The Year in Sand 2007

2007-12-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

Click on an image to see more of that sculpture.

January 5 intended sculpture cancelled by high wind

January 13 intent cancelled by wind

February 23: Relief sculptures in Kenter Creek outfall. No pictures. 07R-1, 07R-2, 07R-3

Missed the Bus: 07P-5 (report only)

07P-17

2007-12-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

What with rain and dry north winds sand sculpture in the winter is problematic. An intended weekend piece got cancelled by rain. Other events intruded, so that the next time I got out was for this one, which due to more weather would be the year's last. The surprise waa the good sand. I didn't hesitate: use it while it's there.

07P-16

2007-12-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

Rain was predicted for Friday. The answer was obvious: an Emergency Sand Sculpture day. My suupervisor understands.

Recent storms had rearranged the beach. The moon's influence combined with the sun to produce very high tides, which were another problem. Still better to be on the beach.

The timing was good. Rain came that night.

The sculpture never quite jelled. It's hard to make the transition back to coarse sand after working with the finer, and this sculpture has a kind of rough, half-formed look to it.

07P-15

2007-11-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

Another in the current series of Large Integral Free-piled sculptures. This time, though, I was better prepared. Had some portable food for the sculptor and brought the sprayer for the sculpture. The day was long and warm, with a gentle westerly breeze. Layla came up to visit and I think I was able to converse without making a fool of myself, although only she knows.

A very nice day. Holiday on the beach with a relaxed not-so-large crowd. Lots of enthusiasm for this piece, not just from Layla. One woman, Mary, came by and then ran off to get her camera. As I was staggering off the beach she came running back, camera held high. This one knocked me out.

07P-14

2007-11-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

Cold morning, damp, foghorns hooting. Good sand. The lesson from the last sculpture was to start with a smaller base and keep the sides steeper going up, to get away from the bottle look. I also built this one more slowly; as wet as everything was the absorption time was long, so I used smaller handfuls. The result was a very solid pile that could have taken much more carving, but I got too hungry to continue. Besides, I liked the simplicity of the large uncarved areas.

07P-13

2007-11-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

Intended as an experiment in getting away from the "tower-on-arch" shape of recent sculptures, I was derailed by starting too big. So, there's still something of a discontinuity. Still, it flows. It's hard to get everything.

I planned to do another on Sunday but got rained out.

07P-12

2007-11-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

Pretty spontaneous, this one. Just decided to go do a sculpture.

Go Make Something! (07P-11)

2007-10-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

I was reading about how a man made a table with the Periodic Table as its top. Very clever. He said he liked making things. I decided that inauspicious tide or no, attempting to make something was better than reading about making stuff.

This sculpture could have used a lot more clean-up. I made the decision to sculpt in about a minute and packed the minimum, which didn't include food. In deciding between clean-up and lunch, pizza won.

Learning the Mass: 07P-10

2007-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Rising from the Past, Changed

25 years ago I had an idea but not skill. It was all I could do then to make a simple catenary arch ten inches tall. In the following month I made more arches, all of them affected by not knowing what I was doing.

Once I started packing sand inside forms I did free-piled sculptures only as quick pick-up pieces when on my way to somewhere else. Nothing changed until 1997 when the simplicity of the free-pile appealed to me and I did year's worth in three weeks. The Small Sculpture Revolution had already had its effect on the "real" sculptures and now the same design ideas spread out on the beach, horizontal as well as vertical. Since then every year has included some "serious" free-piled sculptures.

They were still casual, still under the old edict of "You can't do that with free-piled sand." Call it the regular repetition of a mistaken identity. Give it up for a time and the old mistakes fade, enabling new ones.

Build number: 07P-10
Title: too many to list
Date: October 12
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: about 1315; construction time approx 3.5 hours
Height: about 3.5 feet
Base: 3X1.5 feet roughly
Assistant: none
Photo digital: 27 shots with EOS 1D Mk 2 and 24-70 zoom
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: By Rich
Video: none
Equipment note: backpackable tools

Rain was predicted. It hadn't happened by tide-time. I arrived under bright sunshine but clouds offshore showed hints of what might be, later. Last weekend's thin layer of good sand over coarse was now thicker, and the coarse sand vein was thinner. The coarse would just have to become part of the works.

It's logical. Put the borrow pit below the sculpture. This intercepts any rogue waves and also puts the pit where water is more likely to collect. The placement limits design for lighting because it puts the sculpture in line with the late sunlight. Today I intend to do something about it. Formed sculptures are round so it makes no difference which way the form is oriented. Free-piles tend to be oblong. This one angles down the beach. Unfortunately I think more about orientation than plan and the whole thing ends up too narrow. By the time I get to the top there's not much room; the single-pat stage is small.

The result looks awkward. It's what we have. It is, after all, just a pile of sand.

It's kind of discouraging how strong a voice the original shape of the pile has in the final shape of the sculpture. I have to work hard to make sculptures hide their cylindric origins. For free-pile tower-on-base pieces like this the easy designs range from angry ducks to beer bottles to busts with shoulders. Address that next time. Now is now, here is here.

There's no intrinsic reason this sculpture can't have as much internal detail as any of the year's formed pieces. It's just a matter of carving carefully and leaving sand where it might be of use, instead of just hacking it all away to make bigger holes. Internal structure is more interesting, with the side benefit of greater stability. Call it the Birdcage Maserati of sand.

Reaching inside is always the problem. In some cases I'm reduced to elemental fingers, not the steel variety made before the day of carving where I can't see.

The shadows have become long. Within the sculpture's shouldered outline is a new future. The free-pile has grown up in more ways than this one's size. It's like a formed piece spread out, liberated from the cylindric corset. Elements take slanting flight, curcing upward and around. There's more room to play than time in which to carve it. Planning. I'm not used to this shape. How many years have I spent with cylinders? Oblong expressions are new entities.

