Once again Jo Fry will bring her enthusiasm and knowledge of sea glass history. The title of this years lecture is “On Your Mark” an overview of the key bottle manufacturers who created the containers which turned into the sea glass that we find and love here on the west coast.
“Whether by being tossed aside as trash or cast into dump sites which have long eroded out, my talk will highlight the makers whose marks are sometimes still evident on your sea glass. I will alphabetically dive into logos, manufacturing locations, years of operation and what type of containers they made. My goal is to provide tools for people to understand and date their sea glass. From AB (those gorgeous 19thc blues!) to Thatcher Glass (found on many root beer brown bottles, in operation up until the 1980s).”
Jo Fry - Speaker & Vendor at SBSGOAF 2025
Jo Fry will be speaking:
Saturday, September 13th from 1:00pm - 2:00pm
On Your Mark! - Common Bottle Maker Marks Found on West Coast Beach Glass
Sunday September 14th from 1:30pm -2:30pm
On Your Mark! - Common Bottle Maker Marks Found on West Coast Beach Glass
Learn more about Jo:
Owner and Artist Fierce Siren Studios
An avid beachcomber and self-proclaimed history geek, I am an artist who incorporates local beach-found treasures into my work while researching, writing, and educating about them. Always drawing as a child, I won a competition to create my high school logo, studied art and architectural history at the University of London as a teen, then graduated with Honors from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. Life kept me away from creating for decades, until the sea rekindled my spark. I founded Fierce Siren Studios in 2021 and think of myself as an artist whose inspiration is the waste of the past.
Shows and Exhibits
Women’s View 2024, 2025 Juried Group Exhibit for Women’s History Month, San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture
Coastal Arts League, Exhibiting artist in juried shows 2023-2025
Ocean Blue Vault, Exhibiting artist 2023-2025
Art Guild of Pacifica, Exhibiting artist 2024-2025
Los Altos Library Juried Public Art Exhibit, 2023, 2025
Burlingame Library Juried Public Art Exhibit 2025
City of Sunnyvale Juried Solo Public Art Exhibit April–May 2024
Redwood City Juried Solo Public Art Exhibit Summer 2023
Mohr Gallery Juried Exhibit, Menlo Park March-April 2023
Festivals and Speaking Engagements
Santa Barbara Sea Glass and Ocean Arts Festival – Vendor (juried) and Speaker 2023-2025
Santa Cruz Sea Glass and Ocean Arts Festival – Vendor (juried) 2022–2024 and Speaker 2023-2024
San Francisco Gem and Mineral Society, Speaker “The Colorful World of Sea Glass” February 2025
Silicon Valley Open Studios, Sanchez Center 2024, 2025
Winter Art Faire 2023-2024, Art Guild of Pacifica, Sanchez Art Center
Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, Vendor (juried) 2022-2024
Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival, Vendor (juried) 2023 (not held in 2024
South Coast Artist Alliance member show 2023-2025
Pescadero Art and Fun Festival, juried Vendor 2023-2024
Half Moon Bay History Association, Speaker “The History of Miramar” August 2023
Published Articles and Art
Author of eight articles on local history and glass for the Half Moon Bay History Association, including the most-clicked on item on their web site, “Half Moon Bay History Revealed Through Glass” HMB History Through Glass - Half Moon Bay History Association
“Three Masts and a Ghost” Short story, Beachcombing Magazine, volume 38 September-October 2023
“Spirit of the Sea” Painting, Beachcombing Magazine, volume 38 September – October 2023
Affiliations
Coastal Arts League
Colony of Coastside Artists (CoCA)
South Coast Artists Alliance
Art Guild of Pacifica
Silicon Valley Open Studios
fiercesirenstudios@gmail.com