What is The Glass Float Project?
The Glass Float Project is a site specific, public art installation that invites all to participate. Called "an exercise in meditation" by its creator, glassblower Eben Horton, the search for a glass float is an excuse to slow down, look carefully, and appreciate the unique natural ecosystem of one special island 13 miles off the New England coast.
Each year since the project's inception in 2011, artist and glassblower Eben Horton has created and then concealed hundreds of hand blown glass floats along the trails, beaches, and public spaces of the island. Fashioned after the Japanese fishing floats that sometimes wash ashore for lucky beachcombers to stumble upon, the glass floats are handmade treasures meant to offer moments of magic to those who come across them.
The project's purpose is to cultivate surprise, appreciate nature, and encourage discovery in a world where so much is immediately accessible. For those who stumble upon a float with no prior knowledge of the project, the joy of the unexpected is the entire point. And for the dedicated searchers who travel to the island in pursuit of a float to call their own, Eben considers the mission accomplished regardless of whether a float is found - instead, measuring the project's success by time spent exploring, living in the moment, and reveling in the journey.
The Glass Float Project's History
Eben spent his childhood sailing the 25 nautical miles between his family’s home in Newport, RI, and Block Island. Summers spent exploring the shores, waters and trails of the island cultivated a deep love and respect for the island and its natural beauty.
At the age of 16, Eben started blowing glass. Though the Glass Float Project wouldn't be conceived of for over a decade, it was then that he first began hiding glass in natural places. The cracked and otherwise unsellable pieces he created were too beautiful to discard, so Eben gave them a new life by secreting the work away on the beaches of Newport, leaving treasures for others to discover.
Finally, in 2011, Eben's secret hobby grew into the first incarnation of The Glass Float project. With the support of a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Eben created the first 150 floats, modeled after the Japanese fishing net floats that occasionally break free from their nets and float up onto beaches worldwide. With permission from the Block Island Town Council, he began hiding the floats on the beaches and greenway trails that connect conserved parcels of land on the island.
The project has grown in scale and fame in the years since that first year. Eben, his wife Jennifer Nauck, and the team at The Glass Station now make upwards of 550 floats every year. They are dated with the year and numbered between 1 and 550. The number 1 float is always something extra special, and the first few floats, the amount corresponding to the current year, are brightly colored. This year, 2025, the first 25 numbered floats will be colored, the rest will be clear glass.
Today, The Glass Float Project attracts itinerant float hunters from across the country to the island. When a float hunter finds a float, they are encouraged to go online and register it with the Block Island Tourism Council. When off the island, followers of the project keep up with one another on a 23,000-member facebook group, and follow the project on instagram.
Float hunters are asked to only keep one float per person per year. If they find more than one, they are encouraged to rehide it so someone else can experience the joy of discovery.