2007-October-14

Intuition! (07P-9)

2007-10-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

September Delights: 07P-8

2007-09-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

Our Season

High clouds hinted at a change in the weather. Friday came up cloudy. Errands got cancelled by little sleep and a minor migraine. Wouldn't have taken much for weather to cancel the sculpture too but the afternoon seemed to be getting lighter. I put the camera and a few tools in the pack and took off. It was dark enough off to the west that I was thinking the lack of a jacket would be a problem.

Build number: 07P-8
Title: "Warming Up"
Date: September 27
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: about 1400; construction time approx 3.5 hours
Height: about 3.5 feet
Base: 3X2 feet roughly
Assistant: none
Photo digital: about 38 shots with 1Dmark2 and 24-70 zoom
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: Rich, with digital
Video: none
Equipment note: yes, small subset (lightweight edition)

The very high full-moon tide hadn't removed the good sand. Thank the low surf for that; lots more surfers than waves out there. What's bad for them is good for me as the fine dark sand lies in a broad expanse. Picking a spot to work is entirely arbitrary.

Being nearly brain-dead I just dig in and start packing. The base ends up being very big but the sand is so good that it's not a problem. Clean and fine. I just build.

Rich walks up as I'm starting the outside shaping. It's a big pile. I have no idea what to do with it. I certainly don't want the tower-on-base look that's so easy with these things, nor the beer-bottle that Rich points out.
"I hope to remove that."
"You'll probably succeed."
The first step in that is a long curve downward from right to left. That's a little obvious so I try some other subtle curves. Design plan department seems to be out to lunch, though, so things just sort of go from one hole to the next.

Internal structure has been a growing presence. This one continues the pattern. It's big enough to fit lots of detail inside but I don't have the wits to really pull it off. Still, the scale of things fits well. Balance is important.
"It has nice flow," Rich says.
"Yes. Nothing really new here, but in the way things go together."

The afternoon turns golden and warm. A light breeze from the west brings scents of seaweed. Pelicans dive offshore, first one and then two more who home in on the action. Far off is a band of cloud.

The lifeguard drives past to say hello. We agree that this is the perfect beach day.
"These are our months," he says.

"How often do you do these," a beach walker asks.
"Every couple of weeks, on average. I took the summer off because my crowd tolerance was practically nil this year."
"I was thinking you were out of action for good," Rich says.
"No. I wanted to make something but just didn't want anything to do with the crowds." Fall is much more relaxed.

I go get the brush and start cleaning up the area. It could use more earthworks, but the sculpture is so big that making appropriate surroundings would take a backhoe. I just use up the waste sand and call it good. The shadow reaches far across the beach.

Rich takes off, on his way to a concert in Harbor City.
"What is it?"
"Beethoven. One of the trios. And something else."
"Hmm... I've not heard those. I have a sextet and a septet, and the late string quartets."
"Those are the real meat."
Yes, I do find them heavy going.

I sit and watch the shadows lengthen and swing around eastward. High clouds reach down from the north, softening the sunlight, rendering the beach in gentle tones. I'm glad summer is over even as I enjoy the memory of its heat on this calm day.

2007-September-28

Chaos Visits: 07P-6 and 07P-7

2007-09-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

Missing the Bus

The rain actually showed up. The scent of rain carried in through my open door carried me out to stand in the sprinkle. I hoped it would continue.

It did, accompanied by lightning and sharp thunder. What could I do in the early predawn gloom but go take a look? I rode up to Will Rogers and watched sunlight work its way through decks of cloud over the city.

Offshore were rainbows, fire in the sky drawn in an elegant arc that I hoped the Mosaic Great Racers would duplicate in a few hours. More clouds out there showed the unsettled weather.

Build number: 07P-6 and 07P-7 demo small arch
Title: none
Date: September 22
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: about 0930; construction time approx 1.5 hours
Height: about 3 feet
Base: yes
Assistant: none
Photo digital: about 25 shots with 1D mark2 and 24-70 zoom in the rain
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: none
Video: none
Equipment note: A challenge: only small mussel shells

At home I rinse all the mud off the mountain bike. It hasn't been this clean in months. Dust in layers from each dry ride. Then I get out the beater bike and ride to the Breakwater so I'll have time to do a demonstration sculpture for the race group.

It's nearly done when Debbie and Christine walk up. Offshore there are squalls but clear sky around them gives us a chance of staying dry.

I renew Deb's piling lesson and we go to work on more demonstration pieces. One is just a pile, to show how it's done. Then I make a small arch, tall enough that one of the Official Great Race water bottles can stand underneath, and wide enough that the bottle can go through on its side. It's an elegant little thing and I go get my camera to take a picture.

Then a man walks up and takes out a small silvery flat thing and asks if he can take a picture. It looks like nothing I've seen before.
"What is that?"
"Apple Iphone, of course."
He shows me some of its tricks. While this is going on a couple of frisky waves roll up and take out the small arch.

So, Deb and I complete her little arch to the necessary specification. By this time the tide has pretty much given up. It stands.

Deb is on the phone regularly, getting updates. The rain approaches. Who is racing whom? The first team arrives at the checkpoint, and then goes haring off toward the boardwalk. I overhear part of the phone conversation.
"You told them to follow the beach?... OK... it's their bad, then."
We wave and holler. Deb has a bright yellow shirt that could be seen from a mile away. The team determinedly ignores everything but their own fantasies and disappears behind the graffiti walls. You now need a license to paint there, I see.

We await the next team. They lose the race with the rain. We pack our stuff into somewhat rain-resistant bags and hunker down. Rain isn't the problem out here. The attendant cold is what drives me away. We shiver.

Then three teams arrive at once and start pounding sand. Two teams try the pillars-and-crosspiece approach, but one guy tells his team to make a big pile and tunnel through. They all finish at about the same time and rush off. They've paid no attention to any of the demonstration pieces. Well, they're racing to a destination, not to aesthetics. They race off. We await the last time. The rain doesn't wait.

It just plain cuts loose from a dark cloud directly overhead. We gather our stuff and run for the lee of the lifeguard tower. Much better. After a few minutes the day brightens and the western sky starts to show some blue. The last team shows up and gets "rain grace," sent on their way. Good thing because the sky gives us one last blast, heavy big raindrops that soak us. After that everything sparkles in the sunshine. Deb and I resemble rats after the spin cycle.

