Description:
Boardwalk Congregation is a vivid miniature diorama capturing the quiet humor and social choreography of beachside life. On a single piece of weathered driftwood—placed like an aged boardwalk plank—stand three abstracted shorebirds, lovingly constructed from sea glass bodies and shell fragment heads. Below them, wine corks lean like aged signage or sun-bleached posts, each bearing names and dates that echo of celebration long since passed.

Anchoring the scene to the left is a rusted shotgun shell casing, turned vertical like a lighthouse or old boardwalk piling. Atop it, a tiny spiral shell and green shard of sea glass serve as a whimsical beacon, a gentle reminder that what was once violent or discarded can be repurposed toward peace, play, and beauty.

The birds, given life through the simplest of gestures—tiny black legs and feet inked directly on the canvas—each stand at different postures, different levels, like beachgoers with distinct personalities watching the world go by. Their orientation toward the right suggests movement, curiosity, community. You can almost hear the gulls overhead and the hum of laughter in the breeze.

Societal Theme:
At its core, Boardwalk Congregation is a meditation on reclamation and gathering. Every material in the piece once served a different purpose—fired in celebration or conflict, cast off after consumption, tossed by tide or hand—and yet here they are, assembled into a scene of simple wonder and belonging.

This is not merely found object art; it is found purpose, built into a portrait of coastal culture. It reminds us that the things we leave behind—if given care and imagination—can reassemble into stories worth sharing. In placing this work in the Free Little Art Gallery, the artist invites all to step closer, to smile, and to remember: even the smallest congregation can be sacred.