The Glass Float Project Once Again Captivates Block Island 

Artists Eben Horton and Jennifer Nauck.

Artists Eben Horton and Jennifer Nauck wish everyone would just slow down. Maybe even look up, around, and amble down some route they’ve yet to travel. Using their creations to encourage a feeling not far from childlike wonder, their work has become an integral part of one of Rhode Island’s most famous vacationing areas.  

In 2011, The Glass Float Project became an official interactive art installation free to the residents and visitors of Block Island. After Eben Horton spent years hiding glass orbs around the island, what might have begun as a meditative, personal project quickly evolved into a unique display of artistry and craft. Calling hunters from around the country, every year since, the husband-and-wife duo and gallery team individually create upwards to 550 glass floats. Supported by the Block Island Tourism Council, The Glass Float Project has given the gift of discovery to many, grown from a scavenger hunt into a lesson of balance and attention.  

“It’s done great things for the island. It’s become really important for tourism. It’s evolving. It’s this wonderful experience that spans generations who come and do this amazing thing. It is great for the shop owners and for the hotels. But we want to take it beyond that,” says Jennifer Nauck. “When you have a public response to something as big as The Glass Float Project has, it should be giving back in other ways. We want to be working more closely with the Nature Conversancy and finding out what they need. Wouldn’t it be amazing for Block Island to be known for having the cleanest beaches in New England because of this project? We have this fanbase, let’s mobilize them and do some real good for the island.” 

Horton, who had discovered his love for glass blowing at the age of nine, was first introduced to the medium at Thames Glass in Newport where he later took on an apprenticeship at age fifteen. After graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology, Horton opened the Glass Station in 2000, which found its home in Wakefield. Nauck began her artistry in her twenties, having fallen in love with glass blowing after working at a gallery herself. Using unused glass cleaned out from furnaces, the medium became a perfect combination of using her brain and body. 

Whether in a tree, inches off a nature path, or in stone walls, the floats travel from June to October, and though they appear on marked Greenway Trails and nature preserves such as Hodge Family Wildlife Preserves and Turnip Farm, the floats never reside in ecologically sensitive areas. While this installment’s unique take on hide-and-seek is meant to end in reward, at the end of the day, what the duo really hopes for is for hunters to come away with their own memories and to enjoy the beautiful natural offerings that Block Island provides.  

Horton says, “Finding one is a bonus. You’re out there and you’re forced to slow down to look for floats. Maybe you’re thinking about what’s on your mind or one of your problems or just enjoying the beauty of the island.” 

“Just, what else do you see? You’re looking for this one thing, but what else do you see?” says Nauck. “Take your blinders off and look around and see what’s interesting around you.” 

When asked if the couple had any memorable stories to share from their devout “Orbivores,” the name of some 22,000 social media followers they’ve accumulated, they had difficulty narrowing it down to just a few. Echoing not only the magnitude of the project’s outreach, but the intimate meanings behind it, the couple shared stories from comical hiking fails and strange hiding places to heartwarming stories of miraculous medical recoveries. Whether or not you might be a fan of the project or even a hunter yourself, there is no doubt that there is a bit of magic fired into each glass artifact.  

In 2026, The Glass Float Project officially became a nonprofit. With hopes to give back to their community and support those who have been making sure the hunt can continue each year, Horton and Nauck hope that this achievement can fund environmental efforts, sustain Rhode Island’s beauty, and potentially fund scholarships for Block Island students studying art. Horton and Nauck are also partnering with the Rhode Island Blood Center this year, where custom glass floats will be a part of a limited drop to encourage hunters to give back. 

“Everyone makes art,” says Eben. “People tell me they’ve lived on this island their entire life and didn’t know half of these places out here existed. Never thought to go exploring.” 

“This is beyond just us, beyond an interactive arts installation,” says Jennifer. “It’s where it can do the most good.” 

For more information about The Glass Float Project, visit https://www.theglassstationstudio.com