Deb and Christine follow the racers. I go get a pizza.

2007-September-23

Sidetrip: 07P-5

2007-09-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Missing the Bus

The one essential stop is One Life. After that, well, the library would be good. I don't feel like walking all the way.When the bus finally shows up its headsign reads "Out of service." So, I guess I'll just walk over to the beach. Standing there, waiting for the walk, I see the regular bus hidden behind the other. It sails past. They won't stop if you're not at the stop.

Warm sun, cool breeze from the southeast. Unusual. Rain is predicted for sometime this weekend but being only September I'll believe it when I see it. There are buildups of cloud off to the west.

I've been conscripted to help out with Debbie and Nate's "Great Race" project on Saturday. In this event couples race from place to place in Los Angeles and have to complete a task at each location to get the next clue. Here they will make an arch from sand. Perhaps I should take a look at the sand.

Build number: 07P-5
Title: none
Date: September 21
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: who knows; construction time approx 1.5 hours
Height: about 3 feet
Base: yes
Assistant: none
Photo digital: none, no camera
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: none
Video: none
Equipment note: a fine selection of clam and mussel shells

The whole thing is unplanned. I haven't done a sculpture since early April. Crowd tolerance through the summer was close to nil. Today just a few are walking around. I'm glad Labor Day is past. Sigrid and Ed come by, also celebrating the end of summer.

There's a nice big Pismo clam shell for the heavy digging, at least until it breaks under the stress. Mussel shells work for smaller details but it's still hard to get inside. Where there's a will, though, things will be made to work. The result is a very nice sculpture.

The first sculpture after a long break tends to be fresh. This one combines some of the internal-structure discipline of recent formed sculpture with the free-pile flow. I like it. Too bad I didn't listen to God's hint that I'd need a camera. Of course I wouldn't need it. I was just going to the library.

2007-September-23

Inner Harmony: 07F-10

2007-04-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Past and Future

My co-worker Don has an old inkjet print of a scanned photo of the sculpture that started the Small Sculpture Revolution at the beginning of 1996. In some ways I haven't done anything better since then. The sculpture is simple, elegant and beautiful. I've gone in the direction of increased complexity since then and the results have been mixed.

It seems all art moves toward complexity, carried by improved skills and tools. It's a difficult transition and many artists never make it out of the thicket.

The only way out is through. Keep banging away at it and eventually something changes. The future visited me near the beginning of 2000, when "microsculpture" elements showed up. I'd carve a good-sized panel and then cut tiny holes in it. It looked nice but was essentially a panel with holes. Microsculpture turned into midi-sculpture and moved around, finally going inside as a sort of screen between supports.

I wanted to break away from the flat panel but modelling that in my mind was hard. Holding it in mind while under real-world conditions of time and wind was something else again. Modelling takes time. Imagination takes time. The sun slows for no sculptor, so the sculptor has to speed up. Speed with accuracy is hard to achieve but necessity pushes constantly. I learned to use my tools in ways the designer never imagined.

And, finally, the last element came into place. Call it the "Even Smaller Sculpture Revolution." Freed from having to engineer support for another foot of sand, and also from the time taken to pack that additional foot, I could spend more time learning about the insides of sculptures.

Build number: 07F-10 (lifetime start #320)
Title: "Calligraphy Doesn't Count"
Date: April 7
Location: Venice Breakwater, on the flat
Start: approx 0830; construction time about 6 hours
Height: about 2.5 feet, on tall sokkel built pretty much by mistake
Assistant: none
Photo digital: EOS-1D w/24-70 zoom, walkaround, low-angle and details, 36 images
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: Rich, digital
Video: none
Visitors: Rich, SuZi
Equipment note: overhauled sprayer worked much better. High maintenance item.

Perhaps because I started by making arches, I'm one of the very few sand sculptors who thinks about the inside of a pile of sand. An arch has an inside and an outside, and once I'd made a few I started experimenting with the inside. Using forms allowed me to work even more on the inside, usually as a way to support the outside.

I wanted depth. With detail. This brings about access problems. Like any other miner I have to find a way to get in there and a way to get the waste sand out. Early experiments with this produced half-dime like sculptures, the one side cut off to allow entry. The rest of the dome was carved into increasingly complex braids. It looked good but I wanted more. I wanted to make the inside braided too.

What of beauty? Does complexity lead to beauty? Not often. Mostly it seems to impede the perception of beauty: can't see the forest because there are too many trees. The designer's problem is to make a day's worth of carving look like one piece while retaining the complexity. Complexity within simplicity.

So, this sculpture was intended as a design exercise. My carving skills have gotten to the point where I can, with some forethought, get into most places inside a sculpture. The key is to balance the size of the windows with the size of the outer surface. Windows too big make the surface into support legs. Windows too small make carving difficult and also keep me from seeing what's in there. Invisible beauty may be there but I'd like to see it.

This sculpture is unusual in that I worked on the outside while planning for the windows. Subtle shaping of the surface made a place for the windows. Mostly. I screwed up one spot and made it too thin, but reshaping solved the problem. This is why it's good to sneak up on things. Sketch first, then, if it works, bring out the heavy tools.

"Well, it definitely takes the Johnson prize."
"That's good, Rich." The angry duck of 1998 is long gone, fortunately. No snakes biting knees, either.
"I do see a K over here. Or is it an R? Maybe that's the title. 07R0 something. The 0 is on the far side. Here's the R, and the 7 is this big part."
"Oh, yes. Does that mean...?"
"No. Calligraphy doesn't count." We both laugh. How many other artists have to put up with hecklers in real time? Well, Rich pays for the privilege with nice fresh chocolate chip cookies.

The whole thing works well. I like looking at it.
"To me it's the year's best."
"Close to it." For adventurousness I like one of the January sculptures better, but this one has a contained organicness that I like a lot. It has been a long time coming.

