John Bashore

Creator of Visual Medicine

Having spent much of his childhood in and near the ocean, John is connected to it. He finds inspiration in the simple things, natural things, and the creation of something unique. Piecing together beachcombing finds as they naturally assemble themselves is how John’s art is created, it’s never forced together, the pieces decide how they fit together… He refers to his work as “Visual Medicine”.

No live abalone were harvested or harmed in the making of this art, every shell used is a naturally spent shell found in the tide pools in Shelter Cove.  Every item used in John’s pieces is collected from exploring the tide pools and walking along the rugged and remote beaches of the Lost Coast. 

Many hours and stages of sanding are put into each abalone shell used in John’s pieces, as well the as hand-pounded copper brackets to connect items to the driftwood.  While beautiful and fragile, each piece is securely assembled with detail and intention. 

For the “Boat Ramp Shanks”, John knaps beach glass into points, attaches them to driftwood sticks using fir tree sap and copper wire; each shank can be removed from the piece – you never know when you’ll need a shank handy. 

The “tiki heads” are made either from natural pumice stone found on the beaches, or carved from broken surfboard foam and coated with black sand and garnet dust from the Cove beach.

Not one to boast or seek the spotlight, hopefully this gives enough insight into the inspiration behind these incredible creations that are truly “A Piece of Shelter Cove” for others to enjoy.