INSPIRATION  .  Sand dollar shells have been collected and coveted by the women in my family for generations. The delicate patterned shells would wash in with the currents and reveal themselves on the sand bars in front of our family cottage at low tide. My Great Grandmother treated them and painted them to be worn as jewelry. My Grandmother showed me that when they break, as they often did in little kid hands, not to be upset but instead see that inside were 5 tiny doves. My mother was especially good at finding them and would give hints to my sister as to where and how to find them. They don't wash up as often as they did in those days, but every time I see one I think of these women and our summers in Maine.