2007 April 8

Blown Away! (07F-9)

2007-03-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sandblasted!

I was walking around Santa Monica Tuesday, enjoying a day off, planning to return along the beach. From a few blocks inland I could see an odd white haze to the west; as I walked that way I learned that the haze was spray and the wind was howling. Having planned poorly for the event--dressed in T-shirt and kilt--I turned around and just about mooned everyone west of me. There weren't many. I took the bus home.

The next day seemed better. Until I got to the beach. Well, maybe it's calmer than yesterday. The sea didn't seem quite so wind-excited. Still, there was a layer of flying sand over the beach, and my borrow pit filled with blown-in sand as I built a sculpture atop the stump of the previous effort.

Build number: 07F-9 (lifetime start #319)
Title: "Wind Made Visible"
Date: March 28
Location: Venice Breakwater, on the flat
Start: approx 1215; construction time wind-limited to about 3.5 hours
Height: about 2.2 feet, on tall sokkel left over from F-8
Assistant: none
Photo digital: EOS-1D w/24-70 zoom, walkaround and details, 20 images
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: none
Video: none
Visitors: none (everyone had more sense than I)
Equipment note: none

The day reminds me of when I made "Roman 2: Windsong" in 1996. I made that one deliberately heavy to stand against the wind. That time occasional rainshowers came though but the air was so dry I hardly noticed.

Windsurfers take advantage of it. There are no regular surfers out, which must be a first for Venice.

I have to search to find good sand. It's out there, under four inches of overburden, and mixed with a lot of coarse sand that makes it a job to filter. The pile is very solid, but dries rapidly in the strong wind.

After a few hours I realize I'm losing the battler for the retention of heat. Carving just doesn't work me hard enough to make up for what the wind takes away. The sculpture wants refinement and details, but I've had it. I clean it up and sign it.

Time's Pressure: 07F-8

2007-03-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Be Quick and Canny

I was debating. Relax, eat lunch, rest. Or, eat lunch and do a sculpture. Then Canny, a co-worker, called. He wanted to know if there were any beach plans on this holiday. So, we met for lunch and then headed for the beach.

Build number: 07F-8 (lifetime start #318)
Title: none
Date: March 26
Location: Venice Breakwater, on the flat
Start: approx 1315; construction time approx 5 hours
Height: about 2.4 feet, on tall sokkel left over from F-7
Assistant: none
Photo digital: EOS-1D w/24-70 zoom, walkaround and details, 36 images
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: passerby builder shot with my camera
Video: none
Visitors: Michael and Owens; Alex, who had seen sculptures before
Equipment note: none

I had to be quick due to the late start. Light didn't appear to be a problem; clouds like cement hung low over the beach. I built rapidly but even so Canny sitll thought it should be quicker. He had to leave before I'd gotten much more than a basic start on the carving.

"Are you Rene?"
"No, I'm Larry."
"I saw a sculpture here earlier. Somebody had carved the name Rene in it."
"That happens sometimes. People have to put graffiti everywhere."
"I asked people who made it. They told me it must have been somebody named Rene. We made up all kinds of stories about this French man doing sand sculpture."
"Sounds like fun."
"I've seen a couple of your sculptures, but I never saw you. I just thought of you as the "Magic Man." It was wonderful, coming to the beach to see whatever was here, different each time, and find these sculptures."
"Thank you." She even shows me some photos she took with her phone. At least attempts to. The screen is dark, the glare from the clouds overwhelming.

The sculpture turned out well, even with the short time. Sometimes this is a good thing. I don't have time to think too much.

Looking for the Center: 07F-7

2007-03-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Look Inside

Build number: 07F-7 (lifetime start #317)
Title: "Interiors"
Date: March 24
Location: Venice Breakwater, on the flat
Start: approx 0915; construction time approx 6.5 hours
Height: about 2.5 feet, on tall sokkel
Assistant: none
Photo digital: EOS-1D w/24-70 zoom, walkaround and details, 30 images
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: D'rbeh, stills; Rich
Video: D'rbeh, movies with still camera
Visitors: Erika, from Mosaic; D'rbeh (and by phone Ayli and Ural), Rich; SuZi
Equipment note: none

Fog, Wind, Spray: 07F-6

2007-03-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Spring is interesting. Inland it might be 80 degrees while we shiver on the beach. Better cool than hot for sand sculpture.

I got lucky on this one. The fine sand came back, in a thick bed beneath a few inches of coarse overburden. All I had to do was remove that. Much better than the backbreaking work of "cream-skimming."

I wanted a more delicate sculpture, but the press of time and the onset of shivering precluded it. We had some thin sunlight for a few minutes and then the clouds came back, with the temperature dropping. Not bad for the walkers and joggers, and the active sand sculptor. Delicate carving takes more contemplation, and that results in a losing battle with a damp wind.

There was quite a tour of visitors. I'm gradually getting the Email program together. Michael was there with his friend, Owens. I'd seen my dentist the day before for another of those dreaded deep-cleaning jobs that are so essential, and while there he told me about how tools drew him to dentistry. I told him about my tools and said I'd be carving, and he came by on his daily run. Siggy came by while he was there, but Rudy was otherwise occupied. Rich had jury duty, fortunately for just one day. Larry Dudock came by just as I was getting ready to take pictures.

I was tired before I started this one. I'm surprised the images came out as well as they did, considering incipient shivers and sculptor's palsy. That's why I bought that fast lens, and also bumped up the ISO to 200. The wonders of digital photography, even if it doesn't look as good as black-and-white.

Wind, Sand, Waves (07F-5)

2007-03-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

This was a "classic" sand sculpture day. Low tide in the morning. I arrived at about 0830. Good sand was in a thin layer, requiring the back-busting cream skimming process common at this time of year. It's made possible by the small sculpture. No way would I do this for an 8 cubic foot sculpture.

Light and Water (07F-4)

2007-03-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Ah, light is magic. It's made of sand and water, but what would it be without light?

The light just wouldn't quit, as the clouds I'd thought would quench the sunset just amplified it. Low tide receding waves provided a reflective surface for the glory above. I was transfixed on my walk home.

