Glass Artist Amends “Tidepools” Installation at Overleaf Lodge & Spa

It started in late February in 2022. Andy Nichols, a renowned glass artist who lives in The Dalles, traveled to Yachats to refurbish his stunning “Tidepools” piece that resides permanently in the lobby of The Fireside Motel’s sister property next door, Overleaf Lodge & Spa.

Andy took the opportunity to refresh his intricate glass work ahead of Overleaf Lodge’s lobby renovation project. The sculpture, a study in blazing colors and fluid motion, featuring more than 800 vivid anemones, seashells, starfish and strands of seaweed, has been a central art display in the lobby for 10 years. Not only was it dusty, but the moisture of the coastal atmosphere had created a film on the glass, too.

“It took us two days to clean it,” Andy recalls.

Carefully, Andy and his assistants washed the glass pieces in two bathtubs at the hotel, taking up a third room to pack up and stage the cleaned elements for reinstallation.

“We broke a couple of pieces,” Andy admits. “And with such a clustered piece, we knew we wouldn’t put it back the way it was. Our goal was to do a tighter installation.”

In April, Andy and two helpers returned to Yachats to reinstall “Tidepools.” Andy brought 200 extra pieces, including 40 new and fancier strands of seaweed. “We used about 100 extra pieces,” Andy says.

Overleaf Lodge & Spa guests were in for a treat during the reinstallation.

“The guests loved watching the process,” recalls Kristin Roslund, co-operator of The Fireside Motel and Overleaf Lodge & Spa with her husband Drew. “It’s pretty amazing that he takes it all apart and puts it back together.”

“People came through and were like ‘Oh, my gosh,’” Andy recalls. One visiting couple from St. Louis was so enthralled, they wanted to purchase some of Andy’s remaining, unused seashells. “They took the time to pick out pieces that would fit together well.”

Pieces of Andy Nichols’ glass art, such as eye-catching glass-fused fish, are available for purchase inside the Overleaf Lodge & Spa lobby. Read more about Andy Nichols’ glass-making process here.