand art pieces are excellent gift options and making the pieces can provide for a wonderful birthday or themed party project.

Visit Honeycomb this month to view Blough’s work or contact her at (803) 508-5517 for more information.