Losing the Bottom (07F-3)

2007-02-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

Friday, I was walking home along the beach. North of the Santa Monica Pier two lifeguards passed me northbound and yelled out a greeting as I picked up skipping rocks. It has been a long time since I've seen a familiar face. I yelled back and we continued, they north, me south. They caught me up just at the south edge of the pier and the conversation continued as we jogged along. I was surprised that I could both keep up and talk. That might not have lasted much longer but I would never find out as there, at theKenter Creek outfall, was a lovely 8-foot bluff cut in the beach.

"Sorry, guys, I can't resist this."
"OK. We turn at Tower 20, anyway."

During the summer the sand builds up at the drain outfalls. Then a rainstorm comes in the winter, the water backs up and then suddenly cuts though. The result is a tall face of reasonably packed sand that works for large-scale vertical relief sculpture. Big tunnels, loops, curves, and then sudden collapse. It gives no warning of impending collapse. At least I didn't have to pack it. This is the usual end of R-type sculptures. I moved a few feet over and started another. Two girls joined me, never having thought about carving such a thing. I was sitting at the foot of the bluff, tunnelling behind an element when the whole thing landed in my lap. A bit too vertical. The next one angled into the bluff but wasn't developed all that far because my arms were tired from moving the mass of sand.

Would that count for the weekend's sculpture? Well, ending things with failures isn't that attractive. The day was spectacularly clear, and cold. I was wishing I'd started a real sculpture. Saturday started with reading but bright sunlight brought me outdoors. I had no idea what the sand would be like; storms tend to take it away. I loaded what I needed onto the cart and headed out around 0800.

I couldn't resist building up on the flat. It's a better stage and has water on three sides. The first load of sand came from the best spot I could find quickly but after packing that I realized I had plenty of time so I ranged more widely in search of better sand. I found it in a small area and used that for the rest of the sculpture, which is why the lower third is lighter in color. You can see that in the image above.

The sculpture's initial idea was derived from the previous day's relief experiments. I wanted to make the side of the sculpture undulate around a space. I carved that part and then the rest just pretty much happened. You can see that initial space in the upper right of the image below.

Many recent larger sculptures have had detailed upper sections sitting on a lower part that's just more or less there to keep the rest off the beach. The form I use for those is 42 inches tall. The form I used for this one is 30 inches. Without the worry of an extra foot of mass sitting up there the lower part can be just as detailed.

So, I can eliminate the time taken by packing that lower sand, and I don't have to carry it. The surprise was that carving even a small sculpture like this can expand to fill the day. I quit on this one only because I needed to get home for another event. In 1984, sculptures were four feet tall. By 1995 they'd grown to six and a half feet, using this small form as an extension. Late in the year I experimented with using the short form as the main part and learned that it worked. I put an extension on top to make it taller and started the "Small Sculpture Revolution," based on the idea that if I made all the elements half as big I'd only have to pack about 1/8th as much sand. Eventually I settled on about 1/3d the sand. Now it seems that even less sand is needed. The sculpture is relatively stubby, being only about 1.5 times taller than it is wide. Predecessors were about twice as tall as they were wide. I guess I can call this the "Smaller Sculpture Revolution."

Freed from the heavy engineering constraints of tall sculptures, I have no idea where this form factor might lead. When I first started doing short-form sculptures they were parts of larger sculptures. This one is a sculpture of its own scale, having all the elements of a larger one but shrunken. The problem is access: smaller holes are harder to get into. I need to make some new tools.

I'm sorry I couldn't wait for sunset. This one would have lit up nicely, I think. It was fun to make. It takes time to get used to a new form factor, and I'm gradually shaking off the assumptions of the past regarding this short form. This is helped by the continuing availability of good sand, a real gift at this time of year.

Pick-up Sculpture (07P-4)

2007-02-19T13:14:00.000-08:00

I'd been debating a sculpture. Either Saturday or Sunday would work. Saturday had a short deadline; I had to be home by around 1630 to start something else, which would preclude sunset photos. I'd pretty much decided to let Saturday go when Nate called.

He was home looking for something to do, Debbie having been called to something else. I assembled a minimal kit and set out by skateboard. Camera, water, some carving tools, and some cookies. Everyone knows that sculpture requires cookies. Rich taught me that. The day was warm and calm and there were lots of people headed west.

We'd had some storms. No real rain but still had the wind and big surf. I expected the sand to be barely workable. I skated through the crowds and got a nice surprise. Although there were shells and rocks mixed in, the sand itself was quite good.

I had no good idea of what to make. Warm days bring the people out and several stopped to ask what I was doing; I told them to come back in a couple of hours. I was nearly done with the pile when Nate arrived. He went to work, made a pile that fell apart, started again. By that time I was working with my own pile, taller and more slender than I'm used to.

Well, the key is not to give up. Remember the earlier mistakes and try something else. Just because it's tall and slender doesn't mean it has to look like every other tall, slender sculpture.

I wanted delicacy but had to sneak up on it. Otherwise I'd hit big rocks and shells. Cutting them out gently took care of some of the problems, but still made the design decisions a challenge. Take this out? Make it thinner? What if there's a rock in there? Sometimes I won, other times I lost. Sculpture is a compromise, especially free-piled.

I forgot to bring a brush so the clean-up was done with fingertips and small tools to scoop out the crumbs. If you sort of don't look at the shells you can see where the sculpture was supposed to go. It's an odd mix of new and old, some of the ideas being echoes of 1996 when I first started trying to do sculpture within the outer structure.

High clouds had gradually thickened as the sun moved west. Shirtless Nate was getting cold in the slow sea breeze.
"Where'd the clouds come from?"
"I heard about possible rain. Those clouds could be the precursor."
"Rain tonight?"
"No. Late tomorrow, maybe, or Monday."

Nate called his finished. A good idea as there was very little sand left to carve. While sitting and relaxing he quickly formed a face from loose sand. His fingers are rarely still.

He left, needing to take their dog for a walk before there was an accident. I took some pictures and then walked north along the beach. The clouds gradually got thicker. Early Monday morning the rain showed up.

Not Ready for the Storm

2007-01-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

They said it would rain Saturday. I thought perhaps I should sculpt on Friday but real life intruded. There were errands to run and the closest I got to sculpting was to detour by way of the beach to sample the sand. It's always moving around. Surprisingly there was a thick layer of fine sand, which pretty much dictated things for Saturday.

I didn't sleep well. Awakened to grey dimness I thought the predicted rain was imminent, but as the morning progressed light grew in the living room windows. Once it started to cast shadows I decided to head out.

That was as bright as the day ever got. As I walked down the Boardwalk, pulling my cart full of equipment, off to the southwest I could see dark grey. And to the west. To the northwest, more of the same. Well, maybe it'll just blow over.

I went to work. Filled the form with that wonderful silky sand, hauled to an above-tide work area. I needn't have bothered; the western horizon was getting closer and closer. Having come so far I couldn't just abandon it and perhaps it would just be a light sprinkle.

The idea was derived from previous sculptures. I wanted a more curving and integrated look for this one, so I shaped the outside and then sketched on that what I wanted. Glancing west I realized I needed to make it march. I wouldn't have to worry about catching sunset light.

Sprinkle drops started, and became heavier. I rushed as much as I could. The rain abated and then came back with what seemed a feeling of settling in. All I had were sandals, a very light windbreaker, shorts and a T-shirt. Feeling departed from my toes and my fingers were becoming rather wooden. This is a problem in detailed sculpture.

I watched as the horizon came closer. No hope. I did a quick bit of brushing, widened some holes and called it a day. Shot a few quick pictures as the rain built up, loaded the cart and headed home, walking fast in an attempt to warm up my toes.

Note the disappearing Palos Verdes Peninsula in the background. Also note the varying areas of progress on the sculpture: some polish, some cuts close to final, some very rough, and some are just sketched in. Also note the lack of clean-up around the base. This is what it looks like until I smooth out and brush the sand around the sculpture.

Because this sculpture wasn't finished it doesn't get a build number. I refer to it in my records as Lifetime Start #312, which is a cumulative count of all "major" sculptures. What constitutes a major sculpture has varied. There are some sculptures that by current standards would have been major but didn't get counted. Yes, I know it's a weird system.

Wind and Light (07F-2)

2007-01-21T06:19:00.000-08:00

Friday, there was just enough time between low tide and sunset to get a sculpture off. I'd have to be quick. I checked the sand Thursday after work and while the fine sand layer is thinner it's still there. The only question involved wind. Usually after a storm there's wind.

Friday morning was calm enough. I loaded what I needed on the cart and started walking to the beach around 1130. Gusts of wind gradually built until by the time I got to Venice the palm fronds were rattling and sand was bouncing along the ground. I almost bailed, but I was there, and maybe the wind would go down.

I got lucky. About an hour before sunset the wind died down and shifted to the west. The day ended cool, calm, and with very nice light.

Solving the Problem (07F-1)

2007-01-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

The last time I did back-to-back sculpting was for the Bravo TV pilot that never saw the light of day. That time it was dictated by the program format. Now it's because of the sand: at this time of year having good sand is a real gift.

There are all those shells. I know how to solve that problem. Halfway to the beach I realize that just as I did a year and a quarter ago, I solved only part of the problem as my shovel and tamper are safely stashed in the garage. Well, it will still be a better pile than something free-piled. The filter is the key. I want to carve sand, not rocks.

Winter Sculpture

2007-01-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

Cold I can handle. Wind I can't. Saturday was windy but Sunday came up calm. Debate between formed and free-piled got settled by simplicity and I loaded what I needed into a backpack and rode to the beach.

Would the wind come up? Would there be decent sand? You never know in winter. Summer's day after day of the same weather is long gone, and it could very well be that the fine sand was also long gone.

Sampling the beach revealed good sand, mixed with lots of shells and rocks. I'd just have to work around them. It was a challenge.

While I was working on my sculpture water was making its own. At high tide water infiltrates the beach because sand imperfectly fills space. It's like oranges in a box. Until some gene engineer perfects a cubical or rhomboid dodecahedral orange there will always be open space between the oranges. As the tide falls this infiltrated water seeps out, slowly, gracefully, shining on the fine sand. The slow flow creates delicate patterns that fascinate me.

07P-2 "Efflorescence"

2007-01-04T05:28:00.000-08:00

Work? Forget it. Good sand, warm sun, low tide. The combination is rare for this time of year and not to be thrown away.

The complete report follows the images.

Note: I've removed the duplicate image and replaced it with the one that should have been there.

Strike While the Iron is Hot!

January is an unlikely time for free-piled sculpture. We've usually had a couple of serious storms by now, and the fine sand, being shy, has departed until summer's calm and kind skies allow it to return in the thick dark layers needed to make this kind of sculpture practical. This is why the year's first sculpture was free-piled, and conditions are much the same Wednesday.

Photographing free-piled sculpture is more of a challenge than it is for my usual upright formed pieces. An 85mm portrait lens works well for those. Step back, use a fairly large aperture to throw the background out of focus, and use the camera's dynamic range to handle the contrast. All I have to do is point and shoot. Free-piles, being typically more spread out, call for more technique, looking for the shot, light and shadow. The only problem is that while these recent ones have been free-piled they've not been all spread out. The 20mm wide lens I've been using is simply too wide. Canon has a solution but I've been trying to get one and not succeeding. Finally I looked at Canon's Web site and discovered a zoom lens that would cover the range I need. It's only a bit more expensive than the 35mm I wanted. Samy's has it.

Wednesday comes up warm. Calm, sunny. Quit thinking and go do it. The window won't stay open forever. I swing by Samy's and get the lens and then direct to the beach.

Build number: 07P-2
Title: "Efflorescence"
Date: January 3
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: 1115; construction time approx 3.5 hours
Height: about 3.25 feet
Base: about 7 by 2.5 feet
Assistant: none
Photo digital: EOS-1D w/24-70 zoom, walkaround and details, 33 images
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: none
Video: none
Equipment note: New EF 24-70 F/2.8L lens

I'm a bit early and have to wait for the tide to uncover the sand I need. There's a sweet spot at about the two-foot level. Conditions are much the same as New Year day: a few inches of coarse sand on top of the finer material. I scrape that off, having remembered to bring the #4 Vertical Roadgrader, and use the stuff to make a long domed base. I have no real plan but am sort of thinking of a sculpture derived from the New Year piece. Remembering that one's lack of base material I dig two borrow pits and combine the overburden in one big base between them.

Once assured of safety from overachieving waves I start piling the fine sand on top of the coarse base. I should have thought a bit more about what I was doing, but I was going with the capability of the sand. Very fine sand will retain water long enough to make wide layers with multiple pats, as I can get back to the first end before it has drained. So, the pile ends up looking a lot like a wall. This is another of the attractors that pulls a sculpture into the territory of the default. It does prove handy to have two borrow pits as the upper one is closer to the north side of the sculpture.

A wall isn't really three-dimensional. It's too long to get at the inside effectively, so it usually ends up being a collection of parts, or zones of different sculpture. It has distinct sides and ends, and it's hard to disguise that in the carving.

Still, I could be at work. Lots nicer to be here, under the sun, watching surfers catch waves that turn green-gold in the afternoon sunlight. Eventually the pile gets tall enough to become single-pat territory so I end up with the common tower-on-wall. Well, I'm still in charge. The design is my responsibility and even if it fails it's a nice day to be here.

I give the tower one last rounded layer and call it good. The overall shape has a nice dynamic lean to the east. I do the basic shaping and decide where to put the spaces.

Any potential design is subject to sudden revisions. Design by internal committee, or else just not knowing. The only way to find out what will work is to carve it. Suddenly the place I'd intended to put a long space looks better solid and I move the space around to the south. This has ramifications elsewhere but the sun won't wait while I dither. Get out the tool and start digging.

It's a nice shape and should allow some light through once I've done the planned microsculpture on the shaded side. When the time comes to do the microsculpture I immediately find a problem: the Largest Mussel Shell In the World. Right where I wanted to put the smallest hole. I dig the thing out because there's no working around it, and there I'm left with a crater that can only be hollowed further.

One thing I've learned is balance. In the old days I've have tried to make the large hole work with other microsculpture but it never looked right. This simply means that everything else just has to be in balance with this gaping void right at the sculpture's top. I carve the hard parts around it, shaping both space and sand. It's an interesting balance.

As the sun slowly arcs west I continue in the same vein. Larger spaces, but with interesting shapes. I hope. I can tell, too, that the whole thing needs to be picked up and rotated about 40 degrees, another outworking of its elongated form. I just can't get daylight through it. One last attempt goes awry because I don't have a triple-jointed cutting tool with a camera on the end. I just can't see what's going on in there and just about take out the sand I need for the contrasting arcs on the south side. They hang on with hope and, perhaps, pixie dust.

And that's about it. The piece is a rather uncomfortable blending of ideas new and old, but still manages to show some energy while working around the many small shells. A curve that in a formed and filtered sculpture would be constant-rate and free from lumps is here transformed into a drunkard's walk meandering between obstructions.

At least I have the small cosmetic brush to clean up the details. It helps a lot. I go on "crumb patrol" around the whole piece, which is an endless process. Free-pile sand dries out faster so the brushing itself dislodges more crumbs, which fall into the spaces and have to be cleaned out, leading to more crumbs. Sand sculpture is one long lesson in the limits on perfection of expression.

The day's "Chatty Cathy" award goes to the man from Italy who says he's a sand sculptor. He keeps telling me how to do it, and that most sand sculptures are surrounded by the detritus of their construction. He apparently doesn't see that I've cleaned up the whole site, smoothing out both borrow pits and shaping the long smooth ridge on which the sculpture sits. I'm glad when he and his daughter finally wander off.

Others are more friendly. Three women watch for a time and then say they like it. Various others come by to ask the usual questions.

I hadn't expected this much light. The afternoon seems to last forever. How long did it take? What time did I get here? I don't really know. It feels like a four-hour sculpture but I don't think it is. My time sense is as off as my space sense in reaching into the sculpture was. This encourages me to go ahead and plan a Friday sculpture. There'll be less time between revealed sand and sunset but it should be enough.

Finally as satisfied with the clean-up as I'm likely to be, I get out the camera with its new lens. The lens is an immediate hit. I can choose my perspective and then use the zoom to shape the final image. It pops into focus easily and I soon quit thinking about it and just get the images I want. First the contingency round, in case that one final grain gets too dry or too heavy and it all falls over. Then a more considered selection of angles when it seems the sculpture will stand for a time. Then I just wait for the slow change of light to reveal previously hidden parts, even as it hides others.

The shadow side is too dark. No spaces go all the way through except at the top of the tower. There are no stained-glass effects that were so delightful in the New Year piece. On the other hand, the arcs on the sunny side really help show off the smooth neighboring surfaces.

As a whole I'm not sure what to think. It has many hints of the past, which is rather frustrating. I want every sculpture to be a revolution and rock the whole world on its fulcrum. I know that's unreasonable. I don't have the skills for that yet.

I sit on the sand and just bask. Time seems to move so fast sometimes but today runs forever. The tall tower's long shadow drifts to the east and the light gets that buttery late-afternoon look. I shoot a few more images. I'd like to wait for evening roseate wash but am too tired and hungry. Packing up takes only a minute, and I walk off the beach.

The muse has broken out from the barbed wire and bomb craters. As if they'd never really been. I'm a fortunate man.

2007-January-4

New Year Day

2007-01-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

07P-1

The report follows the images. At the bottom of the page is a special presentation of images by my friend SuZi Zimmerman, who came by on this warm day to chat for a while.

The Broad Base

Free-piled sculpture has a few deep sink-holes that act as design attractors, due to the physical constraints. One of the classic ones is the tower-on-base profile that ends up resembling a crouching lion or alert sea lion. If you want height in a free-pile you have to keep the sand wet, and a broad area takes too long. So, you end up with a narrow tower.

Well, if it's a constraint, work with it. Transcend it. The December 30 sculpture showed some promise but still elicited too many "sea lion" comments from passers-by, and also failed in some other ways. My mental model for the New Year piece made a caricature of the tower. Call attention to them. Flaunt their unique place on the sculpture.

Build number: 07P-1
Title: none
Date: January 1
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: 1030; construction time approx 4 hours
Height: about 3 feet
Base: about 6 by 2.5 feet
Assistant: none
Photo digital: EOS-1D w/20mm, walkaround and details, 26 images
Photo 35mm: none
Photo 6X7: none
Photo volunteer: Rich, w/Canon SD520
Video: none
Equipment note: expanded portable tool subset, skateboard transport

My mind saw an elongated, domed base with some little egg-shaped protuberances angling out from it. There was a problem, however, as LeTourneau observed: "There are no big jobs. Just small tools." To make the base big enough, even with the provided coarse overburden sand, required moving more sand than bare hands can really stand.

Underneath the top layer of coarse sand is some really good stuff. I scrape off the overburden and use it to make the domed base, but even adding some from the uphill side just doesn't make it big enough. Then the really good sand draws me even farther away from the original concept as it retains water long enough for me to add multiple pats on each layer. It gradually tapers as it goes up but it completely dominates the base. OK, so we have a monolith on a nice sokkel. Sand sculptors have to be flexible.

The design impulse is alive but some skills are rusty. The major lesson I've learned in the last few years is that the more attention I pay to the overall shape of the piece, the better it turns out. So, I work around this one, trimming and polishing toward a shape that's reasonably attractive in itself. Once that's done I start thinking about the details.

So, the muse is still alive and shaking off the effects of a year's forced idleness. The finger-feel of tool placement is a bit lacking and results in breaking through in a place I hadn't really desired, and the resulting hole gets bigger than planned. It thus becomes part of a new plan, and other parts of the sculpture will have to be enlarged to balance this one little thing. Don't fight this. To do so is to become frustrated. There are times to impose the will and times to impose the will... differently.

The idle time seems not to have been completely wasted. I find myself concentrating on how the sculpture's parts fit with each other, and sketching them on the outside before actually carving sand away allows me to step back and look at the piece. Subtle changes here and there make the various shapes fit together better.

The long afternoon flows past, smoothly. Gladsome sunshine resists the cool breeze that lifts a few kites. It's nice to be back, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. People I've met here on previous sculpting days come by. Rudy and his wife, on their walk to the pier. Sigrid and Ed. Some whose names I don't remember. All smile and say "We're glad you're back. So many times we walk over the sand and hope to see one of your sculptures here." They thank me for the gift. They are among the usual New Year Day throng: surfers running to the waves, kids running to catch retreating wavelets, adults chasing the kids.

I just have to work with one small pile of sand. This is a luxury in free-piling as my usual desire for complexity leads me to build more than I can effectively carve. This one has more of a formed sculpture sensibility than I've done before. Only the shell fragments make a major difference. In some cases I can work around them, or tease them out gently, or carve with a light touch so that when they pull out they don't take big chunks of sand with them. The portability advantages of free-piling are very inviting. Just getting the sheer mass of formed sculpture equipment across the beach is a big task. Here, all my tools came in a backpack and I arrived by skateboard.

One space leads to another as the sun works its way across the sky. The real trick is knowing when to quit. The north side looks OK, but perhaps a bit simple, and I need a way to get some light in there. So, I shape a hole and cut it through. The result isn't the best I've ever done but it works.
"I think that's about it, Rich. Time for clean-up."

"Ah, I forgot to bring the little cosmetic brush."
I use the end of the big brush to get in and delicately remove the loose sand. The job is far from perfect but another important characteristic of free-piled sand is that it dries faster than formed, so the structures are weakening. I'm afraid to touch them with anything but the lightest touch.
"That pretty well does it. Now I need to shape the base."

I smooth everything out. I hadn't planned on signing the sculpture, but as I do the base clean-up someone says "Oh, he's about to put in his signature." OK. I find a place, loosen the sand and push my hands into it.
"That's it."
"Looks good. I think it's your best free-pile ever. I don't remember one with so much detail."
"There have been others, but none of them worked this well."
"It makes good shadows."

He's right. Photographing this one is fun, even if I just have the 20mm wide-angle. I need something less wide but haven't gotten around to buying it. So, I just get close and don't worry about the odd perspective effects.

Then I can just stand there and soak up some sunlight. It's surprisingly early, especially considering the sculpture's complexity.

Well, it's simple and complex. The base is quite simple, and there are broad areas of smooth sand that separate the detailed and windowed sections. As usual there are disappointments but fewer than many sculptures have had. I like it.

Rich passes around cookies to friends who stop by. Sand sculptors run on chocolate. For a while, anyway, but I'm pretty much done for the day. We watch the light change and then, well, it's just time.
"I'm about to fall asleep, Rich. Time to go."

Picking up my kit just takes a minute, and we walk off the beach.
"There's a lot to be said for being able to pick up and walk off with your transportation," Rich says.
I laugh. "Yes. One of the beauties of skateboards." I look ahead at the bike path, busy with afternoon riders. "I think I'll just walk on over to the alley and go north that way."

We walk on, past the skaters, the vendors, the tourists, the crowds.
"You may want to think twice about using the alley."
I look up. A steady stream of cars comes out. "You're right. I'll use some of the side streets beyond the circle."
We walk on, talking about this and that. Rich has come out for most of the sculptures I've done since 1995.
"My car is just by the post office. I can give you a ride home."
"Oh, I think I'll take you up on that. Thank you."

I ride home in unaccustomed luxury, nearly blind with fatigue, sunken in the seat.

2007-January-2

And, as a bonus, here are some images by SuZi, she of the "End of the Western World